It Must Be Giving Season :)

"...The righteous give generously..." Psalm 37:21b

Isn't it wonderful to give -- whether it's something as small as a hug

or as large as a thousand dollars? :D Well, I love giving!

The feeling I get when my Mom and I occassionally conjure up

something simple, yet special, to get for my sisters after

we've been grocery shopping for hours is exciting!

It's always so much fun and makes me feel really good... and...

we know they love it! It doesn't even matter what it is.

Just knowing that they are cared about and thought of like that is

what makes it so special. That's just one example, though.

There are so many ways to give!

God has blessed us and given us so many wonderful things that

we have the need to share with others... Like love, joy peace,

patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness,

and self-conrol... Just to name a few! ;) The greatest

gift he has given me is the gift of my salvation in Jesus Christ

and that's something I can choose to take part in giving to

others as well, by simply sharing the story of God's amazing grace!

Isn't that wonderful? We serve a loving and gracious God who

also delights in giving -- (For he is the one who created it!)

So let's praise God today and everyday for all the ways he

has given to us and let's thank him for allowing us to give back

to him, and others as well. :)

All that being said, yes, I have two

more giveaways I'd like to share with you! :)

Rachel over at Euphoria is hosting her very first giveaway

in honor of her upcoming 100th post! Just CLICK HERE

to check it out. ;)

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

And... Rachel Grace at Bundles of Blessings is also having
a giveaway of her own! You can CLICK HERE to enter. :)

I hope you're having a very blessed Tuesday, everyone!

PRAISE THE LORD ALL THE EARTH!

"Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you

the desires of your heart."

Psalm 37:4

Photo: Taken by Sis #1

Edited by Me :)

Another Giveaway!

Laura at Sharing His Love is having

her first giveaway over at her blog!

You can CLICK HERE to enter! :)

A Quick Update on Life... :D

"Then God said, "Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds." And it was so. The land produced vegetation: plants bearing seed according to their kinds and trees bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds. And God saw that it was

good." Genesis 1:11-13

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I'm sorry I haven't been able to post much this week! We have been really busy as usual. :) Our family is about to start a new therapy that involves a radical change in diet. It includes juicing (and then of course, drinking) fresh fruits and vegetables each day. It also includes eating only organic fruits and veges -- no meat, sugar, dairy, etc.! It's going to be really hard... but we've already cleaned out the fridges and stocked them full with all organic vegetables and fruits. (The meals we've made so far have definitely been interesting!) Oh, and you cannot use any seasonings at all, which means goodbye to salt and pepper. :( They say that after being on the full therapy for a week your tastebuds will start to taste the natural flavors in the vegetables again. Right now everything tastes pretty blah, but we're still not even doing the full therapy yet.

So anyway... we believe that doing this will really help our whole family's health to improve, but most importantly, my dad's. We're trusting that God will heal him through this. Most of the people who have followed this therapy have been healed of their cancer and even MS just by simply changing the way they eat. But they say that with MS it gets worse before it gets better. We just have to be diligent and stick with it. So, if you feel led then please pray for us as we do this! It's going to take a whole lot of work.

Thank you so much for praying! :) May the Lord bless you and keep you!

Picture credit: Google Images

An Exciting Giveaway!

My friend Lindsay is having a

wonderful giveaway over at her blog!

CLICK HERE to check it out! :)

~ Congratulations ~

on one year of blogging, Lindsay! :)

White As Snow...

You probably already guessed what I'm going to say...

We got snow! :) Last Thursday morning we woke up to find it slowly and gently falling to the ground. We were so excited because we rarely get snow here -- I mean real snow. It's usually more like sleet and hardly sticks to the ground. The weather channel said that this is the first time we've gotten snow like this since 1978!

Here are quite a few pictures I took during the whole record event... :)

DAY ONE

Nana & Papa's house next door...

and our tractor. :)

Our back porch...

We thought it was amazing when we had this much snow

on the ground. We had no idea how much more

was to come!

