WOTY

Peace

That's the one.  That's my word of the year for 2016.

The past year has been wrought with anxiety and stress, (but more so, blessings and wisdom) and I need to focus on the Peace that God gives. 

I also have a new project for January:  #DailyProverbs. 

I recently took part in a daily devotional, No More Unglued Momma Mornings.  In the devotional, Lysa TerKeurst suggested reading a chapter in Proverbs each day, focusing on one verse that sticks out, to be the theme for the day.  The verse to meditate on and come closer to God.

Every day during the monthof January, I am going to post my verse, the one that sticks out the most.  (If you'd like to follow along, I'm @littlebeachbird)

If you'd like to participate, I'll also be using #DailyProverbs.  I would love to see which verse you pick to meditate on throughout the day!  Tag me or the hastag so I can see!

Teacher Gifts

Another post that's too little, too late.  I told ya I'm not organized this month!

Ok, enough beating myself up over my scheduling.  Here's this years' teacher gift.

This year has been quite a challenge.  Being in a new school (a school that has a lot of activities for a room mom to handle) and setting up house and just plain being a human has been very time consuming.

I didn't have time to make gifts, but that doesn't mean I didn't put a ton of love into them.  I bought a pack of nifty pens (and I got to keep the left overs, so yay), a couple packs of owl and hedgehog sticky notes (I didn't have enough for me, boo), some chocolates  (another yay), and a notebook (double yay because I got them in the dollar isle at Target, and I got one for myself).

That's about it this year.  I wish I had been more purposeful and deliberate in my teacher gift giving, but stuff happens.  I think I did well with them.

Do you have any teacher gift ideas that you like?  I may need some for teacher appreciation week ;)

Merry Christmas To All!!!

Festive Fridays

It's the most wonderful time of the year!!  Admit it, you sang that in your head. 

Hubby, the boys, and I were talking one day, and came up with a fun idea to fit in Christmas-y type activities:  Festive Fridays!

Each Friday, beginning the day after Thanksgiving, and running til Christmas, do something extra festive.

Here are some ideas we came up with:
☆Check out Christmas lights
☆Watch Christmas movies
☆Make Christmas tree ornaments
☆Make Christmas cards
☆Make cookies

Do you have any other Festive Friday ideas?

Note:  I apologize for this post coming so late in December!  I've had so many ideas, and I want very organized about them!! 

Starting Today

Man, do I feel great!  I took some time this morning to read the Lord's word and to do some yoga, and now I feel incredible!  No boasting, just good old fashioned "Hallelujah"  (I also want a nap, so I may have to treat myself to one this afternoon).

You see,I have been slacking off on taking care of myself, both physically and spiritually.  We've been going to church, and on the Sundays when we don't go, I tune in for the sermon broadcast on the radio, but during the week I've been feeling kind of run down.  Very tired.

So, here's the plan.  I have to wake up at 5:30 every morning, anyway, so why don't I use the half hour in have to myself to focus on my spiritual health?  I always feel more at peace when I read my devotional, so why not start every morning with some peace?

Then, I'll devote half an hour to yoga to work on my physical health.  I've found that when I work out, I tend to focus more on the food I consume, I drink more water, I don't want to eat the greasy, gross food as often if I'm active in the morning.

That's it.  That's what I'm going to do.  Starting today. 

Do you have a daily routine that you follow that generates peace?  Share it in the comments, I'd love to hear!

Oh, Christmas Tree

Why, hello! 

I want to share the little Christmas trees I decorated for the school raffle.  I had such a great time getting these pretties decorated!

A huge "Thank You!!!" to all the parent donors, as well as to our corporate donors, The Surf Station and Sunshine Shop!!  You guys rock!

Have an awesome week!

Diy Christmas Ornaments

Hi, again!  

This year we had to improvise on Christmas ornaments.  That happens when you move, and store all of your Christmas stuff, and don't bring it with you to the new house.  

Well, since we will have the old ones next year, we decided not to spend a tremendous amount on new ornaments.  We would just make our own!

My morning walks on the beach have yielded many shells complete with holes for hanging!  I put some of them to use in my new jewelry line, but we also sprayed some with some glitter spray paint and hung them on the tree!

I love the little beachy touch!  What do you think?

Christmas-Time!!

We made it through Thanksgiving!  It was our very first Thanksgiving away from family, and that meant testing out my horrible cooking skills.  Turns out, Hubby and I can seriously cook a turkey!  We are still talking about how good it was.

Now that the turkey has been consumed, it's time to start the Christmas season!  The tree is up and decorated, and the stockings are hung, but the thing that has gotten me most excited has been the advent calendars the children do.

Last year I put together a diy advent calendar with brown bags and candy, activities, and small toys, but this year we opted for the ones that have chocolate in them.  Man, I should have bought one for myself!  Those always get me feeling festive!

What puts you in the festive mood?  Do you decorate early,or do you wait til closer to Christmas?