Cleaning House

Today was fun...while tiring, I had fun. Since Destry & I got the house a couple weeks ago, I have been enjoying the never-ending task of cleaning. Now, I am sure this will not always be the case, but right now it is still so new that I want to keep it looking as new as the day they finished building it. This isn't an easy task, but one that I have taken on willingly. I figure that as long as I have a good mood about it and am happy with what I am doing, then it will all get done quicker and look nicer because of my attitude. So I turn on the radio and clean. Dishes...check. Dusting...check. Clean floors...check. Clean toilets...check. Clean mirrors and sinks...check. Organize some of the remaining stuff just sitting around the house..well, almost check; I stopped to come blog, but doing that as soon as I am done writing this! LoL And tomorrow I finally get to use my brand new, top-of-the-line washer & dryer that Destry bought me. I am sooo excited. (Mainly because that means the piles of clothes that are in the closet will finally get cleaned & put away where they should go! Haha)

When looking at this new house and all the care I am taking with ensuring it is looking good so no matter when anyone stops by, it is presentable - I really started thinking about life. Shouldn't we take this same care with our life? Isn't our body the temple of God (1Cor 6:13)? Shouldn't we be continually cleaning it out and ensuring that only the good stuff goes in it? It reminds me of the little song we used to sing in Sunday School as a child...
     Be careful little eyes what you see...
     Be careful little eyes what you see...
     There's a Father up above and he's looking down in love,
     So be careful little eyes what you see.

     Be careful little mouth what you say...
     Be careful little mouth what you say...
     There's a Father up above and he's looking down in love,
     So be careful little mouth what you say.
It goes on from there and reminds ears to be careful what they hear, hands to be careful what they touch, and feet to be careful where they go. I think this is something we should be more aware of today as we go through our daily life and perform our daily tasks. What if we were more careful about what we said? More careful about where we went? More careful about what we allowed our ears to hear?

So, as you do your household cleaning this week, remember to do your whole-body cleaning to ensure we are living the lives that God wants us to live. That way, just as I want our house presentable for a visitor at any time of the day, our lives are always presentable to anyone and everyone we come in contact with...that they will see God in our lives and want Him in their life too.

God bless!!!!
~SaRaH~

Cleveland Browns Game!!!

Today, my amazing fiancé and I are heading up to Cleveland to watch the Browns play against the Ravens. I was able to get Destry & I tickets in amazing seats... With the game coming up the day after Christmas it is a little bit hectic and adding to the stress of the holidays, but we are surviving and enjoying every moment. We love watching the Browns together, so actually going to a game, no matter how cold it is, is so much fun for both of us. 


It is so much fun to go to football games and actually get into the crowd and how everything is in the stadium. I love the atmosphere...even if the crowds can get a little bit intense and frustrating... I try to not let that get to me. 


So...pray the Browns win so that Destry & I will be able to enjoy the game even more! :o)

Day 25 - Christmas Challenge

What are you most thankful for this Christmas?
~LOVE!!! I know how loved I am and at Christmas time it is the perfect time to reflect on it. I have such an amazing family... My parents are my hero's and who I look up to the most. Everyday I am reminded of just how blessed I am to have them as my parents and for all they did to raise my brother, sister and I correctly and with Godly principles. 
Also for my amazing nieces and nephew... They are such a joy to be around and have so much love to give. They just make me smile. As a child is just how God told us to come to Him and these kids continually remind me of just what He meant when He said that in His Word.
And how could I be thankful for love without talking about the most amazing man God has ever given me... my amazing fiancé, Destry. He tries so hard to ensure everything is going great for our life together and everything he does is to try and put a smile on my face. Now that is true love. I thank God daily for putting Destry in my life in such a manner as to love me and cherish me the way he does.




This is the last day of the Christmas Challenge...so come back later to see what else this blog talks about!

