For Aunt Bev and Uncle Les, and Christi

Some Pics to Share

I wanted to email these to my family, but for some reason I could not get them to attach. So, I thought I would share them with EVERYONE!

Love,

Jessica

The wisdom of a Mother

This was my second Mother’s Day that I have been able to enjoy as a mommy. It has quickly become one of my favorite days of the year…. A whole day devoted to spoiling MOMS! Being a mom is so much more than I ever expected it to be… more work, more responsibility, and more rewarding. Every day I find myself thinking, “It is so fun to have a new level of friendship with my mom.” There are ways that I could not relate to her until I had a child myself. I also find myself constantly thanking God for a mom who had a wonderful way of teaching me everything I needed to know before I was grown, such as keeping house, grocery shopping, gardening, being frugal… the list goes on and on. I find myself looking forward to teaching Kyndra everything my mom taught me. As a Mother’s Day tribute (a few days late) I thought I would take a minute and share some important traits my mom exemplifies.

My mother is one of the hardest workers I have ever met. She recognizes the value of rest and relaxation, but they always come after the labor. As a child, I remember her spending HOURS keeping our two acres looking beautiful. Now that I have a yard of my own, I am realizing what a feat that was! She reminds me so much of the woman in Proverbs 31 whose “candle goeth not out by night”… I don’t think my mom’s candle EVER goes out!

My mom is a great teacher. I believe that God gave her the talent of being an incredible educator. She has no formal training in this profession, and yet she can teach better than some folks I have met who have a Master’s degree in teaching! She is creative and witty, a marvelous combination. I can remember mom using this talent to teach me the value of money. She would give us all of the coupons from the Sunday paper and tell us that the amount of money she saved with the coupons would go to us. You have never seen two kids try harder to convince their mom that she needed an obscure item like denture cleaner—we had coupons! Now that I am grown, I am thankful for her creativity. I get some great deals with coupons!

My mother has a heart for others. She is always looking for a way to brighten the day of a person going through a hard time. Nearly every time I have been shopping with her there is something in the cart for somebody else. She writes cards, sends emails, and even sent HUGE care packages while I was in college. She wanted to make sure that my roomies had good food too!

I think that the greatest lesson my mom taught me was how to choose my priorities. When my sister and I were small, she quit her well-paying job to stay home with us. As young children, we had no idea what a sacrifice that was for her. It meant that she rarely got “new” things, and Goodwill became her favorite department store. My mother is a smart, capable woman. I am sure that at times she felt like the career of being a homemaker was a step down from what she could have been doing. She never made us feel like we were keeping her from greater things; instead, she made us feel like we were the most important “things” in her life. Trying to juggle all of your responsibilities can be daunting and difficult. I had the most wonderful example to teach me how to establish my priorities. As a matter of fact, the title of my blog is really a testimony of my mom’s teaching: Faith, Family, and Friends… in that order.

Thanks, mom, for the millions of lessons I didn’t have time to write about. I love you!

AND NOW…. The Mother-in-Law!
I want to take just a moment and mention what an incredible mother-in-law I have….

Karen Graham has taught me more through her perseverance than anyone else on earth. When her husband was taken from her, her whole family suffered. The children lost their father, the church lost their pastor, but she lost her husband. The children grew up and got married, and the church got a new pastor. Karen still has to daily deal with the absence of a husband. She is real and transparent. It is difficult. And yet, even through her difficulty, she continues to love God. She finds humor in everything and makes everyone laugh with her quick jokes. Even when the rug was pulled out from underneath her, she found the strength to raise three AMAZING children. (Of course, her oldest is my favorite!) Through her life, I have learned to walk with God now and have a good, strong relationship with Him so that I can make it through whatever trials I might face.

Thanks, Mama G, for the greatest gift you could give a person—your son, Joshua. You did such a great job raising a man!

Love,
Jessica

"She Said Yes"

"...no adolescent, however rebellious, is doomed by fate. With warmth, self-sacrifice, and honesty-- with the love that ultimately comes from God-- every child can be guided and saved."

excerpt from the book She Said Yes.

