Hello RSS Readers!

You all know that I switched from Blogger to a Wordpress platform and am now RIGHT HERE. It shouldn't have changed the RSS feed but a few of you are missing my latest and greatest posts.

Please make sure that you are using this RSS Feed: http://feeds2.feedburner.com/BeautifulCalling

(Thanks Rachel for letting me know!)

If you notice something not working right at Beautiful Calling, just send me a note at jennifer@beautifulcalling.ca to let me know. I'm still working all the kinks out.

Fleeting Moments vs To-Do Lists

I had a to-do list as long as my arm. I was cutting the grass while the littles played. It was hot. Then I turned on the sprinkler and told the girls it was time to come in for lunch. Chloe longingly looked at the sprinkler as she headed in. I was tired and hot and didn’t want to fuss with changing 3 littles into their swimsuits.

…then I threw thoughts of to-do lists and swimsuits out the window. I filled up the (empty)sandbox with water, and we played in the sprinkler. John filled his water with mud…and I laughed with him.

We had cheese sandwiches and peaches while sitting on a soaking wet lawn in our wet clothing. That day was one of the highlights of my summer!

I was searching pictures for a silly photo contest and came across these photos from that day. I remember that I had a long to do list but I can’t remember what was on it. But as I look at these pictures, a smile comes across my face for I will never forget the looks on their faces when mommy jumped in too!

And years from now, when my littles are grown up, I’ll still have to do lists, but I won’t have these moments. Let’s make sure we make the most of these moments while we have them!

   

Seriously a Little Monkey!

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• Wordless Wednesday at 5Minutes for Mom and Two of a Kind

GraceWorks PDF Planner Winner

A big thank you to those who shared and linked up their goals for the new year. It was fun reading what others are working on and a great reminder that none of us have ‘arrived’ yet!

 

The winner of the GraceWorks PDF Family Blessings Planner pages is my dear friend, Beth @ Not a Bow in Sight! You can read Beth’s goals here. Amazing since I enjoy her blog greatly and feel like I ‘know’ her.

 

For those who missed it:  Handfuls of Purpose (the GraceWorks blog) announced a new, downloadable print at home planning aids.

This new product from GraceWorks is only $10.00 until the end of January and includes:

• Weekly Home Journal Pages
• Monthly Home Journal Calendar
• Weekly Planner with Menu Spot
• Monthly Reminder Checklist
• Monthly Home Blessings Reminder

Now Tricia was kind enough to send me my very own copies and at first I wasn't sure if I would use them since I am so in love with my planner already but you know, these are really neat. Simple, yet effective. In traditional GraceWorks style, Christ through scripture, is evident throughout the pages and serves as a reminder of what our true purpose, priority and focus should be!

What am I most excited about in the package? The Home Blessings Reminder! It is broken down into months with suggested tasks for each month/season.  I am definitely going to put that to work for me and as a result, I know my home and family will be blessed!

 

Buy It!

So be sure to take advantage of the sale, at $10.00 for the complete PDF file set you won't want to miss it!

 

(Still working on the blog transition. Please bear with me and the funny, hard to read editing!)

I'm now on Facebook!

Yes, I am taking the week off because Katie is working on the blogger to wordpress transition but I had to share:

Beautiful Calling now has a facebook page!

It’s My Birthday: 31 Things About Me!

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So this is one of the only wedding photos that I have in digital format; horrible isn’t it? At least I am smiling! We uploaded them to a site during our 3 week long wedding/honeymoon. The site we uploaded most of the photos to doesn’t give you access to the photos except to print through them. Ugh! If you view the full album there are quite a few more pics if you are interested.

 

I turned 31 on January 8th. I’m Ok with that. Last year I wasn’t Ok at all when I turned 30. DH is older than I am and I have never thought of him as old. I have many friends older than I and I have never thought of them as old either. 30+ isn’t old for others; it just seems old for me! I don’t feel 30. I thought I would feel more grown up by the time I was 30 but you know, I still feel the same as I did at 23.

