Michelle

I Survived Week 1 of the Social Media Fast!

March 13, 2019 by Michelle Filed Under: Being a Mom, Cooking, Faith, Food & Drink, Life Leave a Comment

I’ll admit, the title is a bit more dramatic than what it was like in reality. I didn’t just survive, I thrived during my first week of the SM fast! I couldn’t have asked for something more wonderful to come into my life at this point in 2019.
I am dealing with some personal, emotional and spiritual struggles, and this is exactly what I needed. Instead of getting lost in the scroll of social media, I am forcing myself to get lost in Jesus. Instead of forgetting about my woes and cares, I am continually thrusting them at the cross. Instead of filling my ‘down time’ with that which doesn’t really matter, I am filling my heart and soul with the One who does.

There is only one ‘thing’ that can wholly fill all the voids in our lives and it’s Jesus. There is only one ‘thing’ that can take all the hurt, pain, sorrow and disappointments and in turn, give you peace and joy and that’s Jesus. He doesn’t compare you with everyone else. He doesn’t look at you and see all your faults and the poor choices you’ve made. He looks at you with immense love and the deepest care you’ve ever known. These are the things I’ve been reminding myself of the last week. The truths of God’s word, what he says about me, what he says about Jesus.
“So keep my words in your hearts and minds. Write them down and tie them on your hands as a reminder.” Deuteronomy 11:18

And as a follow-up to my post the other day, when I was just a couple of days into this fast…here’s what I’ve been doing the past week:
*Figuring out Summer Camps for Reynolds. Y’all, there are so.many.things going on for kids in Columbia! All the options are really great, I just need to figure out which camps will be the best for him.
*Prepping for BLEU!! In less than a week, sweet Bleu will join our family. I’ve made his first vet appointment, purchased his crate, dog food, treats, and all the fun things you need for a new puppy. I think we are mostly ready to bring him home!
*I’ve also sorted through some more of my clothes and given some to a friend and packaged others off to ThredUP.
*On Monday I made this amazing Heavenly Chicken Lasagna for us and a friend and it was AMAZING. I can’t tell you the last time I spent two hours in the kitchen cooking {and enjoyed it}, but this was a fast two hours and it was incredibly rewarding to be able to provide a meal to a sweet friend {and her three kids, while her hubby is out of town} and us that night. My kids loved it – aside from the filling of cheeses/spinach – and both Andrew and I found it to be completely delicious. Make it…you’ll love it too!
*Lastly, like many of you, we are in the throes of baseball season! ALLLLLLL the games and practices!

Friends, this is a beautiful time of year; Spring is ALWAYS my favorite season with the promise of NEWness and LIFE. Daffodils have awakened from the cold earth and shown their brilliance and our peach tree is busting forth her blossoms that will change over to little peaches in just a matter of time.

Take it all in…take in the colors, the smells, the sounds of baby birds chirping their little hearts out. Next Wednesday is the first official day of Spring and I pray that as this new season comes upon us, that you will experience newness in your beautiful life.

Before I leave you today, a little excerpt from my Birthday Card from God book: If you’re carrying a burden, unload it right here. Right now. I can handle it. -taken from Psalm 55:22
Until next time, sweet friends…

Social Media Fast :: Week 1 Day 2

March 7, 2019 by Michelle Filed Under: Being a Mom, Faith, Life Leave a Comment

I know you’re wondering if I’m actually doing this Social Media Fast…

I AM!!!
I am happy to report that I have only looked at Facebook 4 times – specifically to post on both mine and Andrew’s business pages AND to check up on my Fall Prebook for Sseko. I have also only looked at Instagram ONLY to check messages {I had 3 yesterday} and to post a daily devotional piece in my Instastory {so two times}.

Other than that, no mindless scrolling and getting lost in all the things that distract me from LIFE.

What have I done with this newfound time? I’ve talked to people. lol. I’ve texted friends, I’ve talked on the phone, I’ve talked to my husband and my kids. I’ve read emails that have just been pushed to the side. I’ve READ. I’ve organized a little more in our home. I’ve done things I’ve wanted to do, rather than gotten lost in the cyber stuff.

