Great News! We Have A New Vice President!

Just wanted to pass along some really great news! Our youngest daughter Kailee, is now her school's student council Vice President!

Kailee and her friend Jonnathein were co-campaigning throughout their school for President and Vice President seats on their student council and both of them won.

Since she is super sick today with croup she wasn't feeling very well but this news at least made her smile. Please pray for Kailee to get better soon. We took her to the doctor this morning after she couldn't breathe last night, but thanks to our rescue inhaler and a humidifier we were able to control the symptoms til we could get her seen today.

Congratulations Kailee! We just know you'll make us proud and make your school student body a definite fun one this year!

Winners, Reviews and More Giveaways!

I just wanted to congratulate the winners of the recent "Hear No Evil" Book giveaway with over 49 people entered, I decided to giveaway two copies of the book so more than one person could enjoy it. Please join me in congratulating Misha at From My Front Porch In The Mountains and Skoots1Mom at My Hands, His Glory. If both of you ladies can email me, I can get your mailing information and get these books out to you this week.

I also had the wonderful priveledge of completing what is called a Spring Fiction Giveaway where you are randomly sent two great books to review. Here is more about the wonderful program.

Value Fiction For Your Spring Break

Colorado Springs, CO— Fiction lovers don’t need to budget to travel this spring break with Waterbrook Multnomah Publishing Group’s six full-length novels by beloved Christian authors (WaterBrook, February 16, 2010). At the low cost of only $5.99, these well-read “get-aways” provide quality entertainment at a price that any reader can afford.
Full-length novels offered include:

Secrets
by Robin Jones Gunn - Jessica has moved to a new town to start a new life. But a friendly fire-fighter and a suspicious boss both want to know what she’s hiding.

Beneath a Southern Sky
by Deborah Raney – Daria Camfield is expecting her first child when her husband Nate is reported dead on the mission field. Devastated, she returns to the States and soon marries again. But two years later Nate is found alive in the jungle. How can Daria possibly choose between he two men who love her?

The Golden Cross
by Angela Elwell Hunt – Aidan O’Connor may be a poor barmaid but she’s also a gifted artists. When a famous cartographer takes her on as a student, Aidan is swept into an adventure that will bring her back to her heavenly Father, and into marriage with the love of her life.

Deep Harbor
by Lisa Tawn Bergren – Tora, Elsa, Kaatje, and Karl face trouble, tragedy, and treachery across the Wast, Hawaii, Japan, and the high seas. These four immigrants from Bergen, Norway, each grow closer to God and learn afresh the value of faith, family, and coming alongside each other in times of need.

Faithful Heart
by Al and Joanna Lacy – The adventures of certified medical nurse and dedicated Christian Breanna Baylor continue as she travels by wagon train to visit her sister, Dottie, in California. Little does she know that her most dangerous encounter might be with Jerrod, her brother-in-law, who’s suffering from dementia caused by combat fatigue.

Yesterday’s Promise
by Linda Lee Chaikin – Rogan Chantry faces danger from tribesmen, ruthless politicians, and his own family as he searches for gold in South Africa. In England, his beloved Evy is injured by a mysterious assailant. The greed and intrigue surrounding the diamond mines could very well drive them irrevocably apart.

My Reviews on Beneath A Southern Sky and Secrets

I was provided with a complimentary copies of Beneath A Southern Sky By Deborah Raney and Secrets from Robin Jones Gunn to review for Waterbrook Multnomah Publishing Group.

Beneath A Southern Sky By Deborah Raney

Here was another great read for me. This book completely transported me to the Rain Forests in Columbia and the farms of Kansas all within the pages of the book. The best part of these books is that they are all Christian love stories and you find the characters searching for answers to their problems in prayer to God.

It is a love story unlike any other that begins in the Rain Forests of Columbia where you meet Daria and Nate, who are missionaries for God. Nate is a doctor who is called away to a village to help with a medical emergency while Daria waits for his return among the drug cartels and villagers with whom she can barely speak and understand the language. When Daria learns that Nate has been killed in a fire, she moves back to Kansas to begin her life as a single mom caring for Nate’s child.

