Christmas creativity

I am not by any means crafty or artsy. Some of my family and friends may disagree with my statement however I don't really feel like I have a crafty talent. However this is beside the point. I d come from a family of artsy and craft people. My grandparents are both my inspiration to be crafty. My grandpa is one of the best artist I know by far. As a matter of fact I have one of his painting hanging in my living room it's the third biggest pieces and one of my two favorites. 

My brother drew a duck one year and when he died it was the one piece I wanted the most. I watched him draw it and it meant the world to me to get it. It's framed and my other favorite piece.

 My grandmother is crafty in everything I could ever thing of from painting on vases to make them look like they cost a million buck to taking pottery and painting it to make up lawn turtles. She has the best ideas and is truly talented.

Now to the point. She moved to my mother house earlier this year and she gave me some of her arts and craft stuff. I look through a box as I was getting my christmas decorations out and saw a bunch of greenery and decided to take it inside. I'm so happy I did. There wasn't as much as I hoped for and I didn't have the extra money to get more. So I made due with what I had. So I had it in a small vase until further notice. Today I finished up my christmas decorating and normally I put a small tree in my children's room but decided not to this year we are having trouble with the breaker flipping so I took it and put it by our tv. My husband and I have been talking and wanted to restrict our and our children's tv time. We feel that there not a lot of good shows on tv and our daughter has a hard time when the tv isn't on from simply focusing to really being cranky because She  is addicted to the tv. So we decided to only turn on the tv on the weekends as a special treat. Today I got rid of the tv in the living room so I wouldn't just turn it on and I would spend more time with them. I am addicted to the tv also. I've gotten a lot better it that's another story.

I decorated our piano where our old tv used to sit with that little tree some Christmas lights my old wedding center pieces( no they are not Christmassy at all they are blue and orange) a candle holder my mom gave me for my first christmas out of the house and the cutest snowman that my aunt gave me.  I had to find something to put the little tree it has no stand so the little vase I had all the greenery in worked well but what was I gonna do with the greenery? 

I found another vase and it would need some serious tinkering. I took the greenery and put it in the vase then on top of that I found some flowers and other little things in the box my grandma gave me. After that I put a bow on the outside to conceal the gap. Then later I came back I found this old jingle bell snowflake my kids took apart last year and whola!!!!!! I took the jingle bells off the wore and stuffed them in the vase. Perfection that looks like my grandma did it! 

My testimony

I've always known religion. I actually can't recall a time where I didn't go to church. Even in my lowest time my family still went to church. We were baptist. I was allowed whatever bible I wanted, wore just about whatever I wanted, and never sincerely prayed until I was 8. On January 1, 1999 was the first time I realized I was going to hell. That was the first night I really prayed. I was saved that night however I never fully understood what I did. I believed for as long as I can remember that Jesus was Gods son and He was sent to die for my sins. I remember thinking that night even though I knew that I never asked God to save me so I did. I know without a shadow of a doubt I was saved that night.
Fast-forward. When I was in junior high I hung with the wrong crowd. I hung out with the rebels. The kids you just knew to stay away from. I didn't apparently. Actually I did they just excepted me I was over weight and they didn't care they didn't make fun of me and there was other girl that were just like me. I hung out with guys I had no business being around and most of all did things I'm not proud of. I continued in this life and still went to church every Sunday hearing the same old thing over and over and didn't care. I would tell myself "I'm saved it doesn't matter what I do God will forgive me" I really felt that way too. I'm ashamed of how I acted and was back then and if I could I would gladly go back and change it.
At 15 my oldest brother H.A. had joined the national guard (shout out to my big brother on Veterans Day) and my other older Aaron was a drug addict that my parents had just kicked out. I never saw my brother high or strung out. He cared enough to make sure of that. We hadn't always had the best relationship but we were working on it. For example one day my mom was searching threw his room. I ask what she was looking for she said nothing that she was just cleaning his room. Hours later I went back to the room and asked again what she was looking for. She said that she believed Aaron was hiding something and she was looking for it. I asked her if she has seen a wooden box that was locked and she said yes and pointed to it. I said if Aaron is hiding anything it would be in here. She asked if I knew where the key was I told her no but I'll be right back. I went and got a screw driver and opened it. At the time I had no idea but what I found for my mom was weed. I never meant to get my brother in trouble but he knew who told her where it was. Period cased closed in his eyes. However he committed suicide on December 25, 2005. Yes Christmas Day he was 19. Yes I blame the drugs. I was and still will never be the same.
The next few months were a blare I was a freshman in high school now. The teacher took pity and passed me that year. In April of 2006 I met a guy threw a friend and this was the worst mistake in my whole life. He was the first real guy I dated. After a few month I knew I never wanted to be with him. My parents were going throw a hard time and so I was kinda on the down low. I went to see my boyfriend on the weekends and hung out with him and his mom. Once again I did things I'm not proud of. Once I realized I didn't like this guy he was bad for me and honestly I knew I shouldn't even be dating I tried breaking it off. He was manipulative and controlling. When I would try to break up with him he would simply say "I can't live without you if you leave me ill commit suicide" I stayed every time. I was to afraid to leave. And I never told my parents I wasn't close to them. I was a normal teen lock myself in my room and stay up til 2:00. I wasn't trouble. When I started driving my grades never reached below a C. If they did I couldn't drive and I would have to ride the bus.
In December 2006 I remember my Christmas prayer. First of all I hadn't prayed in over a year. When my brother died I blamed God. I said over and over that God could have saved my brother and didn't. For what ever reason that night I remember praying I was tired of that relationship. I wanted out but I didn't want his death on me. So I prayed for a way out. I prayed God would send me someone an angel something to please get him away from me. He move away at the beginning of the next year but that wasn't good enough. So in March 2007 another friend introduced me to her boyfriends friend just to be friends with. I was like whatever guys hate me I'm not that cool or pretty so what the heck. That teenage boy Changed may life. God answered my prayer. He told me how I should really be treated and gave me the strength to leave my boyfriend and yes I started dating him.
Fast forward again that boy is now my beloved Husband and still the best thing that has happened to me. I wouldn't trade a day with him for a life time rolling in riches. We always had a rough path getting here but I know now God designed that man for me. We have now faithfully been going to independent fundamental baptist church for a almost two years. I was southern "liberal" baptist. I have grown so much in the last 3 years I can't even explain. I went from fighting my husband tooth and nail to being happily under his authority and let me just say its a wonderful blessing that there are no words for. I am a skirt wear king James believing baptist and I'm one month away from finishing my bible for the first time. People do change and God will guide anyone who asked. No I never heard a voice from God and to be honest I never felt like God has hit me with a sign. The night I changed my life on July 2013 and gave my life back to The Lord I just knew I was failing I was miserable and I wanted to change. I wanted to be a happy family and I wanted simply for God to look at me and say I'm proud to call you my child. And I hope one day he will. However until then I going to keep reading my bible find out more about God and Follow his commands no matter how my flesh feels about it. I hated the idea of skirts but today you wouldn't catch me in pants even if it means I can't do something ( which I haven't found anything I can't do in a skirt I could in pants). Needless to say this is my life's testimony. This is my testimony and it grows everyday.