Benefits I’ve noticed in just two days:
1. I have no idea of what’s going on in the “world” and I like it. I’m not caught up in what everyone else is doing.
2. I’m not wasting time, that is often so precious.
3. I’m not distracted when my kids are around, by things that are less important. I’m being a present parent.
4. I’m not comparing…ah, that’s a big one, am I right?

Negatives I’ve noticed:
1. I have no idea of what’s going on in the world, and I feel a wee-bit left out.
2. There are things I actually want to share with people. Ha. Like my tire went flat this morning while going thru the car line at R’s school. #goodtimes
3. There’s this community within the social media realm, that I have found is bigger than my real-life community. I’m currently missing those people/relationships.

Andrew asked me at supper tonight what day I was on, and when proudly chirped “TWO!”, he was surprised and said he thought it had been longer than that already. Nope. Two days down….38 to go. My nail lady said yesterday morning that you have to give up something ‘hard’ for Lent. If it’s not hard, it’s not worth it. I know that this is hard for me. My automatic reaction to sitting down somewhere with my phone in hand is to tap Instagram first, and then Facebook. So to refrain from that has been difficult. I’m having to change my habits, I’m having to look around a lot more, and observe, and talk out loud. :)

This is going to be a very, very good thing I believe. And I hope that if you’re giving up social media, or chocolate or caffeine or something else for 40 days, that you are also finding it to be a very good thing…albeit hard temporarily. We can do this. Phil 4:13.

I’ll leave you with yet another quote from my little Birthday Card book:
“Stuff is overrated. Stuff doesn’t last. Everything in this world – even the world itself – is temporary.”
Until next time, my friends…

Update On Our Puppy And…A Social Media Fast?

March 5, 2019 by Michelle Filed Under: Being a Mom, Faith, Life Leave a Comment

Hi Friends! I hope you’re all having a great week. It’s cold and yucky here today, but the birds are chirping outside so that means Spring is almost here, right?! I’m ready for all the 70-degree weather that Mother Nature can offer. Seriously.

So, last week I announced that we are going to be getting a puppy {in 3 weeks!!} and that we weren’t sure which puppy we would be getting, but hoped to know by the end of the week. Well, after driving Andrew completely bonkers for 3 days, asking if he’d gotten an email yet from our breeder about our puppy, he finally emailed her. :)
The family in line above us hadn’t made their pick, so we were waiting on them.

Then Saturday rolled around and we were driving around looking at houses and it came. Andrew passed me the phone so I could read the email.

The family in front of us had passed on a puppy this time {not sure why, maybe they wanted a ‘red’ girl?}, and our choices were:
Red Boy – remember he was the one Reynolds REALLY wanted
Turquoise Girl – all black with a little white on her paws
Blue Boy – the sweet baby that fell asleep on my lap during our visit last Tuesday

We got to the house we were looking at and I had a fun conversation with Reynolds about our options. It went like this:
Me: Reynolds, which puppy do you want?
R: Red boy or Blue boy
Me: Why do you want Red Boy?
R: Because in the video we watched it looked like he got electrocuted {he was stretching :-D}
Me: {lauging} Okay, why do you want Blue Boy?
R: Because he looks like a police dog and I like police dogs
We talked about how police dogs are German Shepherds and that this dog is not a GS…but he was not swayed.
Then we talked about how he could only pick ONE puppy. Red boy or Blue boy. Eliza Jane piped in a few times about how she wanted Pink girl or Flower girl or Teal girl…but knowing that this dog is primarily going to be R’s responsibility, we gave him the choice.

ONE choice.
Red boy or Blue boy.

Who did he pick?

He surprised us all and chose BLUE BOY! We are so excited! We are going to call him Bleu {French for ‘Blue’…I know, we are SO fancy.} I mean, that was better than ‘Police Dog’ which was an actual suggestion by one of the kids…

Eliza Jane was not thrilled with the decision to get a BOY dog…but she will live.

