Bloggy Giveaway #2

Okay so here is my 2nd giveaway. (Be sure and check out giveaway #1 as well!)

I have a gourmet candle business that I run from my home. We have lots of different candle and bath/body products.

But, I thought I would giveaway one of our Cinnamon Bella Bun candles. You can see what it looks like here. I figured this is a great time of year, being that it is Fall, for someone to burn one of these. It smells just like there are cinnamon buns in the oven...without the calories!

All you have to do is leave a comment here...tell me about one of your family traditions for Thanksgiving. I will pick the winner based on your traditions and you will have your new Bella Bun to burn by Thanksgiving.

There is no need to enter more than one and you don't have to have a blog to enter. US residents only please.

Oh and don't forget to check out this site to enter LOADS of other giveaways. Did I mention they are all FREE? Oh what fun!!

Bloggy Giveaway #1

Yea! The Fall Y'all Bloggy Giveaway carnival is officially underway. It actually began yesterday, but I'm a little late as you can see. All you have to do to take part in this fun, FREE contest is visit here and check out the list of participants. Click on their link and enter their FREE contests!
But, first check out my giveaway below.

Ever heard of BOZ the Bear? Well, he is like another member of our family around here and has been since my daughter was about 10 mos. old. She LOVES her BOZ...actually that is the first and only word she knows how to spell right now. :o)

"Preschoolers have a new friend...BOZ!"

"As a parent, you want your preschooler to have a strong foundation for life.

That's why we created BOZ.

It is the only DVD series that combines the important everyday

elements of faith, family, fun and education.

BOZ helps reinforce the values you are already teaching your child."

I urge you to give BOZ a try if you haven't already. Your children will love it!

So, my first giveaway is for 1 BOZ the Bear book. You can go here to view all of his products and a list of his books.

All you have to do is leave a comment here and on Friday morning, Nov. 2, I will randomly pick a name and send you your new book. Please leave only one comment and a way to reach you. You don't have to have your own blog to enter. Oh and only US residents please.

Stay tuned for my 2nd giveaway later today!

Photo Jubilee

I have had quite a few of you ask to see recent pics of E, so here are some for your viewing pleasure. (smile) I mean, how could looking at her not be pure pleasure right? WARNING: there are quite a few...

Following in her
Dadaddy's footsteps...


And lastly...
one of my favorite pics

"Batter up!"

How can life not be GRAND?!!

What it comes down to

We've recently started singing a worship song at church that is simple, yet it touches me deep in my heart each time I hear it.

"All of life comes down to just one thing;
That's to know You Oh Jesus; and
to make You known."

"All I need is You;
All I need is You Lord, it's You Lord;
All I need is You."

I've tried to find a clip of it to post on here so that you could hear it, but maybe I'll find one later.

While these words are the simplest of words, they've made me realize that the reason for my life on this earth is the simplest of reasons...to know Him and to make Him known.

Oh yeah, I know Jesus...but, do I know Him? I know my family like noone else does. I know the little quirks that my husband has that noone else will ever know due to my deep relationship with him and the time I spend with him. I know the things that can put a smile on my child's face that noone else knows about. I know her perfect tickle spot. I know her favorite songs, even at 2 and the way she loves to watch me dance for her as we drive down the road each morning. And the list could go on and on.

I know that Jesus' mother was Mary. I know that he had 12 disciples (although ashamedly, I cannot name them all on a whim. :o/) I know that He performed miracles and the most important thing is that He died for me, as well as each of you. These are all great facts to know...we all know this right?

But, if I go through the rest of this life on just the basics of what I learned in Sunday School and what we all know, what an empty life this will be. It can still be a good life, but oh so very empty. What is my marriage if I just know the basics? My relationship with my husband is due to my knowing his quirks; what makes him tick; what makes him laugh, cry, leap for joy; and the things that I do that irritate him like crazy. It is so wonderful because we talk to each other and we listen. We know each other's desires in this little life and so on.

My prayer very often is to have a deeper hunger for the Lord and to know Him more. But, I guess I pray that and then expect Him to come find me. I don't do much further than praying it. I do want to know my Heavenly Father more, deeper, intimately. But, how devoted will I be this time around? He wants us to know Him, know Him, know Him.

2 reasons for being on this earth...In addition to the above, we are to make Him known. Why keep Him all to ourselves? He has done so many great things for me that I need to share. How come that is so difficult at times? It's ridiculous.

I have been raised and brought up in a Christian family. We were in church every time the doors were open and then some...still that way. My life is church; my life is my walk with God. That is who I am. That is all I've ever known (well, except for a couple stupid teenage years, but I won't go there.) Even then, His hand was on me and tugging me back in. If this is who I am, why am I not telling everyone I meet about His love? Forgive me Father.