I have been sick for the last two days, so I haven't really done a whole lot. With all of the resting and doing nothing, I have had the opportunity to read the book She Said Yes. This is the story of Cassie Bernall, the girl who was killed at Columbine High School because she said that she was a Christian. What surprised me about Cassie's story was that her testimony was NOTHING like I had expected. I assumed that this girl, who had been martyred for her faith, had a sparkling past and a clean record. Right from the beginning of the book, I came to find out that Cassie had a very troubled history. When Cassie was 15 years old, her mom came across some letters in her room that a friend had written. They were horrific letters that talked about killing Cassie's parents, drugs, alcohol, and the occult. The parents quickly realized that there was a whole other side of their daughter that they had never seen. Of course, Cassie's parents were scared, heartbroken, and not sure what to do. In order to try to save Cassie from the path that she was following, her parents moved, cut off all relations with friends from her "old life", and forced Cassie to go to a private Christian school. Cassie hated her new school and hated her parents for making her go there. She was hard, hateful, and not the least bit interested in the things of God. In fact, she had even tried to give her soul to the Devil at one point. She cut herself regularly. Suicide was a common threat. She was the teen girl that you would be afraid of if you saw her around town.

Cassie convinced her parents to allow her to go on a teen retreat with her church. She didn't want to go for the preaching, but because her friend was going. The parents finally gave in, and let Cassie go on the two-day trip. It was on that trip that Cassie Bernall got saved. The Holy Spirit finally was able to soften her heart, and she surrendered to Him. Later, she begged her parents to allow her to go to public school in order to be a witness. They reluctantly allowed her to go. It was at this public school, Columbine High School, that she stood for Christ and was murdered.

Tomorrow is our big day in the teen department at church. We have been working and praying for weeks in preparation. Meals have been skipped in fasting, tears have been shed in prayers, money has been spent in materials. I can't help but wonder if another "Cassie" will be in our midst tomorrow. Perhaps a hardened, depressed, angry girl will show up with her friends tomorrow. She might intimidate some people... not me. Maybe a Gothic guy will come with black eyeliner, black nail polish, and a spiky dog-collar necklace. I won't write him off. Usually the kids that cause the most problems are the ones who are hurting the most.

The book I read about Cassie today reminded me that if the Holy Spirit is present, great things -- amazing things-- can happen. I am praying and expecting great, AMAZING things tomorrow. Who knows what teenager's life will be forever changed! This book reminded me teens today face obstacles that seem insurmountable. They need our prayers, our love, our understanding. I am determined to pray like I never have before, because this is the only way we can help teens today. No promotion given away at church is going to win over one of these desperate kids... only love and the Holy Spirit.

I am sure that the people who volunteered to work at the youth retreat saw little hope in Cassie before she was saved. Her own youth director said, "We'll give it our best, but this girl's going to be a hard one. She's gone, unreachable. There is no way that she'll ever recover from what she's doing." Cassie's tarnished past inspired me to never give up on a difficult teen. In my eyes, there is no person that is "unreachable."

I am so excited to see what God has in store for us tomorrow! I can't wait to see the lives that are changed and the souls that are saved!

Let the Recipes Begin!!!

Ok guys! Here is one of the recipes I have used with OAMC (once a month cooking). Got it from a book called Frozen Assets by Deborah Taylor-Hough.

Meatloaf and meatballs!!!

With this recipe you will have 2 meatloaves, 1 meal of salisbury steak, and three different meaball meals!

*Preheat oven to 350

24 oz. tomato sauce
3 c. dry bread crumbs
7 eggs, lightly beaten
1 c. onion, finely chopped
1/2 c. green pepper
tsp. of Italian seasoning
8 lbs. ground beef
Mix everything but meat together. Add meat. Then.....

Make your meatloaves. bake for 30 minutes. Cool before freezing. I also added a few slices of bacon on top of the meatloaves before I baked them. SOOOOO yummy!

Make your meatballs. I used parchment paper on my cookie sheets so that I would have less clean up! Bake for 30 minutes. Put the entire cookie sheet in the freezer once it has cooled. This is to freeze the meatballs individually. Once frozen, you can put them all in a ziplock bag until you are ready to use them!

You can also use this meat mixture to make salisbury steak patties. Just fry them on both sides for a few minutes and then cool. once cool, freeze in a ziplock bag.

How to use this new cooking method:
Our favorite meal so far has been the meatball subs. Put a big can or jar of spaghetti sauce in a saucepan. Add enough meatballs to feed your family. Heat until the meatballs are hot. (You could put the sauce and meatballs in a crockpot in the morning. When you come home from work, dinner is ready!) Spoon the sauce and meatballs on hoagie rolls. Top with cheese. SOOOOO yummy!

You can buy (or make) sweet and sour sauce. Heat up the meatballs in the sauce. Spoon over rice. Voila! Dinner is served.

Since our family is still pretty small, I froze our meatloaves in halves. This is a perfect portion for us.