 

With that being said, we’ll celebrate my 31st birthday with 31 things about me. (and I am sorry but for some reason, numbering or bullets do not show up on my site right now which means it is hard to read. I’m working on it!)

 

I love chocolate. Actually, it’s more than that. I’m a chocoholic! Maybe it’s a problem but hey, there are worse things in life right?

 

I’m not a morning person. Never have been. I am now a morning person but not by choice. The good Lord in His infinite wisdom (and with a sense of humor?) blessed me with a sweet little girl who is most definitely the happiest person alive in the morning! The early morning!

 

I was born in a very small town in Northern Ontario. It could be –40 and we were fine with that and, dressed appropriately, we headed outside. I loved it. Ice-fishing, ski-doing, skiing and more!

 

I now live in Southern Ontario and when it dips below 0, I’m freezing and have a tendency to hibernate in my house LOL.

 

I got my motorcycle license before my drivers license.

 

Most of my growing up friends were my guy pals.

 

I have one sister and one brother. My sister lives in the same city, my brother lives in Africa. Sorry, senior moment?!? He lives in Australia with his Australian wife and daughter. My mother-in-law lives in Africa though. We’re going to visit her this spring but that is another story!

 

The meat I grew up eating was whatever dad shot or caught (fish, partridge, moose) interspersed with ground beef and the occasional chicken.

 

I don’t remember how little I was when I first shot a gun but I was little. At 12, I got my hunting license. I own a couple of guns which are collecting dust since we moved south and I became a very busy mother of littles.

 

DH and I took archery lessons with my dad three years ago. Our bows are also collecting dust until life settles a little bit.

DH and I took ballroom dancing classes too!

 

DH and I were engaged in 2004, married in 2005 and also built our first home, miscarried our first baby in 2006, birthed our daughter in 2007 and our son in 2008. (I need to blog a little about these things huh?) Three years ago today, I woke up in labor. I thought for sure I’d have a baby for my birthday. Alas, Chloe wanted her own day. Tomorrow is CHLOE’S Birthday!

 

DH and I both worked in the same office. I had seen him around but I wasn’t interested in my DH at all. My friend Carm, who was friends with him, insisted that we go to the Office Christmas party together. I figured why not…and the rest we’ll save for a blog post :)

 

I hate spiders….I really hate spiders. I also dislike bananas, milk (on it’s own), tomatoes and melon. I like liver, brussel sprouts and almost all veggies.

 

I am terrible at public speaking; it doesn’t matter the size of the group, if I have to stand up in front and speak while everyone listens, I am nervous as anything. But I was a cheerleader in high school. Go figure!

 

I loved accounting in high school and almost failed gym class.

 

I dropped out of high school.

 

Four years later I went back to school via correspondence and graduated. I then started college courses but didn’t pursue them further after becoming a mother.

 

I’m currently on weight watchers to finish losing the baby weight I gained (and my baby is 17 months!)

 

I have birthed both our littles at home and hope to have the privilege of birthing a third one at home :)

 

I had a cleaning lady until December 2008 when she retired. Due to finances and our decision for me to stay home, we didn’t replace her. Since then I have discovered that I actually like washing my floor. I love the feeling of accomplishment I have when it is sparkling clean (for about 5 minutes).

 

I had never ironed a thing (successfully) before 2009, when I started ironing for DH as a birthday gift.

 

I had dogs, cats, ponies, hamsters, fish and birds growing up. We also briefly had a duck that we found and kept in the garage in a swimming pool one afternoon until dad came home. That was the end of our pet duck. (Turns out he belonged to someone a road over. *sniff, sniff* )

 

I love cloth diapers. Oh, not the washing of them so much but I do like to browse through online diaper shops, see the latest diapers, and ‘ahh’ at all the pretty colors. I also think that fluffy ‘diaper bums” are adorable! And though my first attempt with Chloe was a flop, cloth diapering with John is a breeze!

