Summer Bloggy Giveaway!!

Handmade Frame

A friend and I are actually in the planning stages of starting a side business...so what a great opportunity this is to try one of our handmade items out on YOU!

The giveaway is for a frame similar to the one's below...you customize it yourself. If your name is chosen, just tell me what colors/animal/theme/name you would like on it and if it is possible, I will be happy to make it just as you want it!

Please know that this does not have to be a children's frame. I can do different themes, beach or Christmas, for example, or possibly something that would fit the decor in your home.

The giveaway will be open until Friday afternoon and a winner will be announced shortly thereafter. You must be a resident of the U.S. to enter, but you do not have to be a blogger!!
* Please leave a comment with your name and a way to reach you. If you do not have a blog, please please make sure you leave an email address!* I would appreciate you commenting on which of these is your favorite or what theme you would most like.

For more giveaways, go here.

To view more of what will be sold in our online store, please go here. This is not our actual "store" - we are only using this to get our products online right now. Feel free to contact us about a custom order or suggestion!

Thanks for entering!

She'll Never Doubt

We were flipping channels one night this week and happened to stop on SuperNanny. That's a great show, but we don't watch it often because if E is still awake, we won't let her watch how horribly those kids act. That's the last thing we need is for her to get any "bright" ideas!!

We watched for a few minutes and as you see in a lot of those shows, it isn't the kids who are the problem...it's the stinkin' parents!! Some of these parents are just unbelievable don't you think?! Not always now...some of the parents have just bitten off more than they can chew and simply need help. But some need straight up intervention...better known as Jesus! :c)

This mother in particular this week had 5 or 6 kids. I believe it was 1 boy and 4 or 5 girls. (ahhhhhh, poor lil' boy) The mom showed no emotion and was so negative the entire time we watched. Her and SuperNanny got into it because SuperNanny wasn't seeming to get through to her. She was having to talk the mother into loving on her children and talking nice to them. All those kids had been used to was anger and yelling, from the mom.

Towards the end of the show, SuperNanny (SN) walked the mom into her oldest daughter's room, which was 12, and had her suggest that they go bowling, just her and her daughter. The girl was so excited because with that many siblings, she never got any one-on-one time with either parent. The mother was about to walk out and SN stopped her and told her she needed to hug her daughter.

**wait a minute!** I said to my husband, "What kind of mother needs to be told or even encouraged to hug her child. That is what mommies do! We love our children. A Mother's Love...

So she followed "orders" and hugged her daughter and at first it was so awkward watching - as if they didn't know what to do. Then, the mother teared up and the daughter did too. The little girl said, "I can't remember the last time my mom hugged me."

A simple hug from a mother - or father. It doesn't take long to do, yet it can carry you through a whole day or make you forget about the biggest of problems in your life. It makes you better when you are sick; happy when you are sad; uncomplicates things in a complicated day. Yet how many toddlers, kids, teenagers or even adults ever go without it?!

That saddens me.

I feel like E sometimes gets sick of my hugs and kisses and constant "I love you's" because she gets them from the time she wakes up until bedtime that night. Then, after she is sleeping sound, I sometimes go in to watch her sleep as I play with her hair...loving her.

I don't say that for any praise or attention. I am only determined to never get so wrapped up in the day-to-day stresses of life that I fail, for even one day, to remind my kids of the reassurance of their mother's love.

Happy Anniversary My Love

Today, I celebrate 8 years of marriage to the most amazing man my life could have been blessed with.

Kevin, I am so thankful for your love, your friendship and the wonderful husband and father that you are. Mostly, I thank you for being the God-fearing man and spiritual head of our house that you are, which makes you everything else.


You have always stated the importance of: God first; Family second; and all others will follow. Our marriage and companionship is what it is today because your relationship with Christ takes precedence over all else and in making Him your priority, He makes you the man you need to be for us. Thank you for that. Thank you for loving your family enough to make us "second" on the list.

This road of marriage has certainly not always been easy. In the last 8 years, we have seen some very tough times...times that without the hand of our Heavenly Father guiding us, we'd have not found the way through it. But, we held on tight and stuck together and here we are.

I am confident in the love we have for each other now. I have seen our love move mountains and crash through obstacles that have been in our way and it is as strong as it is today because of the things the Lord allowed us to face. Thank you for giving me a love worth fighting for.

