Wordless Wednesday

This morning,

Introducing Jo-Jo to Jo-Jo.

This afternoon,

Toddler Talk

This is going to be a hodge podge of stuff, but I just have to share some of the latest things from E's mouth.

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A couple of her newest words are "eider" (either) and "instead" - used at the most appropriate times. "I think I like dis one instead." or "I don't want eider one of doze."

Tonight, we were on the way to the mall to make an exchange and she was so excited to be going to "Jason's Pennies"...better known as "JC Penneys" to most.

And you can tell we shop way too much. She loves to conversate about going to AC Moore, Sears, Old Navy"s", Target"s" or Wal-"Motts". Just don't try and get her to say Bed, Bath & Beyond yet. That's almost too many B's for me.

She has had a tummy bug this week and the doctor's office said to keep her on a clear liquid diet and give her Gatorade, which she affectionately calls her "Alligator" drink.

As I am typing this, she is laying in bed fighting sleep and making silly, off-the-wall comments, such as, "You bwakin' my heart man. You know what I mean?" What in the world...Where did this come from?

...This is another that I just heard. I am sitting here in silence hoping she is falling asleep and out comes, "Hey, you betta be kiyet mommy. I twyin' to take a nap." "OOOOH! Man, I just bit my tum (tongue) again."

Last week, there was a preacher on t.v. and she was watching it while I was in the kitchen cooking dinner. I came around the corner and she had her hands raised, eyes closed and was pacing the floor saying, "Yes God. Holy Spiwitt. Yes God. Holy Spiwitt." J.R., our dog, got under her and she pushed him and said, "Go on Jee-ahr, I twyin' to pway heeah." Then, she looked up and said, "Uh mommy - Why you watchin' me?"

It's amazing how much they listen to the way we talk and word things.

She has decided that she likes to call us by name, but mostly me. "Miss Stacey" usually. Or - as if she is a teenager - "Mo-omm!!"...2 syllables.

I could go on and on since we are talking about my favorite subject. But, I'll save some stuff for a future post even though she gives us new material each hour it seems.

I tell you: Having an almost 3 year old around keeps you on your toes about what you watch, what you say, what attitude you choose to have, etc. They watch your every move. I mean, who else would they learn to emulate?

Oh Lord, help me do this thing right.

Menu Plan Monday

So, I think this may be the first time...maybe second...that I've participated in this. Menu Plan Monday is hosted by Laura over at Organizing Junkie and it's a great way for us to share with you what our dinner plans are for the upcoming week.


Actually planning out my meal for anymore than 1 day in advance is a daunting task for me. I am the type that is frantically trying to decide on dinner when 4:00 rolls around. This is not my forte, but I'm gonna try and do better.

Let me just tell you too that when you do plan out your meals, you will find that not only is it less stressful in the long run, but you do, in turn, end up saving more money at the grocery store. Now, I am all about saving some money...

So here goes:

Monday: Dinner with my girlfriends...potluck style (bring hubby home a plate)
Tuesday: Island Jerk Chicken with grilled pineapple, Caesar Salad, Bread
Wednesday: Dinner at church...$5.00 for meat, 3 veggies, salad, roll, sweet tea, dessert & coffee
Thursday: Salisbury Steak & Gravy, Roasted Seasoned Potatoes, Garlic Green Beans
Friday: Cheesy Chicken & Rice Casserole

Some time this week, I'll find an opportunity to make this: Microwave Cherry Crisp. This would be perfect with a creamy cup of coffee & some great friends to share it with.

A Thought for Today

I read this quote today and it stirred up some thought in my mind. Maybe it will do the same for you.


"Life is 10% of what happens to you and 90% of how you respond to it."

Man, just think of how much time we waste...

We've got winners

Okay so WOW what an awesome turnout I had for both giveaways. I was amazed and tried my hardest to follow up with most of you. If I didn't follow up with you, then here's a big Thank You for stopping by and I welcome you to "visit" anytime!

Alright so:

Giveaway #1 ~ one bag of Mia Melts ~ goes to Lesha of The Bargain Shopper. Y'all check out this blog too...there's some great finds on here.

Giveaway #2 ~ one tube of Bella Balm lotion ~ goes to Julie of Nebraska. (no blog to link to)

It is certainly a delight of mine to give away such awesome products. I know you ladies are truly going to enjoy these. Congratulations to you both.

