The Gift of Giving

Happy Tuesday everyone! Some exciting news....I registered for my last semester of college yesterday! After I finish the last 4 weeks of this semester, I only have 4 classes left! I cannot wait to be done, I have really struggled with motivation these past couple months! Now I can only hope and pray I find a job afterwards!
So today is challenge day. The challenge was to do something to support a cause or issue you really care about. This was easy for me because it is the season of giving. I have always loved to give to others, it makes me feel good.  There are a couple different things going on at the school I work at. One is called Making Spirits Bright. They are collecting items for families in need. The other is a food drive. The kids have been working so hard to raise 500lbs of food for the the upcoming holiday. I donated some money to a fund to help my co worker re-purchase her Thanksgiving meal. She had boughten it, but lost power from the storm this past weekend and it all went bad. She isn't able to afford to buy another meal, so my co workers and I are raising money to help buy her family another Thanksgiving dinner. 

I am halfway done with the ten weeks of challenges now! I have to say they really have expanded my horizon and made things fun and interesting! The new challenge is: Eat or drink something that brings you back to childhood memories! What were some of your favorite foods when you were younger? Should be fun :)
Jamie Leigh

Here Goes Nothing!

Well tonight we will be signing our lives away as people say....we are making an offer on the house!! 

I am a little nervous, the house is a short sale....so basically after we make our offer we may wait a week, or have to wait months to hear anything back from the bank. The bank has to accept the offer, or in other words be okay with taking a loss on this home. It will break my heart if we wait months to hear that the bank rejected it...but I guess that is the risk we are taking! We will continue to pray and rely on God to guide us along this journey...what happens happens for a reason right? 

Now I wanted to share with you Sean and my date night! We decided to try a new bar and grill called Malones. The food was amazing, and the atmosphere was really fun! Last weeks challenge was to do something that is typically seen as being out of the ordinary. Well I took our date as the opportunity to do this. Sean and I ordered dessert first!! So Fun! Our waitress looked at us weird as Sean asked for chocolate cake as an appetizer... HAHA. And let me tell you this was no normal chocolate cake...it was dinner plate size! 

We were full after dessert! We took most of our entrées home as left overs! This was quite the experience, and I would definitely do it again!

This weeks challenge is: Do something to support a cause or issue you really care about! 

Have a happy Tuesday everyone!!

Jamie Leigh

Miracles happen! Oh and Challenge day

So I wanted to share with you a story I saw yesterday on TV. It is such a tragic story, but also proves that miracles do happen, and God WILL guide you through everything you face. 
The Coble family consisted of mom and dad and 3 beautiful children. A boy who was 5, a girl who was 4, and another little girl who was 2. One day mom and the kids were leaving the mall, and an 18 wheeler rear ended their mini van. All three children passed away, but the mom survived. I cannot even imagine the pain this couple was facing, loosing all three of their little angels in the blink of an eye. Listening to their story about picking out three little caskets, and how the house was so painfully silent crushed me. I was literally in tears.....They had a lot of home videos and pictures of their beautiful children, it very hard to watch. Believe it or not, out of this horrible tragedy came an incredible miracle. A year after the death of their three children, the couple welcomed TRIPLETS into their family! Now get this, they were blessed with a boy, and 2 girls! Isn't this an incredible miracle? This story was so moving so I wanted to take the time to share. If you want to read more about this story CLICK HERE. 
Okay now on a lighter note, its challenge day! The last challenge was to do something your parents would not allow you to do as a child! Now I had a couple ideas for this challenge, but I ended up decided I wanted to finally carve my own pumpkin! Yes, I am 22 and have NEVER carved my own pumpkin. Growing up, my dad would always cut the pumpkin open. My sisters and I would take out the "guts" and then draw the faces but then dad would carve them. I guess it makes sense that we weren't allowed to do so, but either way I felt I had missed out and was super excited to carve my own! Here is it! 