"But from everlasting to everlasting the LORD's love is with those who fear him, and his righteousness with their children's children-
with those who keep his covenant and remember to obey his precepts."

Psalm 103:17-18

Here comes "the playful pup"!
He absolutely loved prancing around in the snow!

The guilty culprit. :)

Isn't he so cute?

After taking all of those pictures we came inside.

Poor Ty was longingly looking out the window...

dreaming about his next adventure outside! :D

Daddy & Ty

After I left that afternoon for work, my sisters made some

snowmen!

Here is the second one.

Molly & Darcy

Sister #3

Yes, the playful pup!

Huddled together for warmth! :D

"Hey... what about me?"

DAY TWO

Early in the morning...

The snow is done falling and everything is left covered!

Where did the ramp go??

Later that afternoon I was able to get some nice pictures.

The gentleman and his lady... hanging in there!

... Over at our pond ...

It all looked so pretty!

By day three the snow was melting away. We sure enjoyed it while it was here, but I must say I'm glad that it's gone! :D I honestly didn't like the trouble of trying to keep so warm and dry and having the electricity out for 24 hours. LOL! (We were blessed though, because a lot of people didn't have it for days.) Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the pictures! Have a blessed week!

"Come now, let us reason together," says the LORD. "Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool."

Isaiah 1:17-19

~ Praise the Lord! ~

Also... A Tag and Valentines Surprise :)

Stephanie awarded me with this special button she made!

Thank you very much for thinking of me, Stephanie!! :)

Also, Leah tagged/awarded me with this one... thank you, Leah! :)

Here are the rules:

1. List 8 stories or books you'd like to live in.

2. List 8 other bloggers who deserve this award.

3. Comment on their blog and let them know they've been awarded.

WOW... I think I'm going to cheat on this one and cut the number in half. :D There's no way I can come up with 8 stories!

#1 Little House on the Prairie
#2 Love Comes Softly Series
#3 Pride and Prejudice
#4 And... the Bible :)

Now I'll award this to four people:

Lindsay, Chloe, Moriah, and Jessica

Have a blessed Sunday, everyone!

~ Celebrating the Greatest Gift of Love ~

There are so many different ways people choose to celebrate Valentines Day, but I just want to use the opportunity to share how grateful I am for the love God has poured out on my life. I am so blessed and so glad that he chose to send Jesus -- the greatest gift of love we could ever ask for!

I know many people find themselves asking the question, "What is love?" Well, God has given us the most perfect and best definition in his holy word:

~ "God is love." ~

1 John 4:8

By simply looking at all of the attributes of God we discover what it truly means to love. And today of all days should be the best reminder for us to practice the two most important commandments God has given us -- to love the Lord our God with all our hearts, souls, minds, and strength... and to love our neighbors as ourselves. (Matthew 22:37) We love because he first loved us. (1 John 4:19)

PRAISE THE LORD ALL THE EARTH! :)

"This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers."

1 John 3:16

Tag - I'm It! :)

Stephanie over at Stephanie's Saga did this one and tagged anybody who owns or has owned a dog! ...Since that includes me, I thought I would do it. :) (I haven't done one in quite awhile!)

BIOLOGY

• Are you right-handed or left-handed? Right handed
• Have you ever had anything removed from your body? My tonsils and part of my gums above my top teeth
• What is the last heavy item you lifted? Two 50 lbs. bags of chicken feed! (One at a time! :D) Sis #1 got the third. ;)
  

FOOD-OLGY

• What is your salad dressing of choice? Ranch
• What is your favorite sit-down restaurant? El Chico or Chili's
• What food could you eat for 2 weeks straight and not get sick of it? Reeses, maybe :)
• What are your pizza toppings of choice? Cheese and hamburger or pepperoni
• What do you like to put on your toast? Butter!
  

RANDOM-OLOGY

• If it were possible, would you want to know the day you were going to die? I don't think so!
• If you could change your name, what would you change it to? The only time I plan on changing my name is when I get married. :D I like my name. :)
• Would you drink an entire bottle of hot sauce for $1000? Nope.
  

