Book Review: Heaven Is For Real

    So I've never been much of a reader, but recently I've been enjoying it. I tend to enjoy real stories rather than fiction. I recently read Heaven is for Real because my sister was talking about it on Easter and it struck my curiosity.
     It's a true story of a then 3 year old who told his parent vivid details of how he went to Heaven. He knew things such as which side Jesus sits beside his Father (the right side, which is stated in Revelation), rainbow colors, the marks on Jesus's hands and feet, that John the Baptist was Jesus's cousin, and a lot more!
      I agree and still am a somewhat skeptical of a little boy going to Heaven and living to tell about his experience. But then the book went on to explain that he asked his mom if she had a baby die in her tummy. As you can guess, I was immediately struck by this because this is something I have experienced. He said he met his sister in Heaven and she really missed her parents. His mom had a miscarriage before he was born. This is something they never mentioned to their kids. Wow! Not sure how to explain that one, but if it is true, I cannot wait to meet my son or daughter one day that I never got to hold!
     The second thing I really thought was interesting was that he mention "Pop." Pop was his great grandfather who died a long time before he was born. Colton did not recognize a picture of Pop when he was in his 60s, but pointed out Pop when he was in his 20s. Colton says there are no glasses or old people in Heaven. :)
     The third and last thing was how Colton described Jesus. "And his eyes.. oh, Dad, his eyes are so pretty!" Normally when you see paintings of Jesus you see him with brown eyes because most jewish people have brown eyes. When they showed Colton pictures of Jesus they would ask "What is wrong with this one?" And he would say that it didn't look like Him until they came across a child prodigy named Akiane. Akiane grew up in an athiest family. She had never been told about Jesus ever. She claimed to have visions of Jesus and Heaven. Here is the painting she painted at 8 years old and then one Colton claims is THE ONE! Notice the eyes:


Again, I do not know if that is what Heaven will be like, but it is cool to think we may know some insight now. All I do know is Heaven is for Real. What are your thoughts of Colton's experience? My suggestion is READ IT!

-Kimberly

Mauldin 2011 Spirit Week

Project Hope Foundation was chosen by Mauldin High school this year as there charity! It was a lot of fun as we were able to participate in a lot of the events. Although, we didn't dominate in dodgeball it was a lot of fun! :)

This is a must see video of the Pep Rally:



They raised a whopping $95, 000!!

Valentine Cupcake wrapper wreath

You will need:

12 inch styrofoam wreath
Red or pink ribbon to cover the wreath
100 cupcake wrappers (valentine)
Wooden letter for your last name
Acrylic paint
Hot glue gun
Ribbon to hang the wreath

I got all my materials at Hobby Lobby.

Wrap wreath with ribbon

Fold cupcake wrappers like this

Glue on in sections

Paint letter

SNOWED IN!

So  I will be the first to admit that one year ago I hated snow because I hate to be cold. :) But last year when it snowed around the same time as this year and we were going through a sort of hard time in our life, I came across a wonderful verse while reading my Bible.

"He directs the snow to fall on the earth and tells the rain to pour down. Then everyone stops working so they can watch his power."
Job 37:6-7


This verse spoke so powerful to me because we are always so busy and never take time to sit and reflect on God. Now when I see snow I think of His beautiful creation that makes all of us slow down and spend time with him and our family. It's also a symbol of how He washes our sin white as snow. So I am such a fan of snow now! I love it so much, but I do have to admit I was going a little crazy by Thursday since we were stuck at home.

New Recipes

So I don't know about you, but I get tired of cooking the same thing all the time. When I get in a rut then we start eating out a lot. Well I decided to try some new recipes this week and all three were so good! So I thought I would share them! :)

White Chicken Chili: I added some all purpose flour to thicken it. I also used 3 cans of Navy beans instead.
http://www.bettycrocker.com/recipes/white-chicken-chili/23c571f8-d603-4042-bee1-7e0fdd6fec4d



Biscuit-Topped Hamburger Stew:
http://www.pillsbury.com/recipes/biscuit-topped-hamburger-stew/4bd4f997-3471-44b5-8aa9-f7a1c59f81db/



Pecan Crusted Chicken

4 skinless boneless chicken breasts                 1/2 cup plain dried bread crumbs
Maple syrup                                                   3/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup pecans, finely chopped                       1 tablespoon butter
2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1. Brush chicken on both sides with maple syrup. On waxed paper, combine pecans, bread crumbs, and salt; use mixture to coat chicken, firmly pressing so mixture adheres.