I appreciate all the easy-to-love things about you, as well the little things that drive me nuts...the way you rub your feet together every night in order to fall asleep. I wouldn't have it any other way.

I am so excited to know that however much time we have left to spend on this earth, you are stuck with me and I am stuck with you. What joy that puts in my heart.


I love you "tooky" ~ forever and always.

It's Happening

In every young woman's life, there comes a point where ~~~ she becomes ~~~ her mother!

Yesterday morning, we were getting ready to leave the house and she asked for something. When I told her no, she mumbled, "It juss not fayer!" (Where did she learn this?)

I'm telling you - before I could even think about a response, it came out..."Well, life's not always fair!"

I always said I'd never say that to my children. My mother assured me I would.

She was right.

I always said I'd never use the powerful "mama spit" on E's face too. My mother assured me I would.

She was right. That mama spit works wonders!

Someday when E doesn't feel good, she will tell me something hurts and I will probably respond with, "Ah it's just a growing pain. You'll be fine."

That would be from my grandmother. When she has pain, she has pain. But when you do, it's only a growing pain.

Yep - I grew alright. Right straight into my mother. It was inevitable. :c)

"Issumagijoujungnainermik"

I promise I didn't just start hitting the keyboard for my title. Would you believe this is a word?...in the Eskimo language.

Have you ever struggled to forgive someone for something? Of course you have - if you are human. Which, if you are reading this right now, I assume you are???

I have. I've been hurt. You've been hurt. We've all had our hearts broken here and there. Little things, big things. Looking back...extremely stupid things. But many things.

It is so easy to say you forgive someone, but then run into them somewhere or have someone mention the situation and everything comes right back. Then, you think about it and talk about it and before you know it, you realize you've slowly but surely become bitter. Oooh and bitterness - well, that's just a word that you don't want to mess with.

I can honestly say that I've never hated anyone. That is way too strong of an emotion and no one and nothing is worth my missing eternity in Heaven over. But, I've been hurt before...and when I've taken too long to deal with that hurt, in turn I've become bitter.

My point here...

"Issumagijoujungnainermik" - in the Eskimo language means - "not being able to think about it anymore." ~ Forgiveness. What release you feel when your heart is troubled over something and suddenly you don't think of it anymore. You have chosen to forgive. It's like a weight has lifted off of your chest. I've been there. I've experienced issumagijoujungnainermik first-hand. Haven't you? Aren't we offered unlimited issumagijoujungnainermik each day of our lives? What does the Bible say?...70 X 7...Christ forgives continually and then He thinks of it NO MORE.

Genuine forgiveness is about moving on, and refusing to think anymore about what happened.

As Christians, we are called to be like Christ. That is a hard path to walk, but it is a choice that we must make daily, hourly sometimes. Paul said, "Forgive...because the Lord forgave you."

Has someone offended you? Talked about you? Stabbed you in the back? Have you been hurt by a friend, a loved one, or had your heart broken by a spouse? Whatever your hurt may be, choose forgiveness. That doesn't mean it will never cross your mind. That doesn't even mean the situation won't still bother you. I can assure you, that in some circumstances, it will. But, by forgiving, you are allowing Christ to work in your life and in turn, He will show you some powerful and mighty things. Who knows more about forgiveness...or issumagijoujungnainermik than He does? He forgave all of our sins and relieved us from all of our debts before we even existed? He died so you would be forgiven.

Take the high road today. You won't be walking it alone.

Tuesday Talk

Lastnight, E was in the bathtub and all out of the blue, she starts singing "Me & Mrs. Jones."

I am a HUGE Michael Buble fan and have all of his cd's...but, it's been quite a while since she's heard that song. It's amazing how things just pop into their little heads.

"Me & Mrs. Jones"...am I a great example of a mother or what? hahaha

************

We were driving down the road in the afternoon and I was rushing to get her home in time for a nap. It was already getting late so she started falling asleep about halfway home. I turned the music off and started being really loud to keep her awake. I told her she had to stay awake until we got home.

In tears, "I weally wanna nap mommy!" She was getting aggravated with me somethin' awful.

So, I kept getting louder and louder and telling her to wake up and she yelled at me with all her might, "Mommy, I'm only asleep with my one eye!!"