While there she finds a job at a veterinarian’s office of Colson Hunter and over time develops and new love for him. He is in turn while grieving and keeping a secret from Daria, falls for her and her daughter Natalie. Cole proposes to Daria and it’s only after she gets married, she receives a telegram informing her that her first husband Nate has been found alive.

This book reminds me of the classic romance movies, and will completely leave you guessing ‘til the end on which choice Daria makes. I absolutely loved this book and finished it within hours of starting it!

I have included a link with more information on where you can purchase this book below:

http://waterbrookmultnomah.com/catalog.php?isbn=9780307458766

Secrets By Robin Jones Gunn

I absolutely loved this book and could see reading this over spring break or on a beach in the summer. For the price point on these Christian based romance novels you can’t do wrong as well as the content of the story. These are both books I have passed along to my oldest teen daughter, who like me, is a die hard, hopeless, romantic at heart.

This story is about a young girl, Jessica, who suddenly finds herself in falling in love with a firefighter after just moving into a small town in Oregon. She longs to just lose herself in the small town life and seeks a job as a teacher in the local high school. Yet it seems like God has different plans for Jessica, and no matter how hard she tries to hide the secrets of her past, they won’t stay hidden.

I don’t want to ruin any part of the story for you but this one had me hooked from the very beginning and I completed it in a few short hours. The best part I love about this book is it’s ability to remove you from your current place in time, and transport you someplace else while you are immersed in the story.

If you are interested in finding about more about the author and where you can purchase this book, I have provided you with a link below.

http://waterbrookmultnomah.com/catalog.php?isbn=9781590526736

So here is the next giveaway, leave me a comment and you will be entered to win both books so you can begin your Spring Break and enjoy these great books as well. The giveaway ends on Friday, February 26th. You only need to comment once to be entered!

Happy 12th Anniversary Honey

That's right, you've read it correctly 12 years and still going strong. I am sure people were taking bets somewhere when they heard that Steve and I were going to be married. Some on both sides of our family honestly speaking.

I can honestly say when we recited those vows 12 years ago, I wished someone told us the hard reality of what marriage comes with. It ain't all easy, as a matter of fact, most of it is some of the hardest compromising and work, I've ever had to do and I don't get a salary from it, although, we should.

Marriage for those first couple of years, and I so say soooooo narrow on the couple, when the blinders come off and that yucky romantic, head over heels in love stuff finally wears off, reality soon reveals itself.

You are faced with the real person behind all that romantic, eros, facade. The person who has grown up from a child, dealt with whatever life had to throw at them during those year, through high school, early adulthood, until the sparks flew when your eyes met for the first time. Yeah that person.

That person who when they entered this marriage, had their own fantasies in their mind of just how they envisioned life with that perfect someone, and was destined to go along with a little dose of watching life happen around them, be it with their parents or friends that joined that marriage wagon. They had formed an opinion of how married life should be.

So now you have the person who comes with a history of life before you; a person who has a fantasy of what they wanted married life to be; and a real person complete with their own set of quirks that just months before you didn't seem to think they had. You know the ones I am talking about. The toilet seat lid forgetters, the ones that can't make their laundry find their way to the right spot no matter how close you move the bin to them, the ones that love their sports, leave the cap off the toothpaste, razor clippings in the sink, and will always use your towel in the shower no matter how close a new one is to them. These are the people you married.

These are the people you have to learn to deal with day in and day out. Some days aren't so easy, even despite being a Christian. We are not living in Eden any longer thanks to Adam and Eve. Thus we have to deal with the things the world and our enemy tosses our way.

The battle rages each and every day in our relationships and marriages. Especially those ordained and blessed by God, our fight is a daily one. Some days, we lose, if we are being honest. I don't know of one married couple that can honestly say, that they have never had a fight, a disagreement or a heated discussion. You name it whatever you want, the world calls it a fight.

