Heavy Hearted

It has been ages since I have made the time to sit and pen on this most rewarding page... 

I am feeling very nostalgic and overwhelmed with emotions today, and I decided that this is my time to jump back on to blogging land. 

I started teaching. 

I love teaching.

I will admit, I am extremely overwhelmed with my schedule. I am running about and find myself in a constant state of exhaustion. Exhaustion....... such a helpless feeling. 

My sunny Southern California is not so sunny... I sit freezing and watching out the window

wondering what to do next. I have begun my three week vacation. Though I am home with the Littlest Button, I am lonely,missing the rest of my buttons,  missing my students, anxious to get back and teach, overwhelmed by the list of projects that are in front of me. I wish that we could skip this time of celebration.... jump right to January, I have not yet begun to feel the joy of this season. 

I am sad. My heart is heavy and hurting for the families of Sandy Hook Elementary, CT. This morning I was craving the word and I stumbled upon an article written by one of my favorite Proverbs 31 women.  

I read Lysa's Blog Post regarding the families of Newtown, CT and it hit me.........

http://lysaterkeurst.com/2012/12/how-do-i-pray-for-the-families-of-sandy-hook/

I am a mommy. My world is incomplete when I am not with my babies.... How broken I would be to find that I am in the position of one of the mommies of these sweet babies.... 

I am a worrier. I admit that worry is a form of fear. God does not want us to leave in fear. God does not desire that we waste minutes worrying about what we can not control. I have been praying for the families and the community members affected by this tragedy. Today, I vow to pray for the mommies affected directly by this tragedy. I can't do anything tangible for these families, but I can pray and prayer is something that I do often. I can also get more involved in my immediate community. 

I am a mommy. I will hug each of my buttons until I can hug them no more. I will cherish and value every moment that I am blessed to spend with them. I will give thanks to a Sovereign and Mighty God that brings us through adversity. I am blessed with today and I will make the very best of each moment in it! I will no loner allow the world and its influence to steal my joy. This is a season of redemption. This is a season of love, the greatest love that ever was! Be blessed in knowing that we may end up in turmoil, but God's grace and love will bring us through.

Peace to the Mommies of Sandy Hook. Peace to the families that are broken and feeling hopeless. 

May you find peace and hope in this difficult time and those to come. 

Many hugs and loves and gratitude!!! I am so glad to be back!

- Whimsy!

Hot Chocola-tay!

Hot Chocola-tay... it is what the buttons use to call it when they were itty bitty's. 

Well I must say.... I have been knee deep in some mighty delicious cocoa mix. 

I was asked to participate in creating gifts for the amazing teachers and staff at the Sporty and Sweet Buttons school. There is nothing I wouldn't do for this wonderful group of people, and it aligned with my week off. So I said YES! 

I found my Grandma's recipe for Cocoa mix, but being the creative type I decided I would tweak it around to see if I could make it even better....

Here is what I came up with...

Whimsy's Deliciousness!

1 1/2 cups of Powdered Milk

1 cup of Powdered Sugar

1 c. of Chocolate Chips - ground

1/2 c. of Hershey's Cocoa Powder

1 c. of Ghiradelli's Ground White Chocolate Powder

and a dash of salt.

Blend it up in the food processor and then.... 

Warm up a cup of half and half... yep I said it... HALF and HALF... it's creamy and perfect! 

Okay, if you are not a high fat content milk drinker then you have no business attempting to enjoy this bit of perfection..... but you make your own choice!!

After you have warmed up whatever milk you have chosen mix in 2 tablespoons of this mix and top it with some smellows..... uh hmmm.... another term of the past.... and enjoy!

I found Peppermint Marshmallows at Target. Oh so good!!! 

Bon Appettit!!

Many Hugs and loves and please stay warm!!!!

( I know, right! The temp in SoCal is 54 degrees and I am whining! Okay, stop laughing!!!!)

Another piece to the dining room puzzle... SOLVED!

Our lovely friends gave us this mirror... 

Truth... it was leaning against a wall in their living room so I asked and they let me have it. 

Thank you Andi and Robert!!! 

I am a scavenger, at times. Not nearly as bad as the Mr, but that is for another blog!

So I taped that lovely thing and decided that I would give it an under coat that it a little hint of turquoise. That is my trend color right now... I want a lovely shade of turquoise throughout my home. 

So this is the final product... well kind of... I am thinking about adding something to the mirror....

Have you any ideas?????

Many hugs and loves and happy projects to you!

Who doesn't love Bright Paper!!! AstroBrights is my new best friend!!

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Astrobrights Papers by Neenah Paper for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

 

Yes, I am going back to work... 

 

Teaching is a fabulous career and what teacher doesn't love sending notes home on bright paper! 

 

AstroBrights Paper has brilliant colors and they come in 23 different colors... so many choices!!!!! They are perfect for at home projects, or to help you stand out at the office too!

(I even found sparkly paper... Can not wait to get my hands on that stuff!!!)

The paper is thick, card stock... no flimsy falling apart junk! I am going to use this paper exclusively for all my classroom newsletters,  quick notes home, and all my printed announcements!

AstroBrights is offering an awesome sweepstakes called 

"Give a Brighter Year

""Give a Brighter Year" sweepstakes

You have the opportunity to participate in this sweepstakes and win $30,000 in supplies for your favorite school and a $500 giftcard for you.... It is a win win!!! Enter the sweepstakes on Facebook, I did, it was quick and easy and I can not wait to see if I am in the running for some awesome supplies for my school, and of course that giftcard will be nice too! 

 

Check out AstroBrights on Facebook, cause of course all the cool people are on Facebook!!

Astrobrights on Facebook

I love the fun ideas that are on the Facebook page!

They are having a "Make Something Astrobright" design challenge on their Facebook page.... hmmmmm I wonder what project we will do to enter that challenge!

So go share your ideas on Facebook!

You can also share your ideas on Pinterest and Twitter... use the hashtag #goastrobrights

Many hugs and loves and Happy Papercrafting!