Day 24 - Christmas Challenge

Did you get to open any presents on Christmas eve as a child?
~Yes we did! We were always allowed to open one present from our parents (of their choosing) and then whatever our brothers and sisters got us for Christmas. That was it though. The rest had to wait until Christmas morning...mainly because our parents didn't put the rest under the tree until later that night...

Days 21, 22 & 23 - Christmas Challenge

Day 21.....Do you bake at Christmas?  What's your favorite baked good?
~Yup! I love to bake all year so at Christmas it is no different!!! :o) Usually we get together as a family to bake and enjoy the time together. This year was no different - we got together at my sister's house to bake. It didn't go all as planned, but that is sometimes part of the fun! No matter what, we laugh, joke and just have fun the whole time.
~My favorite is the traditional sugar cookies that are frosted. The reason this is so much fun is because we usually get bored 1/2 way through each of the steps, so 1/2 look good, and 1/2 look crazy. But that just adds to the fun as well because we just laugh at how bad some of the cookies look!


Day 22......Who do you spend Christmas Day with?
~Well we are starting new traditions as I move into the next chapter of my life. This year Destry & I are spending the day together with Olliver. We hope to see his dad sometime that day...but we will see. Christmas Eve is when we see the majority of the family.

Day 23.....Favorite Christmas memory....
~Ummm there's so many! Moving presents around under the tree in the middle of the night with my brother every year while we were growing up... Making cookies with the family every year... When my parents used to take us kids out on Christmas Eve to look at all the lights all over the different neighborhoods... There's just so many good memories!

Day 20 - Christmas Challenge

What's on your child-like Christmas list this year?  (Oh come on, you know you have a Christmas list!)


~Honestly - I am not a list maker for Christmas (or birthday's for that matter). I never make a list because I always feel bad asking someone else to buy me something. If I want it, I will save up my own money and go buy it. So for me, I don't have anything on my list again this year. I have been blessed greatly this year! With Destry proposing over the summer, planning the wedding, buying a house... We decided that we were going to buy a new TV for us for our Christmas gift to each other... and that is just what we did. So I have everything, and more, that I could ask for this year. My wish is that everyone else gets what they want.

Day 19 - Christmas Challenge

Favorite gift received...


~One year, I was probably in 8th or 9th grade, my brother got my a necklace that said "Worlds Best Sister" on it. When he graduated and left home a few years later, I wore it every single day. I missed him, even though I wasn't going to tell him that, and so that was my way of keeping him close. Even though I don't wear it anymore (it is gold and I switched everything to silver) I still have it in my jewelry box and look at it often and just smile. I just love that necklace.

Day 18 - Christmas Challenge

Favorite family Christmas tradition..


~As a child... When we were little, on Christmas Eve we would always pile in a car together and daddy would drive us around neighborhoods to look at all the decorated houses. We would go to the places where we knew there would be the most houses decorated and just look at all the lights and how pretty it was. After a couple hours of that, we would come home and my parents would let each of us open one present of their choosing. We would also open the presents from each other (so what I got Rachel, Steven & my parents they would open, what Rachel & Steven got me I would open...etc). Then we would all go to bed and wait until morning. Except Steven and I would get up in the middle of the night & rearrange the presents under the tree so that they were in the right place for opening in the morning. Then about 4am we would start trying to wake everyone "on accident" so we could get to opening the presents. Rachel was the hardest to wake, but we eventually got everyone up by 6 or 7 to open presents... Then we would have Cinnabon's for breakfast! That was our family tradition...

~As an adult... I love our times baking together. We get together and bake Christmas cookies, fudge and all different kids of things to make it festive. I cannot wait to bake today - we are getting together at Rachel's house this year, and getting the kids involved in the tradition as well... It will be such a blast!

Day 17 - Christmas Challenge

Favorite picture of snow...