I have not tried this meal yet, but it is on the list for this month: Salisbury steaks. Re-heat the patties that you made earlier in the month. Top with hot, cream-of-mushroom soup. You can serve this over rice if you want.

So far, none of these meals have tasted like leftovers! I have been pleasantly suprised. Check out the book from the library and give it a try. Sure makes dinner a lot easier!

Just call me Martha!

Do you ever have a "Martha Moment"?

Anybody who is doing anything for God will go through times where life is UNBELIEVABLY busy! Sometimes I feel like my whole life is unbelievably busy! Yesterday I woke up tired. I mean bone tired. As I drove to church, I was telling the Lord how tired I was. As I went to Sunday school, I reminded Him that I was exhausted. I wanted to be sure He knew that I was tired because I was serving Him. Then the Holy Spirit reminded me of the story of Mary and Martha. I mulled the story over in my head and came to a few conclusions. Allow me to share them with you.

Luke 10:40

"But Martha was cumbered about much serving, and came to him, and said, Lord, dost thou not care that my sister hath left me to serve alone? bid her therefore that she help me."

The word cumbered in this verse means distracted. Martha was busy trying to get everything in order because Jesus was coming to her house. There was nothing wrong with Martha wanting to provide a good experience for her Saviour. The problem was that the she was distracted. Instead of realizing that Jesus, King of Kings, was there to fellowship, Martha was focusing on other things.

What distractions keep you from spending time with the Lord? At the end of the day, does your Lord know that He is important to you? Don't allow distractions to ruin your walk with Him.

"And Jesus answered and said unto her, Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things: But one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her."

What was the "one thing" that was needful? It was Spending time with Jesus. Mary stopped everything and sat at Jesus' feet. This is a reminder that everyday we need to have a time where the ONLY thing we do is worship God. Sometimes I think that this is not the only moral of the story. If Martha had been fellowshipping with Jesus while she served, would the story have ended differently? I believe it would have had a VERY different ending. Perhaps the moral of the story is to fellowship while you serve. The Bible does say, "Pray without ceasing." We know that we are to talk to God all day. That means that while you are cooking for your family, you should be spending time with God. While you work a bus route, write your husband love notes, drive to work, take a shower, and do everything else, you are to walk with God.

What makes it obvious that you are serving without walking with God? Let's look at this story some more....

"But Martha was cumbered about much serving, and came to him, and said, Lord, dost thou not care that my sister hath left me to serve alone? bid her therefore that she help me."

Do you feel like you are working all alone and nobody is helping you? When you decide that you are doing more than everyone else and it isn't fair, just change your name to Martha. I have been guilty of this so many times. When I am working really hard, I start to wonder why everyone else isn't working as hard as I am. Humble yourself so that God doesn't have to. Realize that you are not better than everyone else just because you are serving God. If you use your time of service to spend time with Him, you won't care who is or isn't working.

I had a "Martha Moment" this week and had to change my mindset. Have you been guilty of behaving like Martha too? Let's agree to not allow our minds and hearts to be distracted from our one purpose.... fellowshipping with Jesus.

When You Wonder if God Can Provide.....

My life truly is a testament of God's grace and blessings. In the last month, I have seen the Lord bless us time and time again. Let me share a few.....

We moved into our house. The house that GOD gave us. The story is so long, I will have to save it for another post. But just let me assure you, this home is a miracle from God in countless ways! What a joy to know that God cares so much about the Graham family!

Josh wanted a riding mower, now that we have a HUGE yard. He passed one for sale in somebody's yard and called to inquire. He didnt really have any extra money, but he called anyway. The guy was asking $300 dollars. Without any hassel he said he would take $200. (Which was a great deal, considering the shape it was in!) Josh still wasn't sure where we would get the money, so he asked for a few days to think it over. The guy called Josh back a day later and got his voicemail. On my husband's voicemail Josh says, "You have reached Josh Graham, youth pastor at Calvary Baptist Church." When Josh called him back, the man said that he had noticed that Josh was a youth pastor. The man was also Christian. He had gotten saved as a child and then went away from the Lord. Just recently he had rededicated his life to Christ. He wanted to know if we could affor $150. He would allow us to make payments. He would deliver it that day. Now we could definitely afford it! When the man came to drop it off, Josh wasnt home yet. I went out to thank him and to make a payment. He wouldnt take any money yet... he wanted to make sure that Josh liked it before we payed anything. Some people would view this as a good deal. I see it as so much more. The Lord knew that Josh is busy in the ministry and has little time to push a mower through a big yard. Before He even created the universe, God had already figured out how to get my husband the lawnmower he needed. It makes me feel so foolish for EVER wondering if God is going to take care of us. Not only does the Lord provide us with the things we need, like shelter and food, but He also orchestrates events to provide our wants. After the guy delivered our lawnmower, I fell on my knees. I thanked God for His goodness, and promised to always give Him the glory for the good things that come into my life. What a mighty God we serve!!!

