do you just love it?!

okay, you have to tell me what you think.... do you love it? the new layout and pictures? is it easier to navigate and read? because i am so happy with it, not perfect yet, but liking it even more than before!

i want you lovely people who stop by to enjoy this blog as much as i love writing it. i have always been a "writer" of sorts as far as journaling, short stories for my kiddos and some plays & such for church; but putting all my thoughts, opinions, questions and personal walk out for all to read has been a challenge but i love it! i love sharing my parenting victories and failures, putting up the cute pictures of my babes and giving you a window into how are family does life.

so as i grow in my walk with the Lord, mature as a wife and as i am daily perfecting my mothering skills, i want to encourage others in their faith that God is with us! we are blessed to be a blessing to others, not to try to be "an island unto ourselves" so if in some small way you leave this place uplifted, then i know i'm doing exactly what God has for me at this time... which is a wonderful privilege and honor to do life with you!

and without further delay, let me announce the two winners of the 'jewelry portrait'.....

out of the five entries, i let the geniuses as random.org chose the winners, so don't blame me :)

and the winners are angela i. and meeyeehere!! okay girls, send me an email (floodedbygrace@gmail.com) so i know where to ship your 'jewelry portrait', the colors you definitely want and just a few little extras that i'll ask about....

this was so fun!! so glad you all came to play.... if you're sad that you didn't win, don't worry! you can also contact me (floodedbygrace@gmail.com) to order your own personalized 'jewelry portrait' for just $12.00 plus shipping, but this discount (originally $18.00 w/ shipping) is just for the other three gals that entered.... but please pass it on to your other friends, i'd love to create for whoever!!!

tomorrow i'll have the part 1 of the video tour through our new home!! i'd love you input on some rooms that just need that "something" extra!

be blessed!!! the best is yet to come!!

charity and sacrifice

UPDATE:

okay my people :) since the solitary comment was from my IRL friend Christina, she gets a copy of Crazy Love!!!! next time it could be you!!

ORIGINAL POST:


charity....

it's been on my mind a lot as of late. i guess not so much charity or giving time & stuff, because we give money and stuff all the time, but i've been praying and pondering about living sacrifically so that i have more to give... how can i live out "Love your neighbor as yourself" in order to more fully "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, your mind and strength." is this making sense to anyone?

i love praying for divine appointments for God to use me to tell someone about Christ's love for them, to stop and buy someone some food, give them a ride when it's cold or raining. i am always more than willing to take the shoes right off my feet (or my kids and yes i have offered to do that) and give them to a person in need because i know i have been over-the-top blessed by God (in so many more ways than simply monetarily) and i can stop at a shop on the way home and pick up another pair. it makes me so bubbly and excited to pack up my kids gently used (or sometimes never used) toys & clothes and deliver them in cute little brown bags to the local shelter for deserving children and parents.....

but it's not enough....

i want to give more money each month towards our Missions faith-promise because there are families living in 6x8 houses in Haiti that not only don't have food or a change of clothes, but they haven't ever heard the life-giving message of Jesus and how He loves them with all abandon! i want to give more money to the sweet babes in Africa that live in slums, whose floors of their homes are trash & waste, with gangs prostituting children around each corner, so that they might get one real meal each week and hear about Christ's plan for a future for them and His desire to richly bless them! i want to have more food to give the families in my town that don't have anything for dinner each night, and if i can help fill the gap, they might see Jesus' love and provision for them.

i want to live sacrifically so that those near to me and halfway around the world might be fed and cared for in this life, but more importantly for the eternity after this life!

i am so crazy about Jesus!! but real all-consuming, sacrifical love doesn't mean just giving my leftovers to Him: my leftover time to work in a few Bible verses, my leftover moments before sleep to say a few prayers, my leftover energy for worship & praise, my leftover & hand-me down clothes that didn't sell at the garage sale for the needy, the leftover granola bar in my truck for the homeless on the street corner............ NO!! He is the Creator of the Universe, my Savior, the Lord of ALL Lords!! i want to give my best!

i'm not perfect, but my heart and mind have been spinning like a top for several months now on how to love God more, how to surrender more, how to be transformed by Him for Him more... see a pattern developing? more, more, More, mORE, MORE!!