Even in Christian households, fighting happens. You probably just label it something else, but compromise is in order no matter what our situation is or what life hands us. Someone has to agree and someone may not get their way most of the time. The choice we make to engage in that warfare as Christians sometimes is what sets us apart.

We may not have the all out drag down fight, although, if I am being honest, I've had those in these 12 years. I've questioned divorced more than once with Steve. Yet, the one thing I can say is that we've never separated in anger and stayed gone away from our home. We deal with it in the four walls of our own home.

Sure, there are times we go to bed angry because one or both of us is simply too stubborn to apologize or even accept an apology, but the fights get resolved pretty quickly. Mostly on Steve's end. He's great about getting to the bottom of it and moving on with our life.

Yet in 12 years, we as friends, have grown stronger. We've built our relationship over some very brutal storms, job losses on both sides, bankruptcy, one divorce (on my end), a step relationship between Steve and Caitlyn, and raising our daughter, Kailee, together under one roof, along with three cats.

It sure hasn't been a piece of cake, but I honestly wouldn't trade it for anything. I would change some things, but the result of what we've gone through has shown us, we can weather anything life hands us, as long as we do it together. God created marriage because He did not intend for us to be alone and it's not good to be alone. We are always looking for our other half until we find it.

The point I am trying to make is marriage is hard, down right difficult, sometimes questioning whether you are meant to go through it all, which is probably why, when we get married, we complete marriage vows that include things like, in sickness and in health, for richer or for poorer, for better or for worse, Steve and I, have seen it all. I love him and will love him for the rest of what God allows us to live together while we are on earth. I love the things I can't change about him and I love him for the person he is, although some days are more difficult than others, I still love him.

Yes, marriage is worth it, and you have to work at it every day to make it successful and to grow. You don't plant a rose and cross your fingers and hope it will make it own its own. You water it, feed it and make sure that it gets enough sunlight. In return it blooms for you each and every year! Love is like that, the greatest gift you could possibly want.

Happy 12th Anniversary Steve!

Acknowledgement, Recognition, Kudos, Woo Hoo's and Congratulations!

It's that time again for me to thank all the beautiful souls that have been so kind as to nominate this blog for awards. I apologize that it takes me so long sometimes to post them, acknowledge your kindness for receiving them and also to pass them along to inspire and encourage others.

1. The Mother of the Week Award ~ It was created by my creative and lovely husband to Steve. He has an idea one morning to create an award dedicated to the love, caring, compassion and hard work that goes into being a great mom and wife. He was nice enough to award it to me and I am truly honored. He will be passing this beautiful award on once a week to a mom that he will bless due to her hard work and dedication to raising a family. If you have never stopped by his blog, please do and give him a word of encouragement. Its so hard to find dedicated men who will blog as often as they can and one worthy of followers as well at Gotta Have Faith.



2. Beautiful Blessings Award ~ Given to me last week by Christina at Luvin This Life who was also the highlight of this weeks, Blog of the Week Award if you missed it on Sunday. It is given to blogs whose posts encourage and bless readers that stop by. This is what Christina had to say, "While her comments are always uplifting and encouraging, it is her blog, the thoughts that she shares, her incredible insights, that are truly a beautiful blessing." So it is with great pleasure that I pass this beautiful award on to the following people whose daily messages inspire, encourage, motivate and bless not only me but others that stop by as well.

1. Kathleen at Sassy Granny
2. Tiffany at Tea with Tiffany
3. Lisa at Sharing Life with Lisa
4. Candee at Encouragement for the Journey
5. Rosel at Off the Beaten Trek

Please visit them and encourage them with your comments today as you stop by and visit. Ladies, please pass this along to 5 bloggers who really inspire you each day.