Meals in Minutes!

We got home from Pastor's School Saturday at 2:00 P.M. As soon as we got home, I grabbed my shopping list and headed for the grocery store. I had used the 4 hr. road trip to plan out 4 weeks worth of meals, using the "Once a Month Cooking" method. It only cost me $89.00 to buy all of the food for 30 dinners. I was pretty excited about that! Once I got home and unloaded my carload of groceries, I started to cook my meals. 4 1/2 hours later I had enough meals in my freezer to last me a month, and I even had cleaned my kitchen and washed the dishes. The next thirty days would prove weather or not this was going to be a way of life for me.

Tonight we tried the first "freezer meal." I was a little afraid that it would taste like left-overs, but to my delight, it didn't! The meal I chose for tonight was Meatball Subs. The meatballs were already cooked and frozen, so all I had to do was put them in a saucepan with marinara sauce and toast the bread. They were DELICIOUS! Total time to prepare dinner tonight: 5 min. of preparation, 10 minutes of cooking. So far, this "Once A Month Cooking" is a lifesaver! Can't wait to see how the rest of the meals in my freezer turn out!

A Year Full of Memories

Today is Kyndra's first birthday. It is amazing to me that it has already been 12 full months since I was in the hospital delivering her. I remember telling the nurse that NO child was worth the labor pains I was having.... I took it back as soon as I had my little one in my arms! Along with the fun and excitement of bringing home a baby, I remember being filled with sobriety, realizing that a person now depended on me. My husband and I were talking yesterday about the new fear a child brings. You are responsible for teaching and training them. My child's view of God, authority, marriage, and a myriad of other concepts is shaped by mine. When Kyndra was only a few weeks old a church member remarked, "She still wakes up to feed at night. This is the hard part." I knew how untrue that comment was. Yes, it was hard to wake up several times a night to feed her. Yes, the lack of sleep was tough and exhausting. However, I knew that a few years down the road I would be missing the days where sleep deprivation was my biggest problem. Sleepless nights spent praying about my daughter's spirituality, who she was dating, who she was marrying, who she was friends with, and where she went to college were only a few years away. I was thankful for the small problem at the time!

I want to take a minute and reminisce about the last 12 months. So much has changed. What a great year!

I remember telling my husband that it was time to go to the hospital. It was a particularly stressful time in our ministry, and he had not been sleeping a lot. I had been having contractions all night, but decided to let him sleep until I HAD to go to the hospital. His alarm went off that morning like it had every morning before. I brought him a cup of coffee and said the line that every man can't wait for and dreads at the same time. "Honey, it's time to go to the hospital." He simultaneously he was nervous and excited!

I remember telling the anesthesiologist that I loved him after he game me my epidural and it kicked in. He laughed and said that he gets marriage proposals all the time from soon-to-be moms who just got an epidural. I remember my mom taking time off from work to help me out when I came home from the hospital. She was such a help and blessing to me! Thanks, Mom!
I remember going to every store in the mall to find an Easter dress that would fit my 3 week old sweetie. All of them were too big! Finally, Mom found one that would work! She looked so adorable!

I remember the first time her GiGi (Josh's mom) got to meet her. It was so exciting! We had her dressed up in her little cowgirl hat and boots and put her on the doorstop. I, hiding in the bushes nearby, had brought the camcorder to record the introduction. Josh knocked on the door and ran, I zoomed in on the baby and grandma. Later I realized that I had been so excited to see GiGi's face that had forgotten to hit the record button, so I had NOT recorded any of it after all! (Sorry Mama G! Can't find any of my pics of you two together!!!)

I remember Kyndra's first pedicure. Just a few weeks old, my grandma's birthday was at hand. My mom and I took Oma (my grandma) for her first pedicure, and while we were there, the nail tech also painted Kyndra's toes. "No charge for baby," she said in her cute broken English. 4 generations all getting pampered together!

I remember the blanked that Grammie made for Kyndra, and how she would LOVE to sleep with it. She would pull it over her eyes and snuggle up in it.