i have been making that time each day (okay there have been a day here and there i didn't keep my Jesus appointment, but i'm a work in progress, getting better day by day thanks to His grace) for God's word, meditating on it, fasting, spending time on my knees (literally) at Jesus' feet just praising and thanking, asking and pleading, believing and trusting... and not that these acts of obedience to be in the Word or prayer time are new to my schedule but the more i have felt the Lord's leading to serve & give & intercede more for the lost, the needy, the broken, my husband, my children, my family, my church, my friends, well the more time i have spent in His presence, because i know that He has such amazing plans for me, ways He wants to use me, to break my heart for what breaks His... well i felt like my inner God-light has simply gotten brighter and brighter...

the Lord is revealing Himself to me more, igniting my passion for loving others more!! and so i want to give my very best!!

it is so cool how our little family is positioned for more right now... with God granting such an amazing gift with me being at home full-time, downsizing our house, downsizing our stuff, extra career opportunities for me from home, assisting some other families with childcare needs and such, we are primed for having more time and money to give!! God is so awesome like that!!

it sounds odd to say "well i have left my out-of-home career & salary, and so now i have more money to give"... doesn't make sense in this world but God's economy is different. and while our tithe might be less since our salaries are less, we will have a much smaller house payment and no other debt (God willing) when the house sells....... but more importantly what has been changing even more over the last few months is our hearts & mindset. having "stuff" isn't all that important, and i really never felt like it was, but our life shows differently when i truly look hard:

we drive new cars, have name-brand clothes, have the cool toys & game systems, bought whatever new & nicest stuff to decorate my house, go out to eat whenever we feel like it, take some long-weekend vacations here & there, and put dollars away in stocks & such... and none of these things are inheritly wrong or bad, i'm not saying that buying that pair of ridculously expensive heels is a sin (i own several of those... incriminating myself) but can i buy a nice pair at a chain store and send that extra $50 or even $100 to a child 18 hours away or around the corner, and give them a chance at knowing real love?! i digress... we have been giving the Lord's tithe (of course... God is awesome at somehow blessing the 90% & making it go farther than 100% of our money..wow) and some for missions & for our church building campaign but nothing that truly stretched us (in my opinion), nothing that made me sit back and go "wow!! that was a lot"

(geez!! that was a llllooonnnnggg paragraph!! are your eyes bleeding?! :) )

i am not capable of giving tens of thousands of dollars, but God is!! if he is laying a dollar amount on my heart to give each month for missions or to children in need, He will provide it; by faith, i believe and know that!! but i do want to sacrifice more to give more... i am so ready to live in a smaller & less expensive home, have fewer bills so that i can give more, save more, give more, save more... you get the drift

charity...

it is something that flows from our hearts, a leading from God, that tugging on our soul, that as the Lord's children we are to take care of the widows and orphans, clothe the needy, feed the hungry...

it's a choice:

to obey Christ and follow His footsteps, we can show Him how much we love Him by trusting Him to work in us and through us and experience great joy and connection with our Father... or... we can continue to live as though it is all about us, giving when we can but not making it a priority and not know what true blessing is.

my purpose in writing this was mostly for myself, i'll admit, i have been making notes and writing in my journal furiously... but as i wrote this my inner fire is even bigger & brighter :) and it excites me so much to see what God can do with my softened & ready heart... this is not to brag or say "see what we're doing!!!", not in the least... but i pray you see where we are, where we've been and part of where we are going (God willing!! cause we don't know exactly where God is taking us) and that your soul is inspired, ignited, renewed by a love for God.

part of my journey has also been in reading a fabulous book, Crazy Love by Francis Chan, who has so brilliantly written his heart and spelled out for us again what God's word says!! and since i want you to know and love God with all abandon :) i would love to give a copy away to one of you lovely people!!

please leave a comment, any comment and i'll randomly pick one of you to receive this great book!! you'll love it!!

be blessed today, thanks for letting me share my heart with you... i'll close the comments sunday night and chose the winner!!