3. Friendship Award ~ I received this beautiful award from Debbi at For Your Tears, who has a beautiful ministry for parents of children that leave our earthly homes far too early. If you have never stopped by her heartwarming blog, please do so. You will find solace, peace and blessings when you do. For those receiving this award it is bestowed on to blogs that are exceedingly charming. These kind bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in self-aggrandizement. Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated. Please give more attention to these writers. Deliver this award to six bloggers who must choose six more and include this cleverly-written text into the body of their award. So without further hesitation, here are my selections:

1. Steven at Gotta Have Faith
2. Greg at Greg's General Store
3. Loren at The Magoos News
4. Kat at Art's Chili
5. Daveda at Grace Talk with Daveda
6. Susan at This Day

Ladies and Gentlemen, please pass this heartwarming award on to those who fit the criteria for this award and bless them with this beautiful gift of friendship.

Have a glorious and blessed Tuesday and make a difference in the life of someone today but offering them a random act of kindness, whether it is a smile, holding the door open for someone, or offering a passing Hello to a neighbor!

Happy Windsday!

Good morning and Happy Winds-day as Winnie the Pooh would say to piglet! Of course it is not really a blustery kind of day but I do have a lot of things to post about today, so it could be considered a blustery kind of post!

Update on Kat's Mom: As some of you know my mom lost her brother, my uncle, a couple of weeks ago and I have had several emails and comments asking about her. Funny thing was I had so many yesterday it brought me to at least address this. By the way she also called so the update is pretty current. She has her high and low days and yesterday, her older sister called and was pretty harsh with some of her comments to my mom about their brother. "He was a good kid!" was the comment used to my mom. I just explained that some people deal with grief differently and perhaps she doesn't know how to process her feelings well. It didn't help much and she still remained down. I did want to pass along her personal thanks to the many of you that sent her cards. These are what she looks at when she has those down moments in her day. It's a reminder from all of you that you care! Keep her in your prayers please!

Prayer Requests: I do have two prayer requests to add to the many we are all writing about. My friend, Jacquie called yesterday to ask me to add her daughter Charity to our prayer lists. She is going to a neuro-surgeons appointment on Monday, the 15th for some massive pain in her head and she is hoping it won't involve surgery.

The second is for a super nice lady my brother is dating named Dawn. Her mom has been diagnosed with ovarian cancer, stage 3. There are giving her between 6 months to 5 years depending on how she responds to treatment. I will get her name so we can create a button and keep her close to our prayer list.

I wanted to share some positive news to end this post and tell you all that I won a copy of Mary Moss' books today at Crayon Chronicles. She was the bright spot in my morning with an email notifying me I was honored to receive such a blessed gift from her.

Honors, Awards, Recognition and Congratulations: I do also need to thank and recognize some lovely ladies who have bestowed some lovely awards my way on the last weeks and I haven't had time to acknowledge or thank them here. I want to personally thank Audrey at Country Mom, Andrea at Arise 2 Write, Lidj at Crown of Beauty, Kat at Art's Chili and my latest LV at Thoughts from Meme's Corner.

So here are the awards and here are the blogs I am highlighting to pass them along to!

True Heart Award

1. Kurt at Some Things I Have Learned
2. Beth at Outnumbered Three to One
3. Beth at At His Feet
4. Teresa at Grammy Girlfriend
5. Jane at Jumpin in the Jungle

Loyalty Award

1. Luvin the Life
2. Collette at Jesus Loves Mums
3. Sandy at One Day at a Time
4. Amy at Filled with Praise
5. Mich at Mich

Circle of Friends

1. Loren at The Magoos News
2. Kat at Art's Chili
3. Lidj at Crown of Beauty
4. Greg at Greg's General Store
5. Mari at My Little Corner of the World

Humane Award

1. Steve at Gotta Have Faith
2. Caitlyn at Teen Life
3. Dawn at Dawn's Cottage Corner
4. Sitka at All God's Creatures
5. Rosel at Off the Beaten Trek

Please take the time and congratulate all these beautiful people and become part of their families! They are all part of mine and is why I am so blessed!

It's Monday!!! Hurray!

It's Monday! How does that statement make you feel. Rolling back over in bed and pulling the covers over you head, trying to shut out the day and wish the weekend were back again?