I mean really...when I find a good sale in town, what is the first thing I do - call my friends and let them know. When someone I know gets married or has a baby, I'm spreading the good news. When we have movie night at church or something fun, I find it no problem at all to invite anyone. What about every Saturday service, Sunday service, Wednesday service, Bible study, etc.? Again, forgive me Father.

To know Him and to make Him known.

Lately, we've been dealing with a lot of issues. I've got a business that I am really trying to get up and running and successful. We need financial security in our lives right now (who doesn't huh?) My husband works so many crazy hours and we miss our time with him. Certain friends fail us. (none of you reading though ;o)) Family disappoints us. There aren't enough hours in the day. The "terrific two's" are upon us at the moment. Talking back, throwing things, tantrums, crying. Life happens. But,...how much does it really matter?

To know Him and to make Him known.

In the light of eternity, where does this all fit in? Yes, it's important, but we should be hesitant to get so wrapped up in the day to day stuff that we forget our purpose for existing in the first place.

It all comes down to...You Lord...You are all we need!

Letter from "Daddy" God

Please take 6 minutes of your time to watch this video...a love letter from your Heavenly Father. Some of you may have already seen it, but watch it again because we all need to hear how much our Father loves us. It is so uniquely, but simply put in this video and it is so refreshing to be reminded of His everlasting love!!

If you have Windows Media Player, you can watch it here.

If you have Real Player, you can watch it here.

If any of you only have dial-up, you can go here to watch it.

Soak in His love today! He wants to daily lavish it on you...Psalm 68:19.

Thankful Thursday

I had the biggest scare today with E. She was swinging in a swing that is attached by a rope & screws into the awning of the house. We all are constantly checking to ensure that it is still tight and safe. However, we didn't consider this would happen.

"Ohn go high mommy," she said. So, I pushed her high. Y'all, way up high in mid-air, one of the screws just came completely out. There went my baby just flailing in mid-air, then falling, eyes wide open with pure fear. She was heading straight for the glass door, head first...still harnessed by the swing. I couldn't get to her fast enough to get in between her and the door when, BANG!!!

All I could say was, "Oh my God. Oh my God. Jesus, help my baby!" She honestly hit so hard that I thought she was going to bust the glass.

Praise God for the blood of Jesus that was shed for all of us on that cross; the same blood that covered my little darlin and protected her today. That could have been bad y'all! But, we don't live by the could-a-been's do we? We give God the glory and trust in His faithfulness.

And thank Him: Thank you Lord!!

I simply write this because I told Him I would give Him the glory for protecting her - so I am. We don't need to take these things for granted! His angels are with us everywhere we go and that is why it is so important to pray over your life and your family each day...you never know at what point in any given day that you will see those prayers at work!

Okay so...I could have totally won the "Drama Queen for the Day" award! I have to admit that I was not strong in the faith area when this happened. It's hard, oh it's so hard to stay calm and not lose it when your child is hurt and you saw it happen and couldn't stop it. That is my little life walking around in this world...my one and only child. She is my full responsibility and I care for her like only a mother can understand!

That is what I am thankful for today, but then how can we count them all?

Works for Me Wednesday

#1) This is a tip that I heard from someone else so I can't take credit for it. But, it works so well!

Rolled Towels:

If you are as limited as we are in cabinet space in your laundry room or closets, try this: Instead of folding your towels the traditional way, try folding them twice and then rolling them. This will provide you so much more space than when you stack the folded towels on top of each other.

I can now fit double the amount of towels in my closet as I could before.

#2) When you fold your bed linens, stack the pieces to each set inside of each other. Fold the pillowcases and put them into your folded fitted sheet, then that goes into your folded top sheet. It looks much neater, saves space and you won't be wondering where all of the pieces are when you go to change your bed.

A HUGE Fall Giveaway

Alright Y'all, on October 29th, you need to head over here for a huge giveaway carnival for your chance to win a ton of really cool stuff! Oops did I say huge...no, HUGE! This is a great opportunity to win some great Christmas gifts for someone. Well, or a great "just because" gift for yourself! I mean, who doesn't love f.r.e.e.?

You don't have to have your own blog to win. You just simply visit Bloggy Giveaways and click on the links there in order to participate. Easy and oh so much fun.

However, if you are a blogger and would like to join in the giveaway fun and make someone's day, visit Rocks in My Dryer for all of the rules and how-to stuff. Then, begin now deciding what you will give away on your site.

Ooh, I already have something great in mind! But, I'm gonna come up with a couple things!

See ya on the 29th!! Huge Y'all.

Because I'm the MOM!

In light of the previous post, this is a hilarious portrayal of what most mom's say to their children on any given day. While I am not quite there yet because E is only 2...oh I know it's coming!

Enjoy! You go Mom's!!!

Patience...a Virtue Huh?

