Christmas Break 2013: Part 1

Hello to all... I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas with your loved ones and are looking forward to starting 2014. It's crazy to me that Christmas has already came and gone (along with my 9 days off work). I really enjoyed being home, I didn't rest much, we were too busy having fun. However, I was happy to sleep in until 8:30 most days. Some things on my break from work included: our Christmas in Kentucky with my family, seeing my friend Renee for lunch and shopping, trips to Abingdon on Christmas eve and Christmas day, and Brinley staying with us the weekend after Christmas. I've debated on whether I would write all of our Christmas related events in to one post, or if they would all be separate, but I'm still not sure... so, I'm writing until I feel like it, or I run out of time on my lunch break :)

Elkins Family Christmas
On 12/20/13 I was happy to see 4:30 come because it was the start of my break from work. I got home, we loaded the car and headed to Pikeville. On the way, we stopped to watch Brice play basketball. He had a great game. After the game, we stopped by the hospital to visit my grandpa. Our visit was short, as he was getting medicine and was hoping for sleep. We ended the night at my parent's house and were ready for bed shortly after getting there.
On Saturday, we had Christmas with my side of the family. My parents, siblings, sister in law, husband, we were all there. We exchanged gifts to each other and it was fun. And not to be too materialistic, but I was surprised with a Silhouette Cameo! If you are a paper crafter or vinyl cutter, you may know that this wonderful machine cuts paper, vinyl, and even fabric. I had a Cricut, but it has been giving me problems so I was ecstatic to see this gift that Preston and my parents got for me. So far I've personalized Chloe's dog food bowl, made a circle monogram for my phone case, and made cut outs for my 2014 planner... let the vinyl personalization madness continue! Anyways, where was I... Saturday afternoon we watched Brice at another ball game and then went home to make some goodies. A got dinner ready and my grandpa was released from the hospital in time for some Christmas dinner. Saturday evening after visiting, we headed home.
Sunday we had out children's Christmas program at church that we have been preparing for. Preston and the kiddos have worked very hard and it was great to see them on stage and have a successful program. Since we stayed between church times to practice on Sunday, Preston and I were pretty tired after the program and ended up just relaxing at home after it was over.

Visiting Renee
On Monday, my friend Renee and I planned to meet each other in Bristol, which is about half way for both of us. It was a good meeting place, and other than our terrible service at Cheddar's (shocker, I know, Cheddar's is usually the BEST), we had a great time together. We had lunch, picked up a few last minute gifts, roamed around the mall, and then it was time to head home. Our visit wasn't very long, but any amount of time with one of my best friends is great. If you are a praying person, please pray for Renee and her husband, as they are currently on a mission trip to Greece, thanks in advance!

Well, I think that's the end of this post, sorry for the abrupt ending, but lunch break is over and I'm getting back to work. Stay tuned for part 2, coming shortly!

Count your blessings, name them one by one.....

Hello and happy Wednesday.... what day is it? Huuump Daaay!
Do you ever just stop and think about how awesome our God truly is? Yesterday evening as we were cleaning at our new house, I couldn't help but think about how great God is and how BLESSED I am. So, whether you are interested, or if I am just writing for my own memory, this post is about blessings that God has given me lately, and I am so grateful! I don't want to make it seem like I have all these things that make my life perfect, because it's not, but I just want to recognize some of the wonderful blessings that God has given me.

*I am blessed with a husband that loves me, even when I might be cranky or have a list of to-dos that seem like a mile long. A husband that loves the same God I do and puts God before me, just like I do him. A husband that values me and is very understanding. A husband that is encouraging and a husband that prays.
*I am blessed with a family that is supportive and loving, I don't remember many times that they weren't. By family, I mean my "side" of the family and Preston's as a whole. We don't have the problem of not wanting to see in-laws or anything like that. Our families work well together.
*I am blessed with a job that I love, I get to work with children on a daily basis and know that I might have a tiny chance of making a small difference, and that's why all the papers, exams, and studying in my student years makes it all worth it. I have a pay rate that I'm happy with and a benefits package that is wonderful, that in itself is another blessing.
*I am blessed with wonderful friends. Whether they are 9 hours, 4 hours, 2 hours, or 10 minutes away, I've got friends near and far that I consider true friends. The ones I know I can call at any time and know that if they can help me they will, the friends that will pray with/for me, the friends that are dependable. The friends that share some of the same values with me.... that's important! *I am blessed with good health. I don't get sick often, and when I do, it's not too bad, my blood sugar/ blood pressure is usually right where it's supposed to be. I know there are so many medical problems these days and I'm grateful to be in good health.
*I am blessed with reliable transportation, not being able to get where you need to go can be difficult and I am glad that I can get to work every day with no struggle.
* I am blessed that we are getting a new (to us) home. With Preston's job, a house is included in his income package, so we will have a very spacious and newly updated house that will be saving us monthly because of the decrease in bills. We like the layout of the house and we are excited to move to a bigger place, even though that means this will be our 4th move in 2 years and we just got settled into where we are now, it will defintely be worth it.

I know that these things are not all of my many blessings, but they are a few that I've been thinking about lately. God is good, He blesses us, even if it means we have to wait and be patient for the blessing. As I said before, I don't want to come across as a "my life is perfect, look at all my great things", I just want to be grateful and recognize the things that I have been blessed with. What are some of your blessings?