Well unfortunately I do not have any pictures on my computer of the snow...but 2 stand out in my mind that I can think of right now...
1 - A picture I have of Olliver... He is outside, just got done playing in the snow & has the snow all over his face and covering his fur. It is the most adorable picture of him, but I do not have it on this computer. I'll have to look for it and post it another time for you all to see because you would love it too. The way Olliver loves playing in the snow just makes me smile...
2 - Last year, the day after Christmas was the first real snow of the year... and Destry & I went outside, stood in the snow without our coats on and had a couple pictures taken. They are such great pictures... the snow covered pine trees behind us... standing in the snow. They are my favorite pictures! I have them framed in our house...

Day 16 - Christmas Challenge

If you have siblings, do you all buy for each other at Christmas?
~I do have siblings... We do not buy gifts for each other anymore. Now, when we were younger we did. Mom took us all out to find something for the other two but it was never really anything huge since we were kids. But once we became adults, and especially when they started having kids, we stopped buying gifts for each other. We now all buy the kids something and then as a family, all the adults do a gift exchange of some sort. We've done them individually or by couple and change the topic every year. Past years have been $10 gift cards to anywhere... movies... stockings... and this year we are doing games. Nothing huge, but just something to have fun as a family. So while the kids are all playing with their gifts from the aunts, uncles and grandparents, the adults are doing a fun game to figure out which present we are going home with. :o)

Day 15 - Christmas Challenge

Do you wrap or put presents in gift bags?
~Oh ya gotta wrap em!!! HaHa I absolutely love, love, love wrapping presents! It is so much fun to sit there while you are wrapping and just picture the person who you are giving that particular gift to while they are opening it. I love imagining the looks on their face as they unwrap what I have carefully wrapped up for them. I mean, you can tell if you got it right. Like, the look on their face is always a give away on if you really know them or if you missed the mark on what they wanted. Unfortunately I have gotten it right and wrong before... which has hopefully helped me in ensuring to get it right more and more as I go on through the years. So - all that to say that yes - I love to wrap. There are times when I just do not have time, cannot figure out how to wrap something or just do not have wrapping paper. But I think it is so much fun to watch someone unwrap a gift that that is my first choice, all the way!

Day 14 - Christmas Challenge

Your favorite food at Christmas (not a baked good)...


~Wow - not a baked good... Okay I had an answer all in mind until that was added into the question... My favorite would be breakfast on Christmas morning. We always went on Christmas Eve and got a package of Cinnabons to warm up on Christmas morning after opening our presents. So that has always been my favorite food at Christmas...but since it's a baked good, I'm forced to keep thinking.... Hmmmm...
~Okay, well how about a drink? Haha I know I'm not answering this correctly, but who is judging? It's my blog, so I can answer it how I want! LoL Anyways... mom always makes home-made Eggnog! It is amazing. It's a recipe she got from her dad & one that I will take and incorporate into my family's holiday as it is the tastiest ever! I have tried many others, but just does not compare to Paw-Paw's recipe that has always been used in my family. So that is a drink that I never want to go a holiday without having some of this yummy, family tradition! 

Days 11, 12 & 13 - Christmas Challenge

~Well, I had a weekend of rest thanks to yet another sinus infection... So thanks to all of you who have been praying for my healing because I can sure feel all the prayers. It has been a rough weekend, so I didn't do any blogging... Which is why I am playing catch-up right now... Enjoy! :o)


Day 11
Do you decorate outside?  Please include a picture if you do!
~Well, I've never had my own house... I had an apartment for a couple years when I lived in Washington DC, but pretty much I have lived with my parents my whole life. So, yes, normally they decorate outside, but this year we did not. Sad, I know, but just never found the time and the good weather in order to put the lights up. So maybe next year daddy will decorate the house outside again...
~I love the lights outside and it is always a favorite thing of mine to drive around and look at all the lights that everyone puts up. Of course since Destry & I close on our house tomorrow evening, I am doubtful that we will really decorate our own house..especially since we have no decorations to put up yet. But I am sure as we gather up decorations, our house will begin to be decorated yearly. I just love a decorated house for Christmas!! :o)

Day 12
What's on your Grown-Up Christmas list this year?
~A house. Which, as stated above, we get tomorrow! Yeay! I am just so thankful for all Destry has been doing in order to ensure we have a home to share. So my Grown-up Christmas list has been fulfilled. I have an amazing fiancé, who is providing a gorgeous brand new home for us, I have a loving family, the bestest doggie ever, friends who are such a blessing to my life... God has blessed me beyond what I could have every dreamed...so my list for Christmas is filled! 