(if you don't know how to leave a comment, simply chose the anonymous option under comment as)

better late than never!

it seems like forever ago that i wrote this post about my initial thoughts for you all on treating illness and flu/colds with natural medicine. and i so graciously asked you all for your two cents on the subject and since i have the most shy blog readers in all of creation (and i still love you all and am so glad that you are walking along the paths of this life with me even though your participation skills need some work, giggles!!) i only had two comments....

thus the winner i chose is ms.vernette mullins, she is a rep for a natropathic business and had a great comment!! so vernette, send me an email (floodedbygrace@gmail.com) and let me know how to get your Bonnots Mill candle to you!!!! i got you harvest spice, very yummy!!

i have lots of things to talk to you all about in the next few days, and a special Sisters Party i am hosting next weekend, so i will fill you in on the details of that tomorrow...

be blessed, remember that Jesus soooo loves you and i'll talk to you tomorrow!!

treatment or prevention?

UPDATE: okay all you pretty people out there.... since you decided to obviously wait until the last minute, again, to enter to win your own Bonnots Mill candle, then i'll leave the comments open through tomorrow evening at 6pm CST, so leave your comment now!! smiles!!!

ORIGINAL:

okay, so i have promised for awhile now my thoughts and insight on natural medicine, and you're so blessed that today i will deliver!! now i'm of course not a doctor (but i do play one in real life!! dr.mama is my official title) but i have spent many, many hours researching, reading, working with other natropath researchers/believers and lots of conversations learning from my natropathic physican, Dr.D (who is brillant!!). so while i truly believe in all the stuff i'm going to chat with you about today, you should always contact your physcian, do your own research or find a natropath/homeopath doctor near you to answer your questions and create a protocol specific to your needs, okay? great!

remember when i wrote part #1 and part #2 concerning the medical issues i have been experiencing since march of 2008, and how i let you in on how i absolutely had my world turned upside down and around!! and in the midst of all the turmoil, i was lead to Dr.D and the world of organic eating and using alternative & natural medicines. and whoa!!! what an eye-opening experience! i never had really considered using vitamins, herbs and plants to heals disease, even though i was not big on traditional prescriptions with all the potential side effects, i had not seen the flip-side of natural alternatives.

so now i have become quite the natural medicine researcher, reading PubMed reports on what vitamins and herbs can do for cancer treatments (see a real life miracle in sweet Jaymun's life with natural cancer treatments), or how to treat 'P's allergies with an herb or give my Man more energy with the right combinations of vitamins and minerals, and bring some healing to my own body with the use of vitamins, herbs and food.

personally to keep myself going each day:

-MultiMedica for women, i love this vitamin!! weird thing to say, i know but when i feel healthy and strong and energized because of all the great stuff in these capsules then i can't help but shout it from the roof tops!! okay, maybe that's over the top, but with tons of vitamin A, all the B's, chromium, milk thistle, i could keep going but love it and how it keeps my body functioning at the highest levels possible.

-Micellized D3, now you might be thinking that there is probably some vitamin D in my amazing multivitamin and you would be correct; however do you know all the astounding benefits of D3 for your body? well you can click on the D3 link to learn tons more than i will ramble on about, but D3 increases your body's ability to absorb calcuim which buffers the acidity of your body, which is incredibly important, but more about that later...D3 stimulates your immune system and so much more. to help get the most out of the D3 i also take vitamin K with it.

-to keep my body's pH in check, and this is by far one of the most vital things i check each few days (of course in my opinion), and one of the easiest and most inexpensive ways to keep a neutral pH is baking soda... i know crazy, huh?! check out this article from Dr.D about the importance of pH and how you can fix it!!

-you might be thinking: "what else you do take each day? geez!" but don't leave me now... one other supplement i'll share with you is my secret... ready for it? alright, it's not that big of a secret but it has made a huge difference for me, digestive enzymes. and what the heck are enzymes? so glad you asked!!! there are specific enzymes that are in our food that assist our digestive system, particularly your liver, in breaking down food and absorbing the nutrients necessary for optimum health and with colon health (i know it's your favorite thing to talk about!!), well when we cook our food the heat destroys much of the enzymes needed by our body and you're probably not getting a lot of raw or all natural foods these days. read this article as well from Dr.D about enzymes and just give it a try, if you so choose!!

alrighty!!! i won't bore you a further.... i could talk about natural medicine all day and night, i find it amazing that there are so many ways to treat our illnesses with everyday herbs and supplements. and by making some simple changes to our diets and adding a few extra supplements we can prevent illness instead of treating it. this is my new motto (hey! what's a motto with you?!! hee hee), the main reason for the complete turn around in our family is to be a great steward of these bodies God gave us. we only get one ya know!! so thus why you won't find any Double-Stuffed chocolate cookies at our home, well i do buy the all natural ones and they are super delicious, my Man didn't even know the diff!! i know that if i can form my Posse of Kiddos now into healthy eating habits & a crunchy-granola lifestyle then i am helping to prevent some sickness later.

here's a snipet of an article Dr.D wrote for me regarding keeping our kiddos well from all the pig flu (hee hee) infecting our nation:

How to protect yourself
As the 'flu is a viral infection, it will not respond to any antibiotic. Antibiotics are only effective in treating secondary bacterial infections sometimes associated with influenza.

