Some Haute Cards…

...yes more from my Haute Artist 'Butterfly Kisses' Kit...

Here every piece of product used was all from the kit... no extras :o).

Another Haute Layout…

... for the Haute Artist Design Team...

This layout is also from a sketch off the Haute Artist Blog from Page Maps.

The only product used that is not from the kit is the ghost shaped flowers, but one of the extra things you can purchase with your August kit is ghost shaped butterflies!!! The more of these shapes the better, I love them! With these I trimmed them a little to make the sizes more variated, then I inked the back of them grey, FUN!

I Fixed it!

Remember my layout from HERE? ...well the lettering was driving me crazy ever since I glued it down, so I fixed it!

I love fixing things that bother me, it always makes me feel so much better.

What do you think now? I totally love it!

Wordless Wednesday

Tackle Cooking Every Night!

That's a hard one for me but I have been doing pretty good as long as I have my meals planned...

Here is the one we had left-overs of tonight.

Baked Turkey & Ziti Casserole

I am not sure where this recipe is from but here it is now :o)...

Ingredients:

• 12 oz. ziti or penne pasta
• 2 tsp. canola oil
• 1 lb. ground turkey
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 green bell pepper, chopped
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/4 tsp. pepper
• whatever other spices you would like to add (like me)
• 1 jar marinara sauce
• 1 cup part-skim ricotta cheese
• 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Directions:

• Cook pasta according to package, drain & set aside.
• Preheat oven to 375 F.
• Heat the oil in a large nonstick skillet.
• Add the turkey, onion, bell pepper, and spices... cook until browned.
• Stir in the pasta, the sauce and the ricotta cheese.
• Spoon the mixture into a large nonstick baking pan.
• Top with mozzarella cheese.
• Bake uncovered for 40-50 minutes.

P.S. I made an announcement today for Tackle it Tuesday! We are going to be taking on Guest Tacklers every other week, so check it out and see you if would be interested in being featured over at 5 Minutes for Mom.

My Walk Monday on a Tuesday

This Sunday's message was in Genesis 17 and it focused on the Removal of the Flesh.

It was a really good message and I am blessed to be here on a Monday Tuesday (almost Wednesday) forcing myself to review it with you so it will sink in better!

God makes a covenant with Abraham in this chapter and I think it is really interesting to notice what God asks of him (and us) in verse one... He says to walk before Him and be blameless.

• We are not to sit before Him, or stand before Him, but we are to walk before Him! It reminds me of James 1:22 that tells us not to be merely hearers of the word, but doers!
• The word blameless means innocent of wrongdoing this also reminds me of the end of James 1 where it says to keep oneself unstained by the world.
• So we are to walk unstained.

Abraham's only part of the covenant was to cut out the flesh, or remove it (Colossians 2:11) Yes is sounds painful but it's all that God asked of Him! I love if you jump further in this chapter it says he circumcised the flesh the very same day as God had asked him (verse 23b) I only pray that I would have that same sense of urgency with my Lord, because I know I do NOT have it now!

Another part I love is verse three where, "Abram fell on his face, and God talked with him." WOW! Another great example that I think we should follow along with often in prayer - I feel it gets our heart in the right position - in a very vulnerable position!

And let me leave you with this...

Colossians 2:9-12
"For in Him all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form, and in Him you have been made complete, and He is the head over all rule and authority; and in Him you were also circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, in the removal of the body of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ; having been buried with Him in baptism, in which you were also raised up with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead."
A-men!

Wordless Wednesday

My little lady's first time swimming!

LOVE the flip flop suit, thanks Michelle!!!

My Walk Monday (almost Tuesday)

Still struggling with disobedience!

The verse I have been meditating on lately is 1 Corinthians 9:27...

... it reads, "I discipline my body and make it my slave, so that, after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified."

I don't know about you, but I do NOT want to be disqualified, I want to learn to MAKE my body my SLAVE! I want to run in such a way that I may WIN! (1 Corinthians 9:24) I want to keep pushing forward like that very determined Michael Phelps!

I was reading My Upmost for His Highest yesterday and some great conviction was really there for me to pray about and ACT ON!

The title was are you discouraged in devotion? "Um yeah!" was my thought.