For most of us, poor Monday has taken the heat of the worst day of the week. Where did the honor come from? I believe that it came the day the 5 day work week was invented and for the majority of us, it begins each and every Monday, unless, there is a holiday! Then we hate Tuesday!

Don't you just feel bad for poor old Monday. It's suppose to signify a bright new beginning. A start to another week, especially if last week was really bad. We get a whole new opportunity to begin again and perhaps make things better. This is the reason for me loving Mondays.

Today is the day of possibilities that anything great can happen. We need to keep our joy and happiness through the day, despite what day it is. Today is the day for change.

Last week, Rosel from Off the Beaten Trek was generous enough to share the honor of bestowing an award to me called Queen of All Things. I am once again humbled and honored to accept this award. Rosel's blog is so amazing because I am fascinated by people who deal with life's worst people and have an opportunity to pray for them and help restore hope in humanity once again. Please take time to encourage her in her daily dealings with people in the correctional facility, and keep her in your prayers daily, to protect her and cover her with God's anointing as she comes into contact with these individuals. She is so amazing.

I began my blog at the beginning of the year with a goal to encourage people who are downhearted, depressed, lonely or just in need of something missing in their life. I got such pleasure from it at every job I have ever held, that I believed it was God's calling in my life to become an encourager!

It can come in all kinds of ways! I sometimes will post funny stories about whatever is going on in my life, share personal moments of tradegy and triumph, because I believe people need to see Christians as we are. Real, down to earth people who still have more than their fare share of problems in life. We just have the wonderful knowledge of knowing we will be experiencing eternity in heaven once our time here is done. So all the glory of what comes from these blog postings, belongs solely to God.


The rule of the award is to:



- List 7 things that make you "awe-summm" and then, pass the award on to 7 bloggers you love.



-Make sure to tag the recipients and let them know they have won!



- Link back to the "Queen" that tagged you.


The Seven Things that Make Me Awe-Summm are:

1. My everlasting and faithful faith in God our Father. Without Him, I am nothing and would have nothing. God is so amazing because no matter how dark, bleak or depressing things get, He is always there and will never leave us! His is the Best Economic Stimulus Package there will ever be! AMEN!!

2. My amazing husband. He works so hard, to provide for our family so we can make it financially in this tough economy. This means he is out of our home for 90% of the time. It's like being married but to a ghost you can talk to. We know, that it is only temporary so we pray and hang on the best we can everyday. We know God has everything in His control and it's merely just waiting on Him for now is all we can do.

3. My kids. They are what gives me the incentive to keep on going each and every day. They show me the things in life, I am too busy to see everyday. They restore my faith in the next generation as well. They are my gifts from God.

4. My ability to never give up and accept a challenge. I have been told so many times in life, I would never amount to much. Funny how that one little statement changes your life in so many ways. I take it personally! I take it as a challenge to prove them wrong. If I still fail in my attempts, I least I tried and learned something in the process instead of accepting what people say as the truth.

5 and 6 . Organizing and Neat Freak. My family would call me borderline compulsive on these but I like knowing where things are. Don't our family members always come to us with the question, "Mom, do you know where ________ is?" or "Honey, I need help finding______" Fill in the blanks with whatever you deem appropriate. I like having a home for everything. It's funny too because whenever I go looking for something, it's never there.

When it comes to being a neat freak, what can I say, my dad was ex military and loved it when things were clean. It stuck and I can honestly say, I am relaxed and happy when it's all clean and smelling amazing. My family could care a less.

7. Quiet time. When I can find it, I love doing nothing but listening to the sounds of the earth. From the winds whistling in the pines to the birds stopping by for breakfast, I love the sounds God made. My favorite, pouring rain!!! Gotta love the smell after it rains, God just gave this entire planet a bath! Nothing smells quite the same.

Now it's time to pass this blog along. SO here goes,


1. Michelle at Scribbit. If you haven't visited her site, please make it a favorite. I love reading her blog every day to see just what life in Alaska is like today. You'll never be disappointed.

