Winner Winner

No chicken dinner. Something way better, in fact! A super cute organizational tool called a Roll-A-Deck from an incredibly fabulous woman I've known my whole life and blog-stalked for a few years :)

Amy at Sincerely Yours is a whole lot of things I am not - crafty, uber creative, culinarily inclined... just ridiculously talented. Do yourself a favor and check out her blog. She is the designer/creator of the most beautiful "paper lovelies" I've ever seen, and she combines dreamy pictures of her creations with sweet stories and sentiments, ideas and ideals, and pies. I think she really loves pies.

Back to the prize. I've admited from Day 1 that my domesticity leaves a bit to be desired, but one characteristic I share with Amy is an affinity for color-coded organization. Combine this with the mental scar left from erasing everything off my iPhone a few months ago {yes, I shed a tear...or two}, and I knew that this would be a pretty and practical solution/back up.

Now, I must point out that, luckily, I was the winner chosen at random. Had this been a contest based on the ideas for use, I would have lost. By a long shot. I read such sweet ideas about using the papers to make notes for kids' lunches and to write Bible verses for kids to memorize. I almost felt guilty that I plan to use it for plain ol' contact info. Almost. ;)

Thanks so much, Amy! I really will use my very best handwriting!

Name Change

I started this blog on a bit of a whim {you can read my first post HERE}. It was a rainy Friday afternoon, and I didn't have to work, so I just went for it. Needless to say, I picked the blog name quickly without a lot of thought {if you know me at all, you know that not thinking is not like me - my maiden name is "Ponder" for Pete's sake ;)}.

So since Day 1, way back when, I've gone back and forth about whether or not to change the name. I tend to lean to the cheesy side, like way to the cheesy side, so my hesitation was that whatever new name I would pick would inevitably be too much.

Then came the word delightful.

It is a fabulous word, a beautiful word, meaning greatly pleasing or entertaining; joyful.

I like to think of it as describing those things that make it impossible not to smile.

It encompasses not only what I hope this blog to be but something I hope I can be as well. It can be placed in so many contexts - some simple and some complex.

A story can be delightful, or a thought or opinion. A photo can be delightful. Honesty is delightful. A good, hardy belly laugh, a fond memory, and a warm piece of pie {especially ala mode!} are all delightful. A hand written note in the mail or a surprise visit from a friend- so very delightful.

But ultimately, my goal is to be delightful in the sight of the Lord.

I can't ever be perfect, or even have perfect in sight. Some days it feels like I am living from mistake to mistake, but God doesn't see it that way. He forgives so that despite my multitude of imperfections, I can still reach for greatly pleasing Him, being found joyful by Him.

Can I entertain Him? I don't really know about that one...but I'd sure like to think so.

Make no mistake - I know I do sooo many things that aren't delightful - that's where that forgiveness comes in ;). I also know you have to be other things besides delightful, like strong and courageous and faithful and bold, but I still think you can be delightful all the while.

...

I'm not very good with directions, never have been. I miss turns or turn too soon or get distracted by baby miniature horses in a pasture along the road {they are THE cutest things ever}. But Delightful, that's where I'm trying to go.

Plus it starts with a "D," like Damascus, which is just enough cheesy for me. ;)

Here we go!

I know I am breaking the mold for the blog world. I do not have children, I am not pregnant, and I am not trying to get pregnant...yet {Josh and I have NINE nieces and nephews between the two of us, so we're good for a while!}. I am not remotely crafty. There are approximately four meals that I can cook well consistently. At least once a week I have to rewash a load of laundry that completely escaped my mind after the first washing...speaking of, I need to go put clothes in the dryer right now. I know you're all wondering how I managed to get a man to marry me, right? Well I do make him peanut butter and jelly toast every morning, served with a glass of V8 fusion juice and a side of two multivitamins. But honestly, he earns stars in his crown daily just for handling life with me ;)
Lack of qualification aside, I do love to write, and that is what you do on blogs. I know this because I stalk/follow several of them. Plus, since it is highly unlikely that I will put together a cute little color-coded monthly journal or make a scrapbook covered with those little glue-on rhinestones and full of keepsakes like the movie tickets from date night with J {please, those probably got washed...twice}, I'm hoping this can serve as a chronicle of everyday life moments we will want to remember. So if you can look past my love of run-on sentences, please stick around to see what on earth I can come up with to talk about!