Day 13
Favorite religious Christmas song...
~Mary Did You Know. I think that song says it all. It speaks volumes as to what the season is about. I often wonder when I am singing this song if these are real questions that went through Mary's mind as she found out what an important part of history she was going to play. Just sit back, read the lyrics and think about what must have been going through Mary's on that first Christmas...

Mary did you know that your baby boy will one day walk on water?
Mary did you know that your baby boy will save our sons and daughters?
Did you know that your baby boy has come to make you new?
This child that you've delivered, will soon deliver you.

Mary did you know that your baby boy will give sight to a blind man?
Mary did you know that your baby boy will calm a storm with his hand?
Did you know that your baby boy has walked where angels trod?
And when you kiss your little baby, you have kissed the face of God.

The blind will see, the deaf will hear and the dead will live again.
The lame will leap, the dumb will speak, the praises of the lamb.

Mary did you know that your baby boy is Lord of all creation?
Mary did you know that your baby boy will one day rule the nations?
Did you know that your baby boy is heaven's perfect Lamb?
This sleeping child you're holding is the great I am.

Day 10 - Christmas Challenge

Do you send out Christmas cards?  Why or why not?


It might sound sad or non-festive...but no, I do not sent out Christmas cards. It is just such a huge task and a lot of money to do this... Plus, in my opinion, they just get lost in a pile of other cards, and rarely do they get appreciated. This is just my own personal opinion, but I would rather send cards for a different holiday so that they are actually noticed. One year I had my BFF make me Easter Cards to send out! :o) I thought that there aren't enough people to recognize Easter...so I sent cards then instead of Christmas. 


But for the most part, no I do not sent Christmas cards. I still love getting them in the mail, but I just do not take the time to actually send them out myself. Maybe once I am married, we have kids, or something like that then I will start sending cards out because there will be more to update everyone on every year... We will see. :o)

Day 9 - Christmas Challenge

Favorite Christmas movie...
Now, don't laugh at me... If you have not seen this movie then you need to! It was made back in 1988, so when I was only 5! And yet it is such a classic and a must every single Christmas in my family. Yup, you got it, Ernest Saves Christmas!! Basically, Santa is looking for his next replacement and in the process he gets put in jail which requires Ernest to save him. Then, they must work to help the next Santa admit that they will take on the job of being Santa, even though their life is going great right now. 
It is such a funny movie and one that our family watches every Christmas, a tradition that every family should have. Haha It is one that is on TV every year and can be found in the $5 bin at Wal-Mart too. So pick it up, or find it on TV and see for yourself... Gotta have an open mind though! I mean, it was filmed in the '80's! LoL

Day 8 - Christmas Challenge

Favorite non-religious Christmas song...

Would have to be "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus." This song is actually one that is special to me since when I was 15 I sang it in a Christmas Dinner Theater as a solo - playing an 8yr old girl! Haha I had so much fun practicing this song and learning all the words. It really helped me to get through a lot of my stage fright too as I had always hated being in front of people, especially when all eyes are on me! But for this dinner theater I got through all of the fears and uncertainties I had in myself and got up there in front of hundreds of people and sing. So whenever I hear this song being sang I think back to that night and it puts a smile on my face.

Day 7 - Christmas Challenge

When do you start listening to Christmas music?