Bless her heart…sweet girl…I’m sure once she holds Bleu she will be just as smitten with him as we are.

Okay…so switching gears for a moment. Y’all know about the 40 day Sugar Fast I did last year and this year. If you didn’t know about that, read this post from last year about it. This year I wasn’t as strict on myself, and I probably didn’t do as well, but I still survived!

Well, in January or so I had been thinking about doing a social media fast during Lent. Then Wendy Speake – brain child of the 40 day sugar fast – announced that she would be doing a Social Media Fast during Lent!

Y’all…it just has to be. How many days do you/we get on Facebook, Instagram or whatever and just scroll? Every time I get in the car {when I’m not driving of course}, I open up something and just start scrolling. It’s ridiculous. My kids are calling my name, and I’m all like, “hold on a sec…” because whatever it is I’m looking at is somehow so much more important. How about all the things I could be doing that are more productive in my home, my quiet time, my time with my husband/kids/friends. I’m telling you. My life is a giant scroll and I don’t want it to be that way.

So I’m doing it. Starting tomorrow, March 6th, my social media time is going to be seriously limited. Unless there’s a purpose {which, if I’m completely honest, how often is there a REAL purpose?}, I’m not getting on. No more looking to see what’s going on in the world, when there’s a world right in front of my face. Waiting for me to behold.

If you’re following me on Instagram or Facebook, you’ll see much less from me over the coming weeks {maybe you’re happy about that? haha. I hope not!}. That doesn’t mean I don’t love you or want to know what’s going on in your life, because I do. But I want my contact with you and others to be outside of social media. I want it to be REAL. So, if you don’t know how to reach me – email, text, phone {do people call each other anymore, anyway?}, let me know and I’ll get you my info.

My deepest desire over the next 40 days is to be present. Present with my family, my friends, whomever it is I am with in the moment. And to draw closer to my Lord, the lover of my soul.
If you want to join the Social Media fast with me, click here to find out more from Wendy: The 40 Day Social Media Fast.

I’m excited to see what happens over the next 40 days. Of course I’ll be writing, maybe even more with all my new-found time!
Today I’ll leave you with a little quote from my Birthday Card Book: You are worth celebrating. A masterpiece created to do great things.
Until next time…

We’re Getting a Puppy!

February 26, 2019 by Michelle Filed Under: Being a Mom, Life Leave a Comment

Y’all, Andrew and I are SO very excited to share with you that WE ARE GETTING A PUPPY!! It’s been almost 4 years since we lost our sweet Lil-bug. We still miss her so much and Reynolds says that he still remembers her…and LEGIT prays for her almost every night {along with my mom}.

Several months ago, maybe even a year ago {or more? I lost track of time!} we started talking about getting a new dog for our family. Emory loves every dog he sees and Reynolds needs a four-legged friend, and I think a little responsibility. And in all of our conversations about dogs, what kind, how big, etc., we settled on a Goldendoodle and started our journey to finding our new family member.

Fast forward to just a couple of months ago, when we found a breeder in Pickens, SC {near Greenville, for my non-SC friends} that would have a litter sometime early February. We inquired about the litter and were told then that they wouldn’t know until closer to the due date how many puppies there would be, but that we could of course get on their waiting list. We jumped in, last on the list, but expectant.

The puppies were born on 2/1 and a few days after that we received an email from the owner with some details and information. They had more deposits than puppies, so they opted to give up a boy puppy from a December litter that they originally had wanted to keep. Thankfully, someone opted for this cute little guy, which meant, WE would now get a puppy!

At this point I started stalking these sweet babies on their Facebook page – Double U Doodles. First a few pictures, then videos, we were all immediately and completely smitten by these sweet little faces. Reynolds even saw a video and announced that he wanted “Red Boy”.

We asked the kids the other night what names they could come up with for a girl or boy dog, and though I can’t remember them, they were all quite silly and unrealistic from a mom’s perspective.