DUMB-OLOGY

• How many pairs of flip flops do you own? Oh, boy! I don't think I can count them! ...I LOVE wearing flip-flops in the summer! (The cheap ones you get for only $1 :)
• Last time you had a run-in with the cops? I don't think I've ever had one... and I'd like to keep it that way! :D
• Last person you talked to in person? Mom
• Favorite Month? I can't choose between October, November, or December!
  

CURRENT-OLOGY

• Mood? Pleasant. :)
• What are you listening to? "Be Thou My Vision" on my playlist right now.
• Watching? Each letter appear on the computer screen as I type them up! ...The smily faces too! :)
• Worrying about? Nothing at the moment. :)

RANDOM-OLOGY

• What’s the last movie you watched?National Treasure 2
• Do you smile often? Not when I'm really thinking... but otherwise, I try to! :D
• Do you always answer your phone? Yes
• If you could change your eye color what would it be? I don't think I would change them.
• What flavor do you add to your drink at Sonic? I don't! But I used to get Cherry Limeades... they're my favorites!
• Have you ever had a pet fish? Yes, two of them: Joshua & Jabez. :)
• Favorite Christmas song? That's too hard to answer! Either "What Child is This" or "O Come, O Come Emmanuel"
• What’s on your wish list for your birthday? Nothing right now... it's in 10 months! :D
• Can you do push-ups? Yes, but not very quickly. (I struggle... LOL!)
• Can you do a chin up? No way.
• Do you have any saved texts? Yes
• Ever been in a car wreck? No, never.
• Do you have an accent? A bit of a "countrified" one maybe. :D (I don't think so, but all my old friends say I do now!)
• What is the last song to make you cry? I tear up with a lot of them... so I don't know!
• Plans tonight? Going to church in a few minutes and helping mom teach the babies in nursery!
• Have you ever felt like you hit rock bottom? Maybe?
• Name 2 things you bought yesterday: I didn't!
• You ever been given roses? Yes, by my daddy. :)
• Current hate right now? Only dislikes. :)
• Met someone who changed your life? Yes
• What were you doing 12 AM last night? Probably dreaming!
• What was the first thing you thought of when you woke up? "Oh my goodnes!! It's 9:00!!" (For some reason I didn't wake up early this morning and it happened to be the day I didn't set my alarm!)
  

TECHNOLOGY

• How many televisions are in your house? 2
• What color cell phone do you have? White and lime green
• What does the first text message in your inbox say and who sent it? "R u on your way?" from Sister #1 :) So sweet to be checking on me! ;)
• Who was the last person to call you? Someone from church who shall remain nameless! ;)

Alrighty, that was pretty long! Now I tag anyone who sees this and really, really wants to do it!! :D Have a blessed day!

Today is Tuesday...

And that might mean...

Taking out the trash... Cleaning your bedroom...

Flying a kite... Washing the dishes...

A thunderstorm... Or the sun shining...

Doing a puzzle...

Playing with your siblings... Watching a movie...

You're late for work...

Reading a Psalm... Singing a song...

Making phone calls... And washing the cars...

...Or in this case...

Writing another blog post. :)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~

Whatever your Tuesday may be...

Remember, it's another day in your race,

and God made it.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~

So... Run! :)

Picture Credit: Google Images

Some Awards

Lindsay at Content in Christ awarded me with the

"Encouraging Blog" award! Thank you so much for

awarding me, dear friend! Your blog is an encouragement

as well! :)

Now I will give this award to...

Leah, Chloe, Rachel, Allison, and Joelle

---------------------------

I also received this next award for being a follower of Johanna's

blog, An Old-Fashioned Girl. It's so pretty... that I just had to

share it. :) Thanks, Johanna!

Now, I will give this one to all of my followers as well! :)

God bless!!

"As a bridegroom rejoices over his bride,

so will your God rejoice over you."