2. Prairie Girl at Under a Prairie Sky. The title of her blog is what drew me in and when I read what she shared, she made me a follower. Check out her blog.

3. Yolanda at Higher Grounds. She is so blessed by God. I loved the titled of her blog as well since I am a caffeine addict and have to have my morning cup of coffee. Once you stop by and see how God will bless you through her blog, you're life will never be the same.

4. Cynthia at Girl in a Glass House. Her blog is just like you would think based on her title. She believes in transparency in her life and in sharing her testimony with anyone who stops by. I love just being there everyday!

5.Dawn at Dawn's Country Cottage. I love being here with her because I can relate to everything she is going through, she is that down to earth. Looking forward to the day when I can finally meet her.

6. Carol in Joy In the Journey. My newest blogging buddy from the UK. She is a fellow stay at home, homeschooling mom, so we will be sharing lots of information on how to keep sane in the process. Check her out and stay for a visit.

7. God's Girl at Contentment Corner. This lady is so beautiful not only on the outside but on the inside as well. God has seriously blessed her and her family in amazing ways. Please stop by and say Hi!

WHEW!!! That was a super long blog. Thanks so much for all of you that commented and began following on my blog from yesterdays' post. It was so nice to read all your comments and see the blessings you bring by coming by each day. Hope you will stop by and wish all the winners and huge congratulations today at their sites!

A Gift From God

I had to add this extra blog in as a super surprise and at the majesty of just how God can bless your life at the lowest of hours! I got a blog award from Sitka on All God's Creatures! This truly made my day and it's so hard to get passed up by all the little things in life, but this one was just like getting an academy award.

Two rules accompany this award:
1. Confess 5 things you are addicted to
2. Pass the award on to 5 deserving bloggers

Task one: 5 Things That I Am Addicted To:

1. Grey's Anatomy. Never miss an episode if I can help it. Yes, I am one of those people filled with the hope that Meredith and Derek will finally get married and live happily ever after.
2. Chocolate. Perferably the darker and sweeter the better. Plus I heard it's good for your heart too! I especially love See's Dark Chocolate Bordeauxs.
3. My Hubby. I was loving him far before he ever fell for me. He helped me through one of the most difficult times of my life, and now loves me in spite of my many shortcomings, too many to list here.
4. My kids. Yes, they can get on my nerves sometimes, but I would never trade a day without them. They help mold me into the mom I am today.
5. God. He is not only the period at the end of each sentence in my book on my life, but the author, publisher, editor, and creator! Some may wonder why I placed Him last instead of first, and the truth is, He is always first in my life but He is also my last. He completes who I am and even though I leave Him sometimes, He never abandons me. He is always there for me.

Task Two - The blog award is being passed to:

1. Caitlyn at Dear Craisin . She is my daughter and its her first blog, I think it's amazing that she is writing from a teenager's point of view. My goal for her was to continue to write as a journal and be able to look back at both the high and low points of her life and see the amazing ways God has blessed her. A mom couldn't be more proud.

2. Samm at Samm's Inspirations. Again another teenager that I know quite well that has used her blog to help her through a difficult time in her life. She is working on advancing her photography career as well as her spiritual walk in a home where her parents are hard on her. Keeping the faith!

3. Michelle at Scribbit. She has the most amazing blog and has inspired me to follow suit. I can only hope at some point to live up to her blog. She is a mom who lives in Alaska and I find myself living through her eyes what life is like in Alaska. She gives great advice to bloggers and I look forward to reading her post everyday!

4. Layla at the The Lettered Cottage. She is super amazing designer and the ideas and pictures she shares has given me some hope that some of my ideas might not be so far off. She will even do a consultation for you via her site and email for a fee. So if you have that hard to decorate room or like me, have tried in vane to find the right paint color for the room, she is the answer.

5. Rachel at Made With Love and Glue. Again she is amazing with creative, low cost ideas that will not only inspire you to join in but will give you the faith to step out on your own as well and try some simple things. Love this site.

Thanks again to my wonderful friends for all your wonderful blogs and amazing ideas.