Well, today was the day that Andrew and I got to go visit these sweet puppies so after dropping off all the kids at their respective schools, we hit the road, north. The drive was quick and beautiful. Andrew worked and made phone calls while I listened to the Today show {Hulu is amazing!}. Our visit was limited from 11am-12pm and I wanted every bit of that hour to meet these sweet little pups.

We pulled up to the gate promptly at 11am…no other visitors were there so it was just us and the puppies, all to ourselves. They were fast asleep, in a little puppy clump when we sat down next to their pen.

They were seriously so much cuter in person. The owner/breeder, Rebecca was so sweet – in her email she’d stated that we wouldn’t get to hold these sweet pups because they were still so young, but today she squirted hand-sanitizer on our hands and opened the pen for us to love on them!

I didn’t tell Andrew, but I wanted them ALL. In that very moment.
Rebecca told us that most people wanted a ‘red’ puppy – there are three of those: two girls: Flower Girl and Pink Girl and one boy: Red Boy. Sort of figuring we won’t get one of those {Reynolds may be slightly heart broken…but hopefully not}, we focused first on “Blue Boy” a Sable colored little fella – brown and black and “Turquoise Girl” who is black with little bits of white on her paws.

Blue Boy, asleep on my legs…y’all. so sweet!

Turquoise Girl…who made the sweetest little sounds. She reminded me of Eliza Jane..we call her ‘Squeaker’, and have since the moment she was born. This one could be ‘Squeaker 2’.

This is Pink Girl…she actually came over to me and all but put herself in my arms…and then fell asleep. I may have fallen in love with her.

Me with both Pink Girl and Blue Boy…both asleep.

We had such a fun time holding these sweet puppies; Rebecca was a delight and made my day by letting us play with them. Before we left we gave her our top 4 list, which was actually really hard. I hated having a ‘last’ option, as we will be THRILLED with whichever puppy we end up with. Which, by the way…it will possibly be tomorrow that we know which one will be ours! Of course, it’s a few more weeks before we can bring him/her home to the crazies {our kids}…but that gives us time to figure out a name and get all the fun puppy things. :)
By they by…where’s the best place to go for puppy training?

Oh, and did you know that today is National Tell a Fairy Tale Day? I may be looking for a fairy tale about puppies, to tell at bed time.

Until next time…

Finding Peace

February 21, 2019 by Michelle Filed Under: Faith, Life 2 Comments

Do you have a word of the year?
Around New Year’s, when everyone was posting about their top 9 photos from 2018 and resolutions/goals for 2019, I was also seeing posts about finding your ‘word of the year’. One friend even linked DaySpring’s quiz so that you could discover your own word for 2019.

Like any curious person, of course I took the quiz myself and discovered my word for 2019 is ‘Peace’. In the moment I thought that was an odd word, and being unhappy about my result, I attempted to take the quiz again. I even changed up some of my answers {just call me sneaky}. And guess what?
I got the SAME result. hmmm.
Now feeling like this was providence and not just randomness, I decided to embrace the word and try to understand why peace would be my word for 2019.

Fast forward to yesterday morning, after having dropped off my oldest child at school, I was driving away listening to a local Christian radio station. The morning show team was discussing their word of the year and as I thought on the conversation, I went back to my word: Peace.

Why had that word been chosen for me? I certainly believe it was chosen for me. I obviously didn’t pick it – I wanted to change it. I probably would have picked some other fun word like joy or gratitude, but this word – Peace – was for me.

Peace.

Some of the definitions of this mysterious word, according to Merriam-Webster are:
*a state of tranquility or quiet
*freedom from disquieting or oppressive thoughts or emotions
*harmony in personal relations
*in a state of concord or tranquility

Not that I have come to some sort of extensive realization about my life + peace, but there are some things that have gained clarity for me in this second month of this new year…

I have been lacking peace. Genuine peace.
There’s been a lot of turmoil in my personal life…relationships that have been frazzled and torn, especially over the past year.
My spirit has been downcast and and troubled for some time, and I think I’ve tried to suppress it with filling my time with stuff/keeping busy.
Also, a lot of changes swept into my world last year, in a very short period of time, causing much restlessness and sadness.