For any of you that are interested, you can order directly from my online store. Try out some of these amazing products for yourself.

Thanks again!

Thankful Thursday

So, it's been quite a while since I've done one of these and I feel that it's time to list some things that I'm thankful for...from small things to big things.

1. I am thankful for the prayer time that we had at church lastnight. I was just about to slip out when the pastor's wife asked us to pray with each other. 35 minutes later, I was still there and so glad I chose to stay and be ministered to.

2. Thank You Lord for the boldness that you are developing inside of me to talk about You, share Your Word and pray for others. As I step out of my comfort zone, I can feel You leading me down the path You have chosen. Thank You for holding my hand as I follow.

3. I am thankful for the quiet in my home right now. That leads me to saying, "Thank You Lord" for the quiet in my life right now. We all have storms and my life is not free of them, but even in the storm, there is a quiet place. A place where our Father says, "Be still and know that I Am God." It's quiet now...and YES You Are!

4. Thank You Lord for Your nudging during last week's trials and Your gentle, but constant reminders of 2 Corinthians 12:9-10. "My grace is sufficient for You for My strength is made perfect in weakness." I saw you move greatly and now I am relying on that grace.

5. Lastly, I am so thankful that You, God, make all things new. No matter how horribly we mess up. We fail and we fail BIG time! We let each other down, but most importantly, we let You down repeatedly. You forgive. But then you go even further and forget. And You make us new. You let us start over. Time after time after time. Thank You Lord.

Wordless Wednesday

My princess in her princess chair. We had just gone outside to blow bubbles so this was while she was still clean. Two mintues later, her dress was sudsy.

...That's our girl...

A Giveaway ~ #2, Bella Balm

Alright here is Giveaway #2...

This giveaway is for a 7 oz. tube of our Bella Balm.

Enter your name in the comment section below. Be sure and leave a valid email address too.

U.S. residents only please. You do not have to have a blog in order to enter.

BONUS: If you do have a blog or website of any kind and would like to up the prize to 2 tubes of Bella Balm, you can post a link to my blog on your site. Just be sure and leave a way for me to see it.

For TONS of other giveaways, go here.

Thanks and have fun! This is so exciting!! :o)

A Giveaway ~ #1, Mia Melts

I absolutely love to do these quarterly giveaways. Here's the deal...I will hold 2 giveaways during the remainder of this week.

All you have to do is leave a comment and make sure to include your name and email address.

Giveaway #1...

This first giveaway is for a bag of 10 Mia Melts, scent of your choice. You can pick your scent when I contact you.

BONUS: If you post a link to my contest on your blog or website, please let me know and I will up the prize to 2 bags! Be sure to leave a link though to your blog if you do this.

You do not have to have a blog to enter this giveaway. Oh and U.S. residents only please.

I will hold the giveaway open until Friday afternoon and the winner will be announced no later than Monday.

For TONS of other giveaways, go here.

Thanks and have fun!!

I'm Itchin

19 days remain until my very first cruise y'all! Don't worry though...nobody's counting.

No really - I've been excited, but now that we've passed the 3 week point, oh my goodness I can hardly wait!

I'm working out ~ HA! ~ which is weird for my lil' fingers to even type. I am going to join the tanning bed this week for one purpose and that is so my skin isn't thrown into crazy shock from the sun. I don't tan. I am white! "Casper ain't got nuttin' on me."

aNyWaY though ~ I'm eXcItEd. I can't wait to do things that I may not get to do again. Swim with Flipper...maybe even get a smooch from him, snorkel with Nemo, ride down the beach on a bareback Mr. Ed, oh and possibly chill somewhere with Jonah's whale. I know we'll have a full schedule of things to do, but I may even try and squeeze in a latte with George & Jane...who better to give me a tour of the jungle right? And who needs to walk or take a trolley? I'll be swingin' from trees baby!

Oh sorry. I'm back. I know I was gettin' a little carried away. I think I lost Mr. Ed's email address anyway.

So, since this is our very first cruise and although we are going with great friends, which happen to be veteran cruisers :o) - I thought I would open this post up for any advice/tips that you can offer. Anything related to a cruise.

Packing, traveling, dealing with sea-sickness, how to NOT.GO.CRAZY without seeing my daughter for that long.