 

I love pink; so bright, happy and cheerful. As a child, I hated pink and would never wear it.

 

I am kind of an optimist, I always expect the best outcome (which is sometimes a problem!) and I am happiest when others are happy too.

 

I love to read. I have never read my bible through entirely. You can see my reading goals for 2010 here.

 

Reitman's is my favorite clothing store. I only own 2 pair of jeans (in 2 different sizes) and mostly wear skirts every day. If you want to buy me a present for my birthday, almost anything from there is sure to be a hit!

 

My husband claims I hog the bed and *gasp* he claims that sometimes I snore. I think he’s exaggerating. He also says that I should add “chatty” to my list. Is being chatty a good thing or a bad thing?

 

I have always disliked my hair. Oh, I’ve had it done at the salon and love the results but when I get home, I’m never happy. I guess I am looking for the elusive, “wake up, shake my head and everything falls perfectly into place.”

 

I never wanted to blog! I am married to the most wonderful man. I didn’t want to blog and was frightened of the whole thing. He encouraged me to do it anyway and said it would be a perfect fit for me. Now I am hooked.

 

______________________________________________________

So did you make it through my whole long list? I’m flattered if you made it half way through!

 

 I have a birthday request: if you’re a regular around here, please leave a comment with your website if you have one and something about yourself. I’d love to come visit you too!

TUT: Trust the Engineer (Giveaway Reminder)

Source

"When a train goes through a tunnel and it gets dark, you don't throw away the ticket and jump off. You sit still and trust the engineer. "

Corrie ten Boom

Well, throughout the month of December planning fell by the side with the hustle and bustle that Christmas brings. I have a Beautiful Life Management planner from Graceworks that I love but sometimes, I get too busy to plan and the results are chaos and nothing like the Beautiful Life I want to have.

So January, I dusted off my planner and so far, the New Year has been wonderful. Not picture perfect but I'm back to my 'morning latte' with the Lord, I feel that my home is getting back to a state that is functional and works for our family, Chloe has started her regular "school" time, and I feel a sense of peace.

In my reader Handfuls of Purpose (the GraceWorks blog) announced a new, downloadable print at home planning aids. The moment I saw it I thought, "Wow, that would be the perfect giveaway for our 2010 Goal Link Ups!"

This new product from GraceWorks is only $10.00 until the end of January and includes:

Weekly Home Journal Pages

Monthly Home Journal Calendar

Weekly Planner with Menu Spot

Monthly Reminder Checklist

Monthly Home Blessings Reminder

Now Tricia was kind enough to send me my very own copies and at first I wasn't sure if I would use them since I am so in love with my planner already but you know, these are really neat. Simple, yet effective. In traditional GraceWorks style, Christ through scripture, is evident throughout the pages and serves as a reminder of what our true purpose, priority and focus should be!

What am I most excited about in the package? The Home Blessings Reminder! It is broken down into months with suggested tasks for each month/season.  I am definitely going to put that to work for me and as a result, I know my home and family will be blessed!

Buy It!

So be sure to take advantage of the sale, at $10.00 for the complete PDF file set you won't want to miss it!

If you missed the BLMS planner series, please read A Real Blessing, Plan to Bless, Morning Latte Anyone?, Our Beautiful Calling isn't ALL about Housework! and finally, The Main Thing.

Win It!

This week’s TUT is located here for December 31 and January 7th. We are working on goals for 2010 and I hope you will join in! By participating, you'll have a chance to win a complete PDF set. If you don't have a blog, just share your 2010 goal(s) in the comment section of this Goals post!

Have a Blessed Day!

Eating a Freezee: Tu-Tu Cute!

To have been posted August 2009. Chloe loves her tutu!

• This post links to Wordless Wednesday, Two of a Kind, 5MinutesforMom, and 7 Clown Circus