So, yes, there is a great need for peace in my life. Peace that passes ALL understanding, and the lack thereof as well.
In looking at the definitions of peace, my life has been the complete opposite of those words so I can more clearly now see WHY peace may have been chosen for me.

Yesterday morning after I got back home and was pondering peace, I looked the word up on Biblegateway.com…what were some verses that could point me closer to finding peace?
There are a lot. ha. The Lord does not lack talking about or showing peace, throughout the scriptures. One verse in Romans in particular stands out to me: May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. Romans 15:13.

Dear friend, if you are like me, and lacking in peace today, may you cling to this verse as I am. Let us be filled with hope, joy and peace as we trust in Him, the author and perfecter of our faith (Heb. 12:2).
Until next time…

8 Pages

February 18, 2019 by Michelle Filed Under: Life, Marriage, Reading Leave a Comment

Happy Monday, Friends! Today is, among a few things: National Drink Wine Day, President’s Day AND my big brother’s 40th birthday! Which is so incredibly hard to believe… 40 years… I remember when my parents turned 40, and to be in that camp so many years later seems so surreal. But alas, we are here and I’m hoping my brother has been celebrated today by those closest to him!

Now, I wanted to share with you today about my most recent 8 pages book. Last fall, Andrew and I had the privilege of going to a conference where one of the speakers strongly encouraged the audience to be reading every single day. At least 8 pages.

Confession, I am NOT a reader. I don’t enjoy sitting still, which you generally have to do to read. I like to be active, to be moving, so this challenge really was like a dare to me. Could I do it? Sure. Would I do it? er. maybe.

Andrew and I accepted the challenge when we got back home from that little conference and we’ve been reading 8 pages almost every night since then. I will admit that some nights we get to bed too late or are just plain exhausted, and we skip, but we try our best to make this a priority at night. We’re going for good/great, not perfection.

I have been choosing books that push me both spiritually and personally and my most recent book was Your Money, Your Marriage. I honestly cannot even recall how I found this book, or why exactly I wanted to read it, but nonetheless it proved to be a great book. Encouraging couples to not only commit to loyalty within their marriages, but also within the context of their finances.
I’m going to detour for just a sec, so bear with me. If I were to take a poll today of my readers, how many of you have made a purchase in the last 48 hours that your spouse doesn’t know about?

Guilty.

One section of the book, that I actually highlighted reads like this,

When you buy whatever you want to buy, whenever you want to buy it, and your spouse does the same thing, you end up spending more than you make. When you detest the idea of a budget because it controls what you can and can’t do, you miss the mark for a secure financial future every single time. The illusion of being in control leads to the exact opposite when it comes to your money and your marriage. You wind up with your finances and relationship careening out of control.

I don’t know if y’all remember a few years ago I wrote a post about the word budget being a bad word. I’ve never liked a budget. I’ve never wanted to be constrained by it. But the night I read this paragraph above, I was slapped in the face. And quite honestly, I felt overly convicted, remorseful and embarrassed. I flagged it in the book so that I could come back and read it again {and again, and again…} after the book was finished.

I think my purpose in sharing this excerpt and book with you is that it reminded me that when Andrew and I became a union, we became one. Our hearts joined, our homes joined, our finances joined…and while we do all the things of married couples that show we are ONE, our finances haven’t been that way. So if this is a challenge to you as it was to me, make some small changes. Realize that the things you do in secret don’t help your marriage or your finances.

