Facing 2016

   As 2015 fades and 2016 looms, I pause and remember. I look back over these past twelve months. I think of their joys and sorrows, their love and pain. I see what I learned and what I should have learned. It makes me glad, but it also makes me sad.
   The year 2015 has been relatively good for my family and me. We laughed, we sang, and we learned. We also grew. Our family now includes a golden retriever, Cooper. Yes, I've enjoyed this year, but I wonder what the new one will bring.
   I expect joys but also sorrows. A part of me wants to avoid the pain life brings, to hid from it. I know I can't live that way, yet sometimes it seems like it would be easier to. But I don't do it.
   Instead, I trust in God, knowing that the coming year is in His hands. I don't know what's coming, but I do know who controls it. That is enough for me.

Happy New Year's!

Never Look at the Christmas Story the Same Way - A Book Review

   Want a new perspective of the Nativity story? Have I got the book for you! The Prophet, the Shepherd, & the Star by Jenny L. Cote gives you the whole story. And I mean the  whole story. It begins with Isaiah and goes past the wise men (who come at the correct time, by the way). Written with the author's usual humor and told through animals, this book reveals the entire seven hundred years that lead to that night in Bethlehem. It's a great way to laugh and learn at the same time, and do you ever learn! Mrs. Cote does her research; pick up her book and read for yourself. Available at Amazon and  Family Christian Bookstores. Also available in ebook form.

December! December!

    Is it seriously already this time of year again? Where has 2015 gone? This year can't be almost over already! But as it is, how about I help y'all out with something.
   With the coming of Christmas comes (what else?) Christmas parties. This season can be stressful enough without worrying about your hair. So why don't I give y'all an easy style for all your holiday worries? Let me see... how about an updo? What?! Y'all want something that will keep your neck warm too? Picky, picky picky, but your wish is my command.

Easy Front French Braid

Prep- You may want to curl your ends outward if you have short hair. Otherwise, the only thing you need to do is add something to defrizz and smooth your hair. (I like SheaMoisture's coconut & hibiscus smoothie cream. It's available at Walmart and Target.)

1- Brush your hair thoroughly.

2- Make a deep side-part.

3- Section off all the hair closest to your forehead for about an inch back from it. Go down 'til you're roughly in front of the ear, and then stop.

4- Temporarily secure the rest of your hair away from your face. (I use a clip.)

5-  Pick up the hair at the top of the still-free hair, and divide it into three sections.

6- Cross the left piece over the middle one. You now have new left and middle pieces.

7- Cross the right piece over the new middle. You now have new right and middle pieces.

8- Add a small strand of free hair to the new left piece. 

9- Cross the left piece with additional hair over the middle. You now have new left and middle pieces.

10- Add a small strand of free hair to the new right piece.

11- Cross the right piece with the additional hair over the middle. You now have new right and middle pieces. (You are now French braiding.)

12- Repeat 8-11 until you you run out of free hair to add. 

13- Finish with a regular braid and secure with a small ponytail holder (optional).

14- Release the rest of your hair.

15- Pick up the first layer or two of hair behind the French braid. You may want to temporarily secure it.

16- Using bobby pins, secure the braid under the hair you picked up .

17- Drop the hair and you're done!

Variations: Curl the free hair. Do a Dutch braid, French fishtail braid, or Dutch fishtail braid.

   Merry Christmas!

P.S. I up dated the link from the last post, and it works now. Shout out to my friend/reader, MaryBeth, for pointing it out to me.