Oswald Chambers asks here if I have ever heard Jesus give a harsh word - well yeah, if you ladies have followed along with my struggle with disobedience just since the last ladies retreat I went to (pretty much since the beginning of My Walk Monday) you would know I am still not listening/obeying. I remember coming away from that retreat so solemn that I didn't know what to do with myself, and now I am noticing if I am only faithful to seek God out on a deeper level He is faithful to show me why all this has happened, and some stuff Oswald was saying were ringing true to that situation again...

... he wrote about the rich man in Luke 18 that Jesus asked to sell everything he had and follow Him (yeah harsh). He said this man understood what Jesus said, he heard it, sized it up, and it broke his heart. "He did not go away defiant; he went away sorrowful, thoroughly discouraged. He had come to Jesus full of the fire of earnest desire, and the word of Jesus simply froze him; instead of producing an enthusiastic devotion, it produced a heart-breaking discouragement."

THAT is what happened to me because of the harsh words, I got discouraged, it's not really that I want to be disobedient, I just don't have the enthusiastic devotion yet (I'll pray for that)... so I walked away and Jesus has not followed me...

Read the beginning of My Upmost for His Highest today also, they go together...

He is only going to repeat to me the conditions of where I need to listen and if am a doer, and not just a hearer, I WILL DO! - I WILL DISCIPLINE MY BODY AS MY SLAVE.

PS>>> my tackle is up for Tuesday over at 5 minutes for Mom... as if just getting this out and thought about wasn't tackle enough :o).

My Mini-Tin Album!

Remember when I showed you the cute little tin my stamps came in as a part of Haute Artist's August kit... and I told you I was planning something totally FUN with it?

Well, here it is..........

All the product used here is from the kit, nothing was added.

Oh, and I wanted to tell you why I chose to make this out of that cute little tin... it's for my purse... I got tired of going out with my sister-in-law and her having pictures of my kids when people asked, and I did not :o)..... well, now I DO!!

Wordless Wednesday

This is from our stay at my sister's house... my thumb sucker snuck his blankie outside ;o)

Guess what I tackled today…

The photo is your hint :o) See 5 Minutes for Mom to see if you were correct.

Changes for My Walk Monday

Okay ladies... I need a huge dose of forgiveness from you guys for my slacker attitude here!
Last time I posted for My Walk Monday was 11 weeks ago!!! One of my reasons for starting this was to get myself to continue a good steady walk with the Lord, well it has been nowhere near steady.

God gave me a verse of encouragement yesterday while going through an unspoken trial these past couple weeks, and I'd like to share it with you.
Genesis 15 : 1b "Do not fear, (Carolyn), I am a shield to you; Your reward shall be very great."
And He is no pitally shield either like the one on Braveheart (pictured below)... He is an BIG metal shield with spikes that is lightweight and perfect to deflect our enemy's flaming arrows.
I praise God that He is not only with me in battle, but He is my protection and shield... He will take the hits for me as long as I am faithful to pick Him up and stick Him out in front of me! :o) God is good.

Gel-a-tin...

You saw my cute little bumble bees on my First Haute Layout a couple days ago.

... and as you know those bees came in my first haute artist kit, but little did you know they came in this adorable tin!!!!

LooK!

MMM...I just wanted to let you know I am planning something totally fun with this cute little thing... so keep a look out :o)...

OH! AND... don't forget the little giveaway we are aiming for... and if you want another chance to win this month's kit, take a looksie HERE... Haute Mama is due with a baby and she would like to play a little game with us.

Wordless Wednesday

Quality time with Daddy... LOL!!!

I Tackled Today!

On 5 Minutes for Mom!

And look what my little lady tackled today!!!

She rolled over!

She also slept her first night in another room, because mommy (finally) built her crib (part of the tackle if you view it).... this is always so bitter sweet... I like having her so close, but it is also nice to not hear all the little sleepy noises she can make that wake me up for no reason... and it is nice that my hubby and I have our room back :o)

My First Haute Layout...

...from the August Haute Artist kit...

I loved working with the all the fun products that came in this kit like...

• the awesome flowery transparent overlay, it is so beautiful!
• and the fun new kind of cardstock with a lighter toned core
• and the glittery ric-rac that I have never seen anywhere else
• and the cute little acrylic bug stamps
• and the fun diecuts

I have even more to show you later on, but for now I need to go to bed :o)

The only thing I did not use from the Butterfly Kisses kit is the green letters, and the dark blue cardstock.