Needless to say, we made it home and she slept like a baby.

Just Another Manic Monday

Well, it's not really manic at all. But, just what is it about Mondays?

You know what I'm talking about. It needs no explanation. It's Monday. (sounds a lot like "mundane" doesn't it?)

Something about this day of the week seems to set the bar for the week doesn't it? I don't know why.

My house is a mess. Does your house get destroyed every weekend like mine? It can be spotless on Friday evening. Then somewhere between Friday night and Sunday night...it happens. Who wants to go into a brand new week with a strown and messy house? Evidently we do. Because it never fails and we don't seem to change.

Come Monday morning, I peek open my eyes, see the mess awaiting my attention and every bit of me wants to crawl back in and hide until next Monday morning. I step out from my bed and into my bathroom...it's not so bad. I put away a few things in there and continue to the kitchen to make some coffee...the path on the way is very disturbing...there are toys out that have not been played with - she only wanted to bring them out. There are multiple pairs of shoes that have been too lazy to walk themselves back to the closets that they belong in. There are drink cups from the night before that need to take a bath in the dishwasher - and we aren't even to the kitchen for the coffee yet. I won't even explain what it looks like in there.

The rest of the house? Nah...I'll spare you the mental picture that I could sooo paint in your mind right now. Oh and her room is a separate post of its' own.

Why do we allow this? Every Single Weekend...

This alone could easily make it feel like a 'Manic Monday' morning in just the few minutes after I'm out of bed. But, what else are Monday's for? I plan out the week in my mind on Monday.

I need to plan what's for dinner - not just tonight - but each night this week. Then, I need to shop for the week's menu.

Any appointments? Errands that need to be run? What day will work for a date with a girlfriend? Will she want to stop by afterward? Not-in-a-million-years if my house is still in this shape.

Oh yeah...what about that dinner I set for Thursday night at our house? Did I mention the people that are coming make neat-freaks look messy? There is not a clean enough word that I know to describe the wife. Which, by the way, is a compliment. Oh the things to do before then.

It's funny...after I'd already begun this post this afternoon, I picked up a devotional that was laying nearby and today's devotion was talking about feeling overwhelmed. This is a feeling I experience way to often. The book suggested making a list and going about it one step at a time.

But...um...have you seen my house? What step do you take first when every direction is calling you?

So, I digress...

I Promise...

I am coming back. For the small group of you that faithfully read my blog, please keep checking and don't give up on me! I've been a total slacker lately with the writing.

I have so many things on my mind to talk about, but this sort of "talking" takes time and thought and therefore, mental energy, which I feel I am lacking at the moment. I sound ridiculous.

The computer is calling me and I see it and run.

So I will "see" you soon. Don't leave me! :c)

Oh...just a tidbit for ya...

We had a ton of thunder and lightning around here tonight. On a few occasions, when a limb breaks in a tree 8.3 miles away, we.lose.power... So, when she saw the thunder, she mumbled something about a "tundertorm", picked up the phone and said, "Yes, Georgia Power?"

We never lack for entertainment.

WFMW ~ '5 Ingredients or Less' Edition

Chicken Cheese Ball

10 oz. can of white meat chicken, drained

2 pkgs. cream cheese, softened

1/2 pkg. ranch dressing powder mix

pecans, chopped finely

Shred chicken with a fork and mix it with the cream cheese. Add in about ½ of the pkg. of ranch powder. (You may want a little more in there.)

Spread chopped pecans onto wax paper. Mold mixture into a ball and roll in the pecans to cover. Refrigerate for 3 hours or overnight.

* Hint: Keep running your hands under cold water so mixture won’t stick to them.

This is one of my favorite things to take to get-togethers or to serve as a snack when you have a few people over. It looks so fancy and everyone will be shocked that you made it from scratch.

Enjoy!!

Oh and for more 5 Ingredients or Less posts, go here.

Asian Plum

This month's Candle of the Month is...

Asian Plum

"This exotic aroma is tangy and spicy and makes a perfect summer fragrance to enjoy in the house or on the deck."

If you'd like a free sample of this month's scent, please leave a comment below with a way to reach you..."FREE" people!! You can also go here to shop online or here find out how to make money with yummy scents like this. This is ridiculously fun!

God bless!