Isaiah 62:5b

~ Home At Last ~

I'm SO happy to report that my parents came home from the hospital yesterday afternoon!! My Dad is doing much better now and he didn't need the in-patient rehab after all! The doctors said he could come home if he promised to use his walker. So far, he's being very obedient. :) They are also scheduling him in for some out-patient rehab to work on a few things, though. Anyway, it's a huge relief to have them home now... after being without them for almost three weeks! They are very exhausted, though, and plan to spend the next few days resting and catching up on some much-needed sleep! Here is one pup I know missed his Mommy and Daddy a lot while they were gone...

...Our 3-year old black lab... Ty.

He did a wonderful job taking care of his four sisters, I must say. ;) But he's really glad to be sleeping on the bed with his Mommy again! :D

Thank you so much for all of your prayers!! We are so thankful that Dad is doing well again and we will continue to pray for God's healing hand to intervene in his life. (As we know it already has been!) He is sovereign and he is in control.

PRAISE THE LORD ALL THE EARTH! :)

Why I Love My Job :)

"From the lips of children and infants you have ordained praise."

Psalm 8:2

I've been very blessed with a nice job: babysitting a precious little boy Monday - Thursday, from 12pm to 4pm--only four hours each day. Quite often I grow tired of it and wish that I didn't have to go... but then I realize just how blessed I am! A lot of people my age are forced to get jobs they don't want just to help themselves financially. I have a job I do enjoy and it doesn't even consume my entire day or week! I've always said I want to be a Mommy when I grow up and since I didn't grow up with any siblings as babies... what better job training could I ask for?! :)

Anyway... I recently won a giveaway for sharing my favorite thing about babies and I thought this would be a great opportunity to post about it! ;) So... here was my answer:

"I've never had any siblings as babies before, but I do work babysitting a little boy every week and this is my answer to your question:

I love how he loves me!

I know, it may sound simple and even strange... but it's so true! I've watched him ever since he was 2 months old and now he's 9 months. Now that he's older he's somewhat harder to take care of and to keep out of things. It can often make your day stressful. But in the end, it'swhen he wants to lay his head on my shoulder and gently pats my back while whispering,"Ba, ba, ba, ba, ba" that I feel like it's all worth it. The love that a baby grows to have for someone is what's really special to me. It's something I can treasure forever. And it's just priceless! :) It causes my heart to well up with so much love for him that I know it must overflow! And that love reminds me of the way our God loves us as his own children. That same love is just, well... priceless!"

There was my answer. :) Now here is what I entered for...

A small ribbon blanket... to keep in my hope chest. :)

I LOVE the red!

Oh, wait... I think I like the green too!

Yep. The green is pretty.

Wait a second, the yellow is much, much brighter!

Yeah... I think that's the one.

Okay... are you telling me there are MORE colors?! Well, there's not too much blue. I'm still going with the yellow.

Alright. That's it. There's orange too?!

WELL... since I just can't decide, I'll have to go with all of them. ;)

Okay, maybe I was having a little too much fun with my camera... but hey... I do love my new ribbon blanket! ;D

~ Have a blessed day, everyone!! ~

"People were also bringing babies to Jesus to have him touch them. When the disciples saw this, they rebuked them. But Jesus called the children to him and said, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these."' Luke 18:14-16

Today is Monday...

And that might mean...

...Going back to work... Getting back to school...

Mowing your neighbor's lawn... A dark and stormy day...

...A bright and sunny sky... Being with your friends...

...Drinking hot cocoa... Swimming in the lake...

...A trip to the movies... A day at the park...

...Lots and lots of chores... Lots and lots of lemonade...
...A ride to the hospital... Writing an essay...

...Listening to music... Visiting your grandparents...
...Babysitting for free... Eating out at Pizza Hut...

...Washing your car... Waking up early...

...Going to bed late... Bathing the dog and cat...

...Bible study at 7... Maybe a small cat-nap before dinner...

...Or even writing a blog post. :)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Whatever your Monday may be...

Remember, it's God's day and He made it!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

So... Rejoice! :)