~It really depends on the year since every year varies for me. I basically just wait to see when I feel like I need some help getting into the Christmas spirit and that's when I put in some Christmas music. Usually it is before Thanksgiving, but only like a day or so before. I might start buying presents, wrapping them and listening to Christmas music before Thanksgiving, but that doesn't mean I forget about Thanksgiving. I just think that the birth of our Lord and Savior is so important that only a couple weeks to celebrate is not nearly enough. So the sooner Christmas music is played, the better. 

Days 4, 5 & 6 - Christmas Challenge

Okay - so I took the weekend off to celebrate Destry's birthday & was only on the computer for a couple moments total from Friday afternoon until just now. With that said, you get three posts in one today! Haha Hopefully you enjoy them!  


Day 4 - Do you go shopping on Black Friday?  Do you shop on Cyber Monday?  Are you a last minute shopper?
~I started my Christmas shopping months ago! I just love buying things for other people and I am actually one of those people who can keep secrets and hide gifts for months from people. So shopping early does work for me! But yes, my mom & I normally go out on Black Friday (can we call it that?? Or do we now have to call it "The Event" like so many stores did this year?!? LoL) and find some good deals. Normally I am not going out looking for anything specific & I will not go stand outside in the cold waiting on a store to open. Mom & I normally get up about 4 or so in order to be in a store by 5 at least. We usually end up finding so many goo deals that it is hard to not justify going out.
~I never really paid any attention to Cyber Monday until this year. But I found a couple good deals this year - as shopping online is my favorite thing to do! I would much rather shop online and have my purchase brought to my doorstep. Call me silly but that is my preference. If I can sit at home in my pj's and shop to my hearts content, then count me in! So Cyber Monday was my friend this year. I found some Christmas presents, but mostly stuff for the wedding! :o)


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Day 5 - Do you like to go to Christmas parties?  Why or why not?
~Actually, no I really do not like Christmas parties. Well, I guess I could/should rephrase that a little bit. I enjoy them with family because I enjoy being around my family - so I do enjoy a good Christmas party with my family. I guess the reason I don't like Christmas parties is it is most with work, which is the main type of party I have heard of. For me, I would prefer to be with my family... I am not sure that this is coming out right so hopefully I am getting my point across... 


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Day 6 - Christmas family picture(s)
~These will be from last year, since obviously we aren't to Christmas yet this year & I don't have any older ones on my computer...

Destry & I celebrating our first Christmas together!

This is Destry, Olliver & I on Christmas Eve

My sister's family - the Snyder's
Rachel, Jason, Olivia & Luke

Ezri, Olivia, Luke & Auntie Sarah

Aunt Sarah, Uncle Destry
Olivia, Luke & Ezri

My brother's family - The Farley's

Steven, Brittany & Ezri

My daddy & me! :o)

My mother & me!

The Farley Five

Steven, Les, Sarah, Grace & Rachel

~Hope you enjoyed the pictures! Obviously there are soooo many more from that day as we all had a blast, but this gives a nice overview! :o)

Day 3 - Christmas Challenge

What is your favorite memory of snow?


~Oh this one is an easy question to answer!! I remember all the times with my daddy & brother & sister in daddy's little 1982 Chevette driving around in the snow. He would have so much fun with us all strapped in the back seat. Mom was never with us - she would run into a store and daddy would keep us in the car and we'd go do donuts in parking lots or use the snow piled up as a ramp... We had so much fun just laughing and playing around in the snow. We all still talk about it today - and slowly let mom into our little secret world of fun in the snow! Haha 


~Another one (if I can do two favorite memories) was the year we got 2 extra weeks off school because of the massive amount of snow that fell over the Christmas holiday. I think it was my sophomore year which would have been the winter of 1999-2000, but I could be wrong. Anyway, when the snow plow finally came down our street (we were the next-to-last house on a dead-end street), they stopped before our driveway & piled the snow up in front of our driveway to where we could not get out! Now this wasn't good for anyone needing to drive, but I was not old enough to drive yet! So I thought it was a blast.. My brother & I went out and built tunnels in the snow piles. We had so much fun for hours in the snow, only coming inside when we had to warm up or were hungry! 


