Last post of the year.... Thanks and MORE!

Hello everybody! December has been hectic with good activities here "en Mi casa" which is "Tu Casa" too! I've had visits from Mexico, friends and family! I also had lots of baking to do and cooking, I sold tons of Christmas Cookies and Chocoflan Cake so I got a new camera with part of the money I made from alll the baking (I was soooo needing it for better pictures) and I've also been enjoying hubby being home! He's been off of of work for about a week now, he'll go back to work on Wednesday (I wish I was rich to keep him always to ourselves! LOL!) So... it's been impossible to post more often or reply but once things go back to normal I am sure everything will be better here!

I just want to take the opportunity to thank you all for being with me in 2012! This year has been the "come back" of  "The Coffee Shop" and I've been very blessed to get to know more people through this blog! Thank you all for being here! For sharing, for commenting, for being so supportive! And for encouraging me with my projects! Thank you for trying my recipes!

I hope 2013 will be filled with new blessings that we can all share together!

Do you have any goals/resolutions for this year? Would you like to share? Whether they are personal or blogging goals... feel free to share

I lost 40 pounds in 2012 and I'm going for the rest this year! I hope I'll do a better job with homeschooling and finally have a serious calendar/schedule that I'll adhere too... and in the blogging area ... well... I hope our Coffee Friday Party just "takes off" !

By the way... join us this Friday ... we will have a featured blogger!

Pic: New Year's Eve 2007 ... I was the photographer -sigh-

... Anything else? Well... I just wish you all a Happy and successful 2013!


© Paloma K.

Between a bucket and paper towel

Hello everybody, that's how I've been living my life lately... between a bucket and some paper towel! My littlest one was sick a few days ago... and yesterday, when I had just started "celebrating" we were "out of that" my oldest (4 yrs. old) started throwing up... and here I am again, holding a bucket "when needed" and just taking care of her... I am exhausted, haven't been getting much sleep, but it's ok... I must say I am very blessed to be able to be a SAHM and I don't have to worry about a job or who will take care of her... I can do this day and night and know that I don't have to go anywhere... it gives me peace and I am sure, even when my girls don't know just yet how blessed they are by this, they are appreciative for everything I do... (even when I sometimes even get yelled at by a very demanding sick little girl) ... of course she is moody and even has headaches... but it's just a virus and I am thankful it's nothing more serious...

So... when little ones are sick... it's not always easy to see the good side of it... or to be able to count your blessings in the midst of it all.. But I've found great encouragement through prayer, His Word and a little, simple devotional for mommies...

So, I thought I'd share a portion of what I read last night... hoping someone else can benefit from it as well...

 The verse was: "And they blessed Rebekah, and said unto her, Thou art our sister, be thou the mother of thousands of millions and let thy seed possess the gate of those which hate them." Genesis 24:60

The devotional for the day mentioned how, it would be very weird if we people said something like that on the day of our wedding (or any time I think!) ... thousands of millions of children? I can't even deal with two!

Drawing obviously isn't one of my talents... but this is how I can picture it in my mind

 
But ... Children... are a blessing! and when Rebekah heard this, she knew they weren't joking ... of course they didn't think she would have thousands of millions but that was a way of saying "I hope you have a very blessed, fruitful life"

Then... and now I'll quote directly from the devo: "Children are God's blessing to you. Whether you have one child or many, you have a unique opportunity to influence the world..." (source: Whispers of Wisdom for Mothers of Preschoolers)


Last night... thinking about that... and thinking of what a blessing (or curse) my children can be for those around them... and the impact that their lives can have on others, some day, hopefully for God's glory... it made me feel that me holding a bucket isn't as irrelevant... this is serious work... I've always known being a mom is important... but sometimes I lose sight of it, when I get lost in the mundane, living day by day in a routine of washing dishes, doing endless laundry and feeding mouths that are always ready for more! ... I hope I can always remember this... I hope I can put things in perspective and do things more intentionally... redeeming the time I have with my little girls... a sleepless night seems endless when you're going through it... but the days of a children go way too fast... and I know I haven't been taking as much advantage of them as I could!

Ok... now I have to go... I need to go have a cup of coffee.. this night might be hard too... and speaking of coffee... would you join me on Friday? We'll have our last featured blogger of the year (don't worry... Our Coffee Fridays will continue) but I'll take a break due to the Holidays and I've already scheduled some bloggers for January... so... come on! Mention "coffee" somehow in any of your posts... even if you say "latte, Starbucks, Gevalia, Dunkin Donuts, coffee table, coffee cake" ... something that is about coffee... please link back and link up! I'll be very happy to see you here!



© Paloma K.

Share your Holiday Disasters AND get unplugged!

Hi everyone! Today I am asking everyone to share about their "Holiday Disasters" on my Facebook Page. I hope I get good stories, things we can now all laugh about and also to be encouraged! As you know I've been sharing tips and ideas to make the Thanksgiving Dinner an enjoyable event, not only for the guests but for the host/hostess as well! This doesn't have to be something you just want to "get it over with" but a special time to show your loved ones how special they are... not through perfection, but through YOUR best (not a Magazine's Best), through your smile (not faked, but a relaxed, sincere one), through your ability to have fellowship with them.

 Another tip I am going to share... and ... forgive me if it seems "too much" but... let's make a deal... do not discard it immediately, bare with me...

ehem... Here I go

"Turn off the TV and... avoid the cell phone"

 And this I say with my deepest, sincerest love and respect... but... why do we have to stare at a screen all the time? You can watch that show (or football game) maybe online, maybe later (DVR), you can send that text some other time... But we never have the certainty we will all have another Thanksgiving together... And I don't mean this to be a gloomy post... but I just want to encourage, all of us, to treasure each moment when you get to spend time with the family and, if you have little ones, it's a great opportunity to teach them what's really valuable! We can turn our "screens" off for PEOPLE, people are important! Family is important! If the Turkey is dry, if the cookies are flat, if the Pumpkin pie is still jiggly and the pecans burnt... that doesn't matter... everything will end up in the toilet! (sorry about the expression) but it's true! Laugh about it! It's great to have a perfect meal! But life wouldn't be as enjoyable if everything was perfect! We wouldn't have funny stories to share if nothing went wrong once in a while! Take a picture of your burnt cookies, your mismatched napkins, your chipped gravy boat... and laugh about it! Turn it into a story to talk about after dinner!

My first time Baking Christmas Cookies... I didn't add peanut butter to Peanut butter cookies - LOL!

Don't let all the guys go watch football while all the girls talk at the table about what could've gone better ... it's a great opportunity for everyone to visit! Make a Thanksgiving Tree or just have everyone write in a piece of paper what they're thankful for this year so then you can all read about it later, turn it into a game by mixing the "thankful notes" and trying to guess who wrote what!

This is such a great opportunity to create more moments to be thankful for!

I got good hugs this Thanksgiving. I don't think those watching the football game have as many good memories as I do!

So... now... share... what are your biggest "Holiday Disasters" ... anything we can now laugh about?


© Paloma K.

Freedom isn't Free

Source: Pyzam

 Looking for images for Veterans Day I found many that said "Freedom isn't free" ... And it's true... Physical Freedom isn't free.... Someone had to pay for that.... It's great to have physical freedom and something many times we take for granted...... and... what about Spiritual Freedom? it isn't free either... Jesus had to pay for it... have you let Him Free you? Have you Thanked Him also?

Thanks to all those who have served to this country, thanks to all who still are far away from home, fighting for us to keep our freedom...

Linking up with: Fibro, Fit and Fab / Twenty two Days of Thanks

© Paloma K.