I remember the first time Kyndra said a word. It was "Mama." However, she said it because she wanted me to pick her up and I wouldn't. She didn't say my name out of affection!

I remember her first Christmas. She was so excited, and didn't know why. We were excited so she was excited!

I remember the day that I thought Kyndra had died. She had what the doctors believed to be a seizure. I remember shaking and trembling as I rushed her to the hospital and waited for the diagnosis. I remember thinking what a wonderful church family we had. We had only been on staff at Calvary Baptist Church for two and a half months, and yet we felt like we had been there forever. Our church was so supportive, bringing meals, sending cards, calling us, and visiting us. We felt so loved!

I remember the first time she walked to her daddy. He beamed with pride as his little baby toddled to him and gave him a hug!

What a wonderful addition to our lives you have been, sweet Kyndra. I can't wait to see what the next year holds in store!

Love,

Mommy

Frozen Dinners Again?

What a busy time of year! We have a youth conference, we are moving, my parents are coming to visit, Pastor's School..... the list goes on and on! I have been so extremely busy this month that the majority of my meals have been "Healthy Request" microwave meals. Knowing that these are full of preservatives and way more expensive than cooking at home, I decided that as soon as I get home from our trip, I am going to make my own frozen meals. After spending some time researching online, I can across a great meal preparation idea. It is called OAMC, or Once A Month Cooking. The idea is to spend a day cooking and freezing so that you will only have to cook once a month. Anybody that knows me knows that I LOVE to cook, so the idea of only cooking once a month disinterested me at first. Then I decided that it would actually be nice to have a couple of weeks worth of meals ready for times when my schedule is hectic. I found a website that I LOVE, and it features a bunch of OAMC recipes. You can also find all sorts of great household tips and ideas. After looking at the site I immediately added it to my list of favorites. I can't wait to try out some of the new recipes. I will post the good ones for you to try!

Peek-a-Boo!

Kyndra's latest game is to play peek-a-boo. She likes to hide behind her duck toy. I guess she doesn't know that we can see her when she hides behind it! (by the way, I have no idea where this duck came from. If your child is missing a duck, let me know and we will give it back!) Anyway, this video showcases Kyndra's new walking skills as well as a game of peek-a-boo. (it also showcases Kyndra's handsome daddy!)

Kyndra Walking

More pics!

Here are some more pictures from our teen banquet. Will post some pictures from the adult banquet soon.

This is Josh's fish pond that he built for the banquet. It had floating candles that really added to the atmosphere.



Here is Josh as the old Chinese man!



The teens helped draw and cut out the awesome dragon. It really looked cool!
We made all of the decorations on the tables. The laterns really turned out great! I will show you how to make them on another post when I have time to sit down and do it!

"Asian Escape"

This year Josh and I got to help plan the Valentine banquet at our church. The theme was oriental, so we called it "Asian Escape". It was so much fun dreaming and scheming about all the details! The skit, to me, was the highlight of the night. Let's just say that it included my husband (playing an old Chinese man), Mr. Snider (playing a fat Chinese woman) and Seth ("Sumo Seth"). The decorations turned out really great. Of course, my husband's love of fish was displayed in the fish pond that they built in the middle of the fellowship hall. Above are some of the pictures from the teen banquet.

The Scrappy Frog!

Hi Guys! My friend, Jeanette, has the cutest kids crafting blog. If you have little ones and are looking for great ideas, look no further! I also noticed that she just started selling her custom artwork online. Many of you have seen the custom art that she made for Kyndra's baby shower... It is AMAZING! If you are looking for a one-of-a-kind baby shower gift, send some business her way. You won't regret it! To check out her blog, go to www.thescrappyfrog.blogspot.com. There is a link for her online store.
Above is the art that she made for Kyndra's room. Behind the art is the blanket that she used to match the colors and stuff. AMAZING work!!!!

There is Somebody in our House!