2. In nonstick skilled, melt butter with oil over medium-high heat. Add chicken and cook chicken  until golden brown and loses its pink color throughout, about 6 minutes per side.

Hope you enjoy!!

So much to catch up on!!

Well we had a wonderful Thanksgiving with our families. We got to eat lunch with Steven's family for lunch and then eat at my Grandma's for dinner. It was a busy, but good day!

Me and Steven with my Grandma

The rest of the Thanksgiving weekend was spent decorating our house for Christmas and cheering on our tigers in the rival game against South Carolina. We had a great time tailgaiting even though the tigers couldn't pull it out!

Low Country Boil Cooks

And then Christmas!!! We LOVE Christmas in our house. It is such a great time to reflect on Christ and his sacrifices for us. But it is also the busiest time of the year. From working to parties to shopping!! Love it, but glad it's over! :) This was a very special Christmas this year because it started snowing and by the 26th we had like 4 inches!! This was our very first white Christmas!! Here are some pictures from Christmas:

Love Hollywild lights!!

Grant opening presents

Maggie opening presents. Love the facial expression! :)

Christmas day 2010

Our house Christmas night 2010

Thankful Thursday

So this is the month of Thanksgiving so I thought I would turn Thursday into saying what I'm thankful for. I missed week one so I will have to play catch up!

Week 1: I am thankful for my salvation in Jesus Christ.

Week 2: I am thankful that God has blessed me with someone to marry, my husband! :)

YouTube Wednesday

haha There are no words for this one! :)

What a difference 1 year makes!!

October 2009:

October 2010:

5 pounds to 50 pounds! :)

Disney World!!

This month Hope Reach sent us to FABA which is the Florida Association of Behavior Analysis. It was in Orlando this year and we had a blast! The conference was good, but it can't top DISNEY!! :) I haven't been to Magic Kingdom since I was 10 years old so I was super excited! The conference was at the Hilton at Downtown Disney so we spent a lot of time there the first few days. Here is everyone that went:

Leads and Supervisors

We had fun going in all the stores:

Casey found her a man:

Seeing the Magic Kingdom Fireworks from a distance was way better than being in the park:

And FINALLY, on Sunday we went to

Loved the fall decorations!

We saw Daisy!

Aladdin and Jasmine:

And ARIEL!!!

We got 

at

Haunted Mansion

We got

on

Splash Mountain

We ended the night with the AMAZING:

THRILLER!!

So the funny part of this video is not the fact that they are dancing Thriller in the middle of Disney, but the fact that the song playing wasn't even Thriller it was Billie Jean. hahahha

Favorite New Clothing Line

Lauren Conrad from The Hills released a new affordable clothing line at Kohls. It is affordable, stylish, and fit amazing!


I purchased this blazer and love it!


Adorable! Ruffles are in this season.


Loving this!


I got this one in gray!

Welcome Football season!

For me this means good bye to the beautiful 46 inch HD television in the living room and hello 19 inch tv in the bedroom until January. :) Nah, I try not to complain too much and do watch the games that I'm interested in. But I do love going to Clemson home games! We have a great time and I have been a Clemson Tiger since I was born! GOOO Tigers!

Beach Trips

Steven and I went to Isle of Palms in August since we took an early vacation in May. We took the dogs and they had a blast!

The ride down. She made herself comfy! :)

Farley in Lola's tiny bed. haha

Beach time!

playing!

Watching everyone!

Tired after a long day!

Last weekend I went to Seabrook Island for a girls weekend! We had a great time, but I did miss Steven and my puppies! :)

Seabrook 2010

We stayed at a house on the marsh. Here are some pictures in the back yard:

We went downtown Charleston and went on a ghost tour. Apparently at dusk you can get orbs in your pictures of "so called" haunted places. You have to have the gift to get orbs in your pictures. Well, I guess I have it! Which is a little freaky to me! :) Here are some of my pics from the ghost tour:

Legend has it that Robert E. Lee haunts this hotel. He is usually spotted on the second floor balcony. Check out where one of the orbs is located!

This is Poogan's Porch restaurant where Zoe is usually spotted in the Ladies second floor bathroom.