Here are some of the best steps you can take to speed up your recovery:

*Stay in bed for a few days to rest.
*Increase your intake of vitamin A to 10,000 IUs a day. A liquid micellized form is recommended. The micellization process—a technique that may enhance absorption by producing extremely tiny droplets (micelles) that are easily assimilated by the body. Vitamin A may increase resistance to the Common Cold and may exert direct anti-viral effects against the Viruses that cause the Common Cold.
*Increase your intake of vitamin D to 2,000 IU’s a day. A liquid micellized form is recommended. Vitamin D may improve the function of the Lungs and prevent Respiratory Tract Infections.
*Take 1000-2000mg of vitamin C a day. Vitamin C may reduce the severity and duration of symptoms. Vitamin C may help to prevent Respiratory Tract Infections, reduces the severity of Respiratory Tract Infections and may accelerate the recovery from Respiratory Tract Infections.
*Use zinc lozenges to soothe a sore throat and Olive Leaf nasal spray for a runny nose.
*Chicken soup may soothe a sore throat, clear clogged passageways, and hydrate a thirsty body.

Watch out for 'flu in children
A toddler younger than two years is particularly vulnerable to highly infectious diseases like 'flu. In fact, all children younger than 12 years are susceptible to the 'flu virus. A temperature raised or lowered any degree from normal in a baby less than three months, above 100.4 degrees Fahrenheit in a child of three to six months, and a temperature above 102.2 degrees Fahrenheit in an older child would be reason to get medical advice.
Tip: Do not exercise if you have 'flu! It may lead to inflammation of the heart muscle. You should generally not exercise for at least seven days after recovering from the 'flu, after which you can gradually return to exercise.

so there's my two cents for the time being regarding alternative/natural medicine... what do you think?

everyone who leaves me their two cents in the comments will be entered to win my last Bonnots Mill Candle from Flame & Flair that i have lying around.... okay i actually went out and bought it just for you!!!

so get to commentin'!!! i'll leave the comments open on this until tomorrow night at 10pm CST. i can't wait to hear what you've got to say!!

p.s. you shoud also check out my community on the right side bar about whether you are giving you kiddos the H1N1 vaccine...

and the winner is...and football stuff

i am so excited to announce who the winner of my very first blog giveaway is!!! i wish i had dramatic background music blaring in through the speakers with trumpets blasting.... oh, is that too much?! okay then the blessed recipent of an awesome, hand poured Bonnots Mill candle from my fav boutique, Flame and Flair, is brandi!!! i got a chance to head over to your blog and learn a little about you last night, cute family... thanks for playing, promise me you'll stick around awhile, okay?! shoot me an email (floodedbygrace@gmail.com) and let me know where to send the candle.

if you're bummed that random.org didn't choose you to win the sweet candle, then click over to Flame and Flair and pick yourself out a scentous candle, a sparkling piece of jewelry and a posh handbag. you'll feel all better, guaranteed.

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i love football!! with a hardcore passion, i most assuredly love football!! i get all painted up and decked out before 'P's games, make banners for his team to crash through as they storm the field to dominate the game as i clang my cowbell hootin' and hollerin' for my boy! and i don't have some weak excuse for a cowbell but a real heavy iron-right from the cow's neck-out in my family's pasture-cowbell; it's loud and i like it!! you might be giggling to yourself, embarassed for me, but don't be i love it, but more importantly my son loves it. it is completely normal to him that his mama gets all decked out for him to support and cheer for him during the game. and his friends and teammates love it! if i show up without crazy things in my hair they wonder what happened?!! fun, huh?

i will have a picture taken of me and 'P' after his last game this week but for now enjoy this stud-ly photo of my future hall of famer in his stance before the snap. he is the starting tight end on the left side and the back-up quarterback, and the d-lineman on defense. if you don't understand any of that, no big, just know that he has an awesome God-given talent that he works diligently to hone and polish.