Late last night (early this morning to be correct) I was having trouble sleeping. While I lay in my bed trying to relax, I heard a noise which sounded just like somebody coming up our stairs. The first time I heard it, I told myself that my mind was just playing tricks on me. There was nobody in our house..... but then I heard it again, and again. I leaned over to my sleeping husband and shouted, "Josh! There is somebody in our house!!!!!!" He flew out of bed, grabbed his gun, and began a heart-pounding investigation. Every room in the house had been checked. There was no intruder. He double checked every lock to make sure that they were secure, and then went back to a terrified wife.
"I KNOW I heard something," I told him. "I wasn't just hearing things!" Sweetly he assured me that maybe the neighbor's dog had wandered on our front porch.
"No, it sounded like footsteps on the stairs," I told him. Now he was a little jumpy too! He calmly reminded me that he had just been in every room. There was nothing to be afraid of. As he was speaking, I heard the noise again. This time, Josh heard it too! We both lay there, listening, when we heard the footsteps a few more times. "Maybe it is just Kyndra rolling over in her crib," Josh suggested. About that time we heard the sound of one of Kyndra's toys going off. She had been playing with her toys and smacking the side of her crib, making that terrible sound! When we heard the toy, we both laughed. I was sooooo glad that my little eleven month old daughter was our intruder!!!

Annette's AMAZING Frappuccinos

Here is Annette's great recipe that she gave me! Girls, I could drink these all day long!!!!

1 cup milk
enough ice to make 3 cups with milk
1 box of instant pudding
1 cup cool whip
1 tbs. instant coffee (I like a little more to make it stronger!)

Blend away!

You can also add peppermint extract, chocolate chips, cinnamon, or vanilla.

ENJOY!!

I am STILL God's Favorite!

This is a continuation of my previous post. Just in the last week or so I have been overwhelmed with God's blessings!!!

*My little baby is almost too big for her car seat! Can you believe that she will be a year old next month? Anyway, we priced car seats and found that they were $56.00 at the cheapest. Within a few days of pricing them, we were given one that a friend's child had outgrown! PRAISE THE LORD! HE just saved us $56.00!!!!

*A friend of mine had me over one day and made me a frappaccino. I marveled at the way her blender was able to blend the ice.... mine just kind of pushed the ice around in circles!!!! A few days later she stopped me and told me that she was SOOOO excited because she had a surprise for me. She had asked her husband if she could buy me a blender like hers, and he said yes! They didn't have the same one that she had in stock, so she bought me an even nicer model. I had a blast making frappaccinos and smoothies and everything else you can make in a blender!!!

*It looks like we are probably going to be able to get the house we have been praying for. It is not for sure, but very probable. This is VERY exciting to us!

*A friend called today and asked if my husband needed any shoes. They had found a great sale where the shoes were practically BOGO. They wanted to see if Josh needed dress shoes because it cost almost nothing for a NICE pair of shoes! Thank God! (His shoes were a little on the ratty side!!)

*Our teen department is going to a youth conference next month. We had little time to raise a lot of money. In the first week of fundraising, we have really seen God bless. The teens have already been able to raise much of the money needed!

These are just a few of the amazing things that God has done for us this week. Again I ask the question, do you feel like you are God's favorite?

Spa Day!

Every once in a while I try to take a little extra time to freshen my appearance. I am a huge fan of professional makeovers. At least twice a year I make an appointment for a friend and I at a major department store to get a few fresh makeup ideas. I know that luxury cosmetics come at luxury prices, but almost anybody can come up around $25.oo. This is usually all that I spend when I get a makeover. Most of the high end cosmetic companies will do a FREE makeover as long as you buy at least one thing. I have tried almost every company, but Clinique is my favorite (and happens to be the most inexpensive too!) When you make your appointment, tell them something that you have been wanting to try. One time I had them do "smoky eyes", while another time I wanted to get a dewy complexion. Really make this a special time. Grab your favorite drink to sip while they go to work on your face. Many of the bigger cosmetic companies also have a bonus time. This is a bunch of free stuff that they will give you if you spend a certain amount. This is a wonderful time to try out a new trend and get free stuff. Plan your makeovers around this promotion time!
Mama G (my mother-in-law) and I went during the holidays. We looked FABULOUS when we were done!

Another way that you can pamper your self is with an at-home spa day... in my case it is usually a "spa half-hour"! Light some candles, play nice music, take a long bath, do your toes, use a face mask, and read a great magazine. Take time to take care of yourself!

Since it is winter time, the weather has been bitterly cold here lately. My face has especially been dry. The at-home micro-dermabrasion kits are WONDERFUL! They really do a great job of getting rid of the dry skin and making your skin glow. I have tried the Mary Kay one and LOVED it! I have found a recipe for making your own micro-dermabrasion skin care. You can go to http://www.ehow.com/how_2256788_own-allnatural-spa-skin-cleanser.html.

If you have daughters, why not have a spa time with them? Do their nails, put a mask on their faces, and let them feel like princesses!I have many great memories of my mom, my sister, and I having our "beauty time" together. Not sure if it made us look any better, but we sure felt good about ourselves!