It's suppose to be a cat, but it didn't turn out exactly as I pictured it..Oh well I had a blast anyways!
Next weeks challenge is: Spend 15-20 minutes doing something you LOVE that you don't often have the time to do.
This will be quite the challenge for me considering how crazy busy I am! I look forward to hearing if any of you have participated! Oh and one more thing! If you are reading my blog and enjoy it, please become a follower!! Thanks :)
 I wanted to end by sharing one of my favorite songs from church! Enjoy and have a happy Tuesday everyone! 

Jamie Leigh

It's Tuesday, Challenge Day!!

Hello everyone! It is finally Tuesday, our challenge day! I really hope some of you took on the challenge, and had fun doing so. If not, join in this week! Last weeks challenge was to find a reason to celebrate, and do something to celebrate it. Here is what Sean and I did!
We decided up north would be the perfect place to celebrate.  We were celebrating the anniversary of our engagement, and the beautiful season of Fall.  First we went to the spot we got engaged! We had a drink, and reminisced about the special day.  After that, we decided to go to our favorite little bar/restaurant out there called Rosenthals. It is a huge hang out for four wheelers.  There we celebrated Fall by ordering chicken and rice soup (delicious)!! When we got back to the cabin, we tried out a new recipe in the slow cooker, chicken tortellini stewp.  It  is a cross between soup and stew, hence the name stewp. It turned out really good! I love cooking for the season, and Fall definitely calls out stew, soup, and anything else warm and  comforting! It was so fun to celebrate for no reason, very relaxing and exciting as well! If you did celebrated something, share with me what you did :)
The new challenge this week is: Do something your parent's would have never allowed you to do as a kid!  This could be something as simple as staying up late... but try to get creative with this! Enjoy :)
Today I am also asking for prayers for my little sister. She is 11, and means the world to me. She has been very sick, and the Dr.'s haven't been able to figure out why. Thankfully she got better, and was better for about a month.  The last couple days however, she has been sick again. I pray she won't get in her routine of being sick for months at a time again, and it's just a bug.  Thanks for the prayers everyone :)
Here is a song that is truly inspiring! It has definitely help keep me positive through the tough times! Have a wonderful Tuesday!!

 

Jamie Leigh

Making each day count...

I recently attended a training for work. This training hit home, so I figured I would share it with you. I work for a childcare program, and the message from the training was how once we become adults reality and responsibility of life start to weigh down on us. The burden of bills, work, and other stressors we may have cover over our childlike traits. No where is it written that once your an "adult" you have to succumb to these pressures and be so serious all the time. I am so busy with work and school that I totally see myself succumbing to this, and I want to put an end to this! They taught us about 8 secrets to escape adulthood and live a more fulfilled and stress free life. Each of these 8 secrets come so easily to children, but for some reason we forget about them as adults. The 8 secrets are:

-Delight in the little things
-Dream Big
-Get Curious
-Live Passionately
-Play
-Be honest
-Have Faith
-Maintain Perspective

The more I thought about it the more I realized I see the children I work with live by these 8 secrets everyday, but rarely do I notice myself or other adults live by them. Children aren't materialistic (at least most aren't). They get so excited over the smallest things that may not even be things.

I have decided to take on a "challenges" each week to help myself escape the everyday stresses I face. I would love for you all to take on the challenge as well. Every Tuesday I will post a new challenge and share about the previous weeks challenge. I would LOVE if you all joined in and shared. I think it will be so refreshing to do something special and out of the ordinary each week.

Think about it, nobody looks back when they are old and wish they spent more time in the office. People look back and wish they spent more time cherishing their family, paying attention to what really matters, and making memories. I know I don't want to live my life by a to do list, but I want to make every day count!

THIS WEEKS CHALLENGE: Find a reason to celebrate and do something to celebrate it

Don't over think this, children celebrate the little things such as loosing a tooth, or finding a penny on the ground :) Enjoy yourself while you celebrate. I hope to hear your sweet comments, and how you make each day count!

"Happiness cannot be traveled to, owned, earned, worn or consumed. Happiness is the spiritual experience of living every minute with love, grace, and gratitude"

Love

Jamie Leigh