and speaking of football, i had previously touched on the fact that my Man and i took the big kiddos to the KC Chiefs game on sunday against my the Dallas Cowboys. now i am forever & always a cowboys fanatic, but i will cheer on the chiefs all day because i just love my Man that much, however i had to stand by my team in this first meeting of the cowboys and chiefs.

so my babes were all decked out in chiefs attire, looking awesome in their red!! and i was sporting my cowboys colors, and yes they still allowed mama to walk with them. it was an incredibly fun and memorable day, especially for daddy and 'P' as this was another in a long line of bonding experiences. and 'Lou-Who' had a good time as well sitting on mama's lap and secretly cheering not only for the chiefs but along with me too!! sssshhhhh... keep it on the down-low...

there were friends and family that seemed worried about this game: my Man is kinda touchy about his team but he has grown a lot over the years and a loss doesn't ruin his whole day now. but we stood by the fact that we can cheer for our teams, talk a little friendly smack about the competition and not cross any lines. it is just a game, and i am going to be married to this splendid Man for another 60 years (by God's grace) and why choose this as one of my battles; that's just dumb!! i love him more than i care about rubbing it in that my team won (and they did win, but just barely).

i feel like this principle applies to all married couples: we should be careful about the battles we choose, cautious about drawing that 'line in the sand' because we can create an atmosphere of tension and animosity that is unneccesary. i have definitely been guilty of "standing my ground" on some things that in hindsight were simply stupid! i'm a big girl, i'll say i have made many a mistake and hopefully fewer and fewer as time goes on. it's our blasted tongues that get us into trouble and it is only relenting my stubborness to the Lord and letting Him transform my thoughts and my heart that the things that come out will be loving, humble and life-giving.

when words are many, transgression is not lacking, but whoever restrains his lips is prudent. Proverbs 10.19 how true, if i would simply listen more and talk less the Lord can speak to me first before i open my mouth, if it should be opened at all. can you relate?

whoever guards his mouth preserves his life, he who opens wide his lips comes to ruin. Proverbs 13.3 i want to edify those around me with my words, not destroy them, which i'll be honest has always been a bit of an issue for me. we all have, myself most certainly included, the ability to make someone feel about an inch tall. i am able to think on my feet, serves me well in my advertising n' sales career but have sadly used it too many times in my life to make others feel less than they should. what a terrible witness to Christ's love in me and proof that significant parts of my heart and mind were not transformed. i'm forgiven: yea!!! but no excuse to not pray for that part of me to be completely redeemed, and by the Lord's amazing grace flooding my heart and soul i have had much victory in this area of my life over the last two or three years, thank you Jesus!! :) have you been here? cut someone down, felt good for a second, make you feel sick later?

here's proof that no one's tongues got the better of us sunday.... a picture of a happy family after the game. sweet, huh..

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and just because i didn't have any scrumptious pictures of my little babe since he didn't go on the road trip to KC, here's a new fav photo of 'K' and mama just playing with the camera in the car!!

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if you get the chance swing over to the right sidebar and see what's going on in my community. we can talk and debate issues, we get a chance to interact more, so let's do life together!!

new post coming tomorrow about natural medicine and keeping healthy this winter the natural way!!

p.s. please continue to keep my dear friends, the Kaat family, in your prayers.

Not Me! Monday with a giveaway!

so the kids wore their pajamas all day and ate cereal for breakfast and lunch.... you got halfway through your day at work and realized you were wearing two completely different color shoes or maybe the dishes have been sitting in the sink for 2 days and you are just using paper plates until you have the time to wash them... no big!! Not Me! Monday was created by friend and blogger MckMama as a way to air our dirty laundry and realize we're not the only super mom having an off week!!

would you like to see what i've most definitly not been up to this week? great!!!



while my cutie baby 'K' sat at the bar in the kitchen coloring and the big kids were reading, i did not plop down on the couch for the first time all day and eat a very large piece of rainbow cake for dinner. why would i do that? i had made a perfectly healthy dinner for the family and so i would never just put away the leftovers and devour a hefty piece of cake. i am way too concerned about being healthly 100% of the time to do that!



