I just wanted to show you all my completed Circle Journal.  I think it looks amazing and I'm so glad that I picked this simple yet full of information and small moments for my theme.  Very pleased with the results.  :)
If you would like to see the previous post on the first few pages of the Circle Journal, click here. 

~NJ

Thanking God for a great day with the family!!!!

For the next Circle Journal which I received, the theme was My Favorite Things.  I loved and had so much fun with this theme.  In honor of 2012, I decided to focus on my Top 12 Things/Events of 2012.  In November/December, Oprah's My Favorite Things was on news stands and on the OWN Network.  So I thought what better way to showcase my favorite things than by paying tribute to the O herself...Oprah!  I found this link on the Oprah.com website where you can add your head and captions on the cover of the magazine template.  I have to find the link again.  Once I do, I will post the link on the site.  

My husband and I met in college, 10 years ago!  WOW....and we hadn't been to Homecoming since 2005....so this trip was 7 years in the making!  It was good to be back at our old stomping grounds and we had a blast hanging out with friends over the weekend. 

Mid-year, my husband decided that we would take a ROAD TRIP from Texas to North Carolina.....with not 1 but 2 toddlers.....to say that I was overjoyed is an understatement!  I actually was full of anxiety...and not too thrilled about the unknown...of course I knew the route we would take...we would go through Louisiana, then Mississippi, then stop in Atlanta, GA to stay over night and visit our friend JiMiesh, then get up the next morning, drive through South Carolina, then make our way up to North Carolina, where we would stay the week with Brandon and Beverly.......but still the anxiety remained and got worse as our trip drew closer....
So what did I do about this anxiety?  Well, I did what any mother would do.....I turned on my computer and read every blog I could find regarding Road Trips and toddlers.....a few weeks prior at a friends' wedding, another friend, Gigi, mentioned making a quiet book for the girls, so yes, this required yet another internet search.  Gigi was in the process of making her Oh So Adorable little one a quiet book....Me, I'm not the fabric type, so I did a search on a NO-SEW QUIET BOOK.....and I was lucky in the fact that I found 1 Quiet Book, where the source was PAPER (my best friend), not fabric.  I was ecstatic!  So with that being said, I ventured out, and started creating a quiet book for my Little Pumpkin, who is 3....I came up with a pretty big size book and it was fun to make.  I used websites with fabric and the 1 No-SEW Quiet Book sites as inspiration.  Then upon going to Lakeshore Learning, I found 2 fabric quiet books that I loved....so we ended up with 3 quiet books for a 3 year old and a 1 year old to enjoy!  Yea Mom!!!!  Besides the Quiet Books, I also downloaded movies and favorite cartoon episodes to the iPad and gathered a bag full of favorite toys....
Did I mention I also bought all the snacks a kid could every want!  I decided a week before the trip that in order to make this trip go off without a hitch, I had to have plenty of activities for the girls to have, movies on both the iPad and the portable DVD player, snacks, and most importantly a No Rules type of attitude, meaning the girls could do just about anything they wanted to, as long as they were strapped into their car seats of course. 
Well, I am pleased to announced that our trip was great, even when we headed back to The Lone Star State, making an overnight pit-stop in Nashville, TN to stay with friends Sutton & Pete, and then driving through Arkansas before hitting the Texas State Line.....we had a wonderful drive with very little whining involved.  Leading up to our Road Trip to "Far Far Away"  (what we called or trip, as our Little Pumpkin could relate to Far Far Away since that's where Shrek and Donkey went in Shrek 2 - a favorite movie), everyday before we started our Lesson Time (home-schoo) we prayed added to our prayer that we would have a FUN trip to North Carolina and back home with no whining, just FUN....and we went over the United States map, coloring the states we would drive through, which ones we would be stopping in, and how we were going Far Far Away.....
How did this turn out???
Perfect!  The few times when the Little Pumpkin did start to whine, I reminded her about our deal - about having fun and then all was well.  And she only asked MAYBE a had full of times, the infamous question of "Are We There Yet."  For the bulk of the trip, both girls watched their movies, played with their toys, and ate way too much junk food!  When we entered into each state, we stopped at the Visitor Center and took a long break, and snapped plenty of pictures.  I must say this trip went much better than I expected.  Thank you God for answering my prayers....Now I think I could actually do this again!  :)

~Nati

Last month, I received an email from Oprah's Lifeclass for a Lottery that was being done for a Houston, TX Oprah Lifeclass taping.  I jumped at the opportunity and quickly entered my name into the hat....and yes, I WON a spot for myself and a guest.  I took my mother with me on this journey to see Oprah!  And yes, Oprah looks the same in person as she does on TV.  The energy in the theatre was amazing!  I felt so blessed just to be there!The show was so INSPIRING!!!!  My pastor, Pastor Joel Osteen was the guest of honor teaching the Lifeclass alongside Oprah, I mean, who could ask for anything more....Oprah and Pastor Joel!!!!!! 

Take away from the show:  Supersize me Jesus!  I Do Declare!  And also saying positive things to ourselves, about ourselves, or our loved ones.  Where do you plan on being in the next 5 years?  Tell yourself where you want to be, and then start doing things to get you to where you want to be, watch God do His work, in His perfect timing!  Anyway, check out the book I Declare by Pastor Joel Osteen and watch Oprah and Pastor Joel on the Own Network this Sunday (that's tomorrow) to catch Part 1 of the 2 part series I AM, and I guarantee you, you will never be the same!

I AM dedicated to God and my family.  I AM looking forward to the great and amazing things I will accomplish through art and photography.  I AM looking forward to reaching my God given greatest potential! 

What is your I AM ________________________???????