If any of you already know Flipper and would like to send him a message, now is your chance to. Oh and that silly Nemo...if you've swam with him in the past, would you mind giving me instructions for finding him?

Can't wait to hear from ya!

Give it away

"As children bring their broken toys with tears for us to mend, I brought my broken dreams to God because He is my friend. But then instead of leaving Him in peace to work alone, I hung around and tried to help with ways that were my own. At last I snatched them back and cried, 'How can you be so slow?' 'My child,' He said, 'What could I do...you never did let go.'" ~ Loretta P. Burns


Ouch. How guilty we all are of this. How many times have we been touched by the pastor's message and felt that tugging to go to the altar and give our problems to God. We kneel, close our eyes, begin to weep and pray - saying, "Lord, I give it You. I trust You. Please take this situation that I am in and handle it. Fix it. Mend my broken heart. Heal my body. Place Your hand on my financial needs." etc. Then, we thank Him, dry our eyes and get up to walk off. At the first sign of doubt...or that almost immediate reminder from the devil about our circumstance and we practically run back to that ole' wooden altar and pick our "stuff" back up. Almost declaring, "Mine!"

I'm reminded of when I was a small child and we had an evangelist come to our church. He had the spiritual gift of healing and was used by God incredibly. We saw a lot of miraculous healings take place that evening. I don't remember a lot of things from my childhood in detail and I don't remember her name. But, I've never forgotten this.

This little old lady - for as long as I remember her - had a walker. You never saw her without it. She couldn't get around without the help of it. This minister came all the way to the back of the sanctuary and called her out into the aisle. He laid hands on her and prayed for her. He took that walker out of her hands and she followed him up the aisle by herself. Without her walker. Everyone was clapping and praising God for her healing.

Then, it's like something snapped in her mind. Her "security" was gone. She no longer would need that "crutch" that she had hidden behind for all those years. I guess she wasn't comfortable with the idea of that. That lady turned around, walked (with no problem) back up the aisle to her seat and to her walker, picked it up and wobbled on out behind it, where she'd been for all that time.

Why in the world? I remember laughing about it, but not understanding. I see now though how many of us use our problems, our situations, our circumstances as a crutch. We have gotten so used to carrying it all around with us, everywhere we go, like baggage. We can't give it up. We try and we are sincere with our giving it to God. But, we are so accustomed to trying to handle it ourselves that we can't hardly find it in us to let it go. To trust in someone else or even our Creator to fix things.

The Bible says, "Trust in the Lord, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed. Delight thyself also in the Lord; and He shall give thee the desires of thine heart. Commit thy way unto the Lord; trust also in Him; and He shall bring it to pass." (Ps 37:3-5)

So, allow your Father to work. He will work things out for you according to His will. If you let Him.

Leave your walker/crutch right where it was when you surrendered it to the Lord.

Typing Test

90 words

Speedtest

This is neat...I found it over on someone else's blog and thought I'd share it with you. I love to type, which was one of my favorite things about my old job. Working for an attorney, I got to type a lot!!

Take it and see how you do. I'd love to hear so please leave a comment and let me know.

"Len"

Leonard J. Pate

- Also known as "Len" to my grandmother...one of the best granddaddy's to ever walk this earth. Well, in my opinion. I'm sure my daughter will argue that down the road...since she'll think her's is THE best!

Today, April 2nd, marks the 6th year since my precious granddaddy went to be with the Lord. In some ways, I can hardly believe it's been that long. But, in most ways, it feels like it's been forever. He was such a constant part of my life. He was so loving and steady. I miss him terribly.

So many words come to mind though when I try to describe him to someone. When anyone met him, they knew so much about him within about 3 minutes of first speaking. That is all it took was the first introduction and he knew you. And you certainly knew him.

Everytime I would go to their house, before I could sit down, he would drag me to the backyard or the garage to show me his new tools or his new toys that he found at a yard sale. You see, he was a Master Yard Saler!! I mean it too!! He would find absolute junk at them and come home and fix them up or repair whatever appliances he could find. Then, hold one of his regularly scheduled Friday & Saturday yard sales and sell it (no longer junk) for much more. A lot of folks knew him for his yard salin' skills too.