There are so many fun memories of the snow. Even though I would usually prefer to skip winter, there is fun to be had in the snow. I am learning to re-love snow as I watch Olliver run around and play in it now. He just loves the snow, and watching him play in it really brings back my love for snow!

Day 2 - Christmas Challenge

What has been your favorite gift that you've bought this year?


This question made me laugh a little bit because what if I tell the real answer to this question and then the person the gift was bought for reads my blog, then they know what I got them for Christmas already, and it is only the 2nd day of December! Haha So I had to really think about this before I answered it in order to not really give away what I got someone... so it might not be my actual favorite, but it is up there on the list! Fair enough?


One day when Destry and I were at Toys R Us looking for my niece, Ezri's birthday present, he saw the perfect gift for my nephew, Luke. Luke (age 2) loves helping Destry play the drums at church. So when Destry saw this little drum set he got a big smile on his face and we just knew that was perfect for Luke's Christmas present! We are both so excited to give it to him and know that he will just love it. It comes with a couple drum sticks and has all kinds of buttons and gadgets on it that he can play with... It does say the drums are for like age 6 and over...but Luke just loves drums! So we figured why not! :o)


While I probably could put another couple answers up there for this question...I will keep them to myself since I do not want the person we got the gift for to read this and not be surprised when Christmas comes around. So I thought talking about Luke's present was the best bet since his parents already know what we got him, and at age 2 I don't think he will get on the computer and read this blog! Haha


Until tomorrow....

25 Days of Christmas Challenge

Okay - my best friend offered up a challenge on her blog that I am going to accept...even though I have not read through the whole list yet! So here it goes. If you feel up to the challenge as well, add the list to your own blog and fulfill the 25 days for yourself!

The list:

1. A picture of your Christmas tree - past or present.
2. What has been your favorite gift that you've bought this year?
3. What is your favorite memory of snow?
4. Do you go shopping on Black Friday?  Do you shop on Cyber Monday?  Are you a last minute shopper?
5. Do you like to go to Christmas parties?  Why or why not?
6. Christmas family picture(s)
7. When do you start listening to Christmas music?
8. Favorite non-religious Christmas song
9. Favorite Christmas movie
10. Do you send out Christmas cards?  Why or why not?
11. Do you decorate outside?  Please include a picture if you do!
12. What's on your Grown-Up Christmas list this year?
13. Favorite religious Christmas song
14. Your favorite food at Christmas (not a baked good)
15. Do you wrap or put presents in gift bags?
16. If you have siblings, do you all buy for each other at Christmas?
17. Favorite picture of snow
18. Favorite family Christmas tradition
19. Favorite gift received
20. What's on your child-like Christmas list this year?  (Oh come on, you know you have a Christmas list!)
21. Do you bake at Christmas?  What's your favorite baked good?
22. Who do you spend Christmas Day with?
23. Favorite Christmas memory
24. Did you get to open any presents on Christmas eve as a child?
25. What are you most thankful for this Christmas?

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Day 1 - A picture (past or present) of your tree

Here is a picture of the tree at my parents house last year... My mom always has so much fun decorating the tree! And since I have yet to have a tree of my own (well, I had a little tiny tree at my apartment a few years back, but I can't find the pictures on this computer) I thought this one would work as it is a family tree! :o) The black & white turned out more in focus than the colored picture did - but I think this one is such a nice picture of the tree...

First Post

Well, this is my first time blogging... I am not really sure what I am doing, but I have thought for a while that it sounded like fun - so here I am! We shall see what comes of this and how it turns out...

As the title says, it is "Random Journeys" with me. We will cover anything and everything that comes up as I remember to blog about it and see where this journey takes us!

Join me for the journey... We will enjoy the ride together! :o)