last monday was my sweet girl's birthday, so i did absolutely no work and just focused on home and birthday stuff!! so when tuesday rolled around i certainly did not go through my entire day, well until about 4p, truly believing that it was monday. nope!!! i did not forget about a meeting with a client or miss a pta meeting, i am so on top of everything all the time. if i had done this i would not be thinking i might need some serious help..wow...



to continue the birthday celebration my lil' Lou-Who invited just a few girls to stay the night friday. our theme (cause ya gotta have a theme!!) was dance party!! once the babe was asleep and all the boys out of our home, the lights went out, the disco ball on and i did not, no way, dance up a storm with the girls for about an hour to high school musical 2 and 3 soundtracks!! and if i had done that i was not able to sing along to each song without missing a word!!



we had a great family weekend and went on a road trip sunday (except we did leave 'K' to play with his awesome uncle E and auntie M, and they all had an awesome time!!) to the KC Chiefs game... i am a chiefs fan by marriage and a cowboys fan by choice, so it was going to be fun! i was not the only one in my Posse decked out in blue and stars with the other 3 in all red, yellow and black. i would not ever cause such division on purpose...and if i had sported my cowboys attire i certainly did not have to explain over and over that "yes, of course, i'm with them and yes they do still love me all the same!" it was a quieter ride home than on the way there (cowboys won..sorry sweet family i really did want the chiefs to win just for you my Man!!) but a great time all the same; moments that we'll always remember that you just can't recreate...



and finally i did not host an awesome hand-poured candle giveaway and only have 2 of my peeps come out and play!!! (love you both ms.tonia and melissa)... so on the off chance you didn't see the giveaway, didn't know how to comment, or any other excuse and because i just love you all so much i am going to leave the comments open until 10p tonight CST for you to enter!!! just scroll down to the post below, read through and then leave your comment; simple huh? and ms.s, if you don't leave a comment then you're are so in for it!!! mwah!!



have questions about leaving a comment? well if you don't have a google, aim, or whatever ID then choose 'anonymous' but be sure to leave your name in your comment so i can enter your name.



if you would like to play in this fun Not Me! Monday blog carnival, then you should!! head over to read MckMama's instructions on linking up your post and i hope to read all the stuff you did not do!!



now keeping reading the next post about the giveaway, leave a comment, then feel free to hang out and read any of my other ponderings!! i'll announce the winner tomorrow afternoon!!

it's giveaway time!!!!

UPDATE: i have now closed the comments on this post... i will happily announce the winner of the giveaway tomorrow evening, so stay tuned!!!

ORIGINAL POST:

who doesn't love the light of a flickering candle in a dim living room in the evening as you lounge around reading a book....wow that sounds great and maybe if you're up to taking my kiddos for the evening i might be able to enjoy some embiance like that.

but even with the constant chatter of a toddler, the clicking of my mammoth puppy running through the house with the white noise of a random television show i still so love the atmosphere that having candles lit in my house brings. along with the aromatic scents that create a yummy, cozy feeling that i just treasure.

i told you guys to stay tuned for a giveaway/contest, my first here on my blog!!! i'm really excited to share with you all!! and you will love the prize...

many of the candles throughout my home are from a fabulous little boutique, Flame and Flair, that i frequent often to find my choice candles & scents, beautiful jewelry, hard to find gifts and amazing clothing!! so if you live here in Fly Over Country along with me you can shop in the store itself, but if you can't just visit their website by clicking here...

so like i said, these Bonnots Mill Candles are wonderful, spectacular candles and i am totally in love with the pumpkin spice and the autumn spice!!! pumpkin spice is the one pictured here and it fills every square inch of my home with the scents of autumn!!

so do you want one? great!!! i would love to send one to you! one blessed reader will get the candle scent of their choice (i absolutely adore the lilac scent too) and there are a million choices! the owner and i are good friends at this point (she's great!! wonderful sister in Christ) and she even created a scent for a customer that smelled like dirt... yes i said dirt. 'P' thinks it is the best, but no i have not purchased that one. hee hee :)

so all you have to do is leave a comment telling me what your favorite season is and why and you're entered to win!! easy, huh?! would you like to get your name in the drawing twice? of course you do!! well sign up to follow me on Twitter and you're in two times to win a superb candle! i promise i don't give you 15 tweet updates in one day, unless you'd like me to... and if you're not into getting updates via text message on your phone you don't have to, no biggie!! just check your Twitter page once day to see what i've been up to in between posts and find all