I have really been feeling bad lately because of my lack of patience with E. I already don’t consider myself the most patient person, but add a 2 year old to the mix and OHMYGOODNESS sometimes this is not a pretty picture!!

I know that I am not a bad mother, but I recognize my tendency to snap at her or rush her too much and there is no telling how many sighs come from my mouth throughout the day. This is completely normal I know! And, I believe that most mothers have felt this same conviction.

I often wonder how much I am disappointing my heavenly Father every time I raise my voice, every time I roll my eyes, every time I make sounds like “ugghhh!!” I mean, she isn’t MINE after all. She belongs to Him and He has just blessed our lives with her while we are on this earth. The Lord has entrusted us with the care of His child, His daughter.

Just the other day, she began to throw a fit over something ridiculous, which is usually the case. This all transpired in front of my grandmother, which – in her old age – doesn’t really remember all of the times she spanked me and scolded me. I was a red-headed little fire ball, which according to my parents, was full of a temper…shhh don’t believe it!!

I was getting onto her for acting the way that she was and put her "on the wall", which is our form of time out. "Spare the rod and spoil the child." I do believe in spanking, but I don't feel that every single situation merits a spanking. We believe in a good mixture of both. So, while she is sitting on the wall, she is crying for "mamaw" (my grandmother) to "help me" and my response is, "Nuh uh, Mamaw can't help you. Don't cry for her." Mamaw is saying, "Come 'ere dollbaby, sit with Mamaw." People: her mother had just put her in timeout!

So, I say, "Oh no way! She is in timeout until I say it's over. Mamaw, don't you baby her right now."

I am the bad guy once again!! (smile)

A couple minutes later, I ask E to apologize and it's over. My sweet little g-mother has the nerve to say, "You know, my sweet mama had 8 kids and never once raised her voice at any of them."

My response? "I'm not your mama! But, I don't curse at my child or beat her. I am a good mother...and things are different nowadays than they used to be."

I walk away from this situation, as well as many others, feeling like a horrible mother. I know that I am not, but am I good enough? Do I not live up to the mother that others thought I would be? Am I always going to be compared to my great-grandmothers, my grandmothers, and my mother? I could only hope to be half of the women that they were and are.

But, I am me. I may have different ways of loving my child. I may have different ways of teaching my child, punishing my child. Are there times that I raise my voice? Yes. Will there be times in the future that I raise my voice? That I sigh? That I roll my eyes? Lose patience? My answer is a BIG FAT Y.E.S.! I know that there will be plenty of times to come that I have to fall on my face and ask the Father's forgiveness for disappointing my child, and in turn, disappointing Him; that I have to pray for more patience, and in turn, be tested in it; that I compare myself to other mom's around or to my mama...only to remember that I am me.

I am made in His image, in the likeness of God.

Will my daughter keep testing my patience? Yes she will. Will she ever doubt our love for her? Absolutely not! I love her with every ounce of my being and so much more than this life itself! I may not be the "perfect" mom, who is? But, I am just the right mom for her because our relationship was chosen by the Creator Himself. He must know that I can handle this. In addition to feeling our love, she will never doubt for one second of her life the precious, unconditional, undying love of her Heavenly Father.

She will be raised in the Word of God and our prayers are that she will serve Him all the days of her life. I have confidence that this is what pleases my Lord. If I live out His Word in my life, then I will continue to become more of the mother that He wills for me to be...imperfections and all.

I pray that whoever reads this post will take it as it's meant to sound. I wanted to write this as an encouragement for all of you other mothers that daily feel the same way I do. Motherhood comes with daily, sometimes moment-by-moment, lessons in life. We shouldn't take it lightly. Our children are our teachers and we have been blessed with a scholarship to learn for the rest of our lives.

Lord, help me be the mother that you have created me to be for Your child. Help me to know that I will never be perfect and that you don't expect me to be. Continue to teach me life lessons through my faults and show me how to always love my child in the way that pleases You. In Jesus' name, Amen.

Eucalyptus

OHMYGOODNESS! I have placed a section in my sidebar for the Candle of the Month scents that I receive each month. I will list what the scent is and there is a link for you to click on if you would like a free sample of this mailed to you.

I don't have any samples of the current scent, Eucalyptus, available just yet, but I just had to post about it. To be honest, I wasn't sure if I should be very excited about this month's fragrance and I expected it to be overly strong. Boy was I wrong!!

It is wonderful!
Here is the description from the company: "This refreshing and invigorating scent will brighten any room. Calming and comforting, it is also soft and romantic." I just lit it and my house smells like a spa y'all!

If you would like to order this scent or any of our products, please comment on this post or email me at stacey at makesmorescents dot com. (weird looking I know, but for some reason I think we have to write it out like that on here.)

Have a Scent-Sational day!