He was so caring and had so many wonderful characeristics about him. After I got married, I can remember waking up on more than one occasion to look outside and see my sweet granddaddy in my front yard pulling weeds or fixing my mailbox. Then, when I was sick, he'd come over with his famous cornbread, rutabegas & peas or any other comfort food in a plastic bag and ring the doorbell. By the time I opened the door, he was back at his car in the driveway waving. He wasn't gonna hang around long enough to catch it.

Other times, he didn't even care if he caught it. My dad was a long distance truck driver and he was on the road each week. So my mom was extremely sick one time when I was a teenager and I had to take her to the hospital in the middle of the night. I called and told him that we were going and to pray. Not long after we arrived, I heard the squeaking of his leather jacket and the clanking of his keys on his keychain coming down the hall. He came in and sat with us until we left. I didn't have to be scared anymore.

I miss so much about him - can you tell? But, it's amazing the little things that you never forget about someone you love. Those things that make it so real and so special.

He never left his house - and I mean never! - without Juicy Fruit chewing gum and hard cinnamon candies in his front shirt pocket.

He bought a new used car every several months it seemed like. Really...I don't know the ending number, but he had tons of cars in his life. He would take a picture of each one and he had a photo album with most of them in it. Then, next thing you know, it would be sitting on the front lawn with a For Sale sign on it. In any of those cars, he would pick me up from school or take me somewhere and we'd drive the whole ride with the blinker on. It would drive me crazy, but I wouldn't say a thing.

Oh but he didn't drive like an old man in other ways. He certainly didn't poke. And when I was learning to drive, I was on a busy highway in the left lane. I was trying to change lanes and was scared and some lady came flying by us hanging her head out the window and showing me a not-so-nice finger. I remember him telling me I was gonna have to learn to keep up and not be scared. Believe me, I am not scared now. :o)

He cared for my grandmother with a dying passion! I don't know how else to describe it. He lived for her. The year he died, they would have celebrated their 56th anniversary. It was amazing after that many years how in love they were; how much affection they still showed; how they still called each other "Baby" and lit up around one another. It was horrible losing him, but the Lord knows what He is doing. We all said that he couldn't have lived one day on this earth without her. He spoiled her a€nd wouldn't have had it any other way. He's certainly helping Jesus prepare her mansion.

My granddaddy was a hard man in his earlier days I've heard. But, all I ever knew was a softie. He would cry at the drop of a hat. But, he could make you laugh until your belly hurt. He would dance and tell jokes and come up with silly nicknames for my friends. He's probably already given Moses a nickname.

He couldn't sing a lick and all my life, there was an ongoing joke at church about him joining the choir. I'll bet he has a beautiful voice now!! He is singing with the angels.

He was so faithful to our church though. He loved the Lord and served Him with every breath he had in him. He wasn't afraid to tell anyone about the love of Jesus and invite them to church. A lot of people are still there today because he was the first person they met when they visited and he made them feel at home. I'll assume he's a greeter in Heaven.

We have a road behind our church that leads from the front parking lot to the back and it has a street sign that says, "Pate Drive" after my granddaddy. It's a nice reminder of him everytime I drive on it.

But today, on this 6th anniversary of his reunion with Jesus...it's been so comforting to be able to recap some of the special things about him. I could keep you here reading for the remainder of the day. But, I won't. I do thank you though if you are still here. I know he wasn't your "Len" and most of you never knew him.

But, he was our "Len." He was mine.

And the thoughts of you, granddaddy, are just another reminder of what a blessed life I've been given. I can't wait to spend eternity with you. I miss you and I love you so much!

Oh - save a piece of Juicy Fruit for me.

Key Lime Pie Y'all!!

You know you want a slice! What an amazing scent to have burning at the onset of the Spring season. Gets you in the mood for a cookout with friends or a picnic, with a slice of pie and a tall glass of iced tea.

Yeah, you're tastin' it aren't ya? Well, either way...you can at least smell it.

Our Candle of the Month scent for April is just that...Key Lime Pie.

"Tangy lime and green lemon zest with a hint of vanilla cream!"

So, as always, you can go here to request a scent sample of this new scent to see what you think. But, if you'd like to place an order, you can shop online and have it shipped directly to your door.

Lastly, if you know anyone that may be interested in making money with these great candles, you can email their contact info. to me or send them my way. I would love to speak with them.