Back to the 8 pages…
I’m sure many of you read so much more than I do, and that is super. I applaud you! If you don’t even read the mere 8 pages that I’ve started reading, I would like to extend the challenge to you. Put down the phone or the remote a little earlier than ‘normal’. Get into your cozy bed, or couch or chair and find yourself a really good book. Whether you like fiction, historical, self-help or even just your Bible. Reading has so many benefits, that I’ve even experienced in the few short months that I’ve been doing my 8 pages: stress reduction, more/better sleep, better memory, cheap entertainment {library books are FREEEE!}.

I’m not quite sure what my next good read will be, but if the anticipation is killing you, and you’d like to follow along in my next 8 pages, follow me on Instagram – I will often post an excerpt from my nights’ reading in my stories! Until next time…

A New Start

February 15, 2019 by Michelle Filed Under: Life, Marriage 3 Comments

It’s been a year since I last wrote a post on this sweet blog of mine. I never dreamed, when I started Camellias & Copper, that I would go a year without putting thoughts down and sharing them with you all. I actually had a number of drafts saved from last Spring that never were finished…and truthfully, were completely forgotten.
I remember there were times that I would think to myself, ‘I REALLY need to sit down and write a post’, or ‘gosh, it’s been a really long time since I wrote down my thoughts…’ And then the moments, and days, and weeks simply passed me by.

So here we are, another turn on the calendar and I’m yearning to get back to this blog that I loved so dearly for so long. An opportunity to sit, quietly, for a few minutes each day and ponder a question, a thought, an instance, and be able to share it with you, my readers and friends.

Here goes.

There is so much that has happened in a year. As you may be able to relate, some good, some bad, some ugly things…but forever for my good and a deeper love and reliance upon the Lord. I am another year older than I was the last time I wrote a post. Maybe a little wiser, maybe a little more kinder…hopefully a little more loving and compassionate.
My kids are also older, Reynolds is half-way through his kindergarten year, which is completely insane to me. Emory talks our heads off {often demanding whatever it is that someone else has}. And Eliza Jane is as giggly as ever.
Another change that has occurred is that I am now working with Andrew in our real estate ventures, which has been both a learning and growth adjustment as I know very little about this world I’ve just entered. But he is patient and smart and is teaching me everything I need to know to help our business be successful.
A friend asked today what positive has come out of me leaving my previous job and joining forces with Andrew, and with a twinkle in my eye I said, ‘getting to have lunch with him several days a week.’ Eight years ago when he came back to Columbia for work {right before we were married}, we were giddy with the anticipation of being able to have lunch together. Over the course of those eight years, we had lunch together maybe 10 times. Now I can have lunch with Andrew anytime I want. And I feel a little like Melanie Carmichael in Sweet Home Alabama when asked why she wants to marry Jake, replies “So I can kiss {him} anytime I want.”

I’m so thankful for the opportunity we’ve been given to do this fun work together. Another huge positive is that we now have the time to take dance lessons! Y’all. I’ve been wanting to take dance lessons for years now, and after looking last fall, there was really only one place that was local to us, but most of the available time for private lessons was a night. And with three kids and lots of other activities already in place…who has time to add anything else?! Not us. So I kicked that can down the street.
Andrew to the rescue.
For my birthday he got me dance lessons with Jim at Blue Moon Ballroom. We went on Tuesday for our first lesson where we learned the box step and rumba, with corner breaks. It was so much fun. We laughed, we danced, we didn’t step on each other’s toes! It was terrific. We had our second lesson yesterday and added to the rumba, the promenade, which was a little saucy! And then we started learning the fox trot, which was much easier than I’d expected {I didn’t really have an expectation so…}. So I would suggest to any of my couple-friends in the Columbia area, who may be looking for something fun to do together, go take you a dance lesson from Mr. Jim.

There’s so much more I want to tell you about all of the new things, but I’ve got to scoot out and go get Reynolds from school and run some errands so I’ll leave you with a sweet excerpt from a book I was given for my birthday. “If God wrote your Birthday Card” – a sweet Hallmark book, written from the perspective of God…on your birthday ::
I want you to shine brightly because, dear child, you make me smile.

You, friends, make me smile. Thanks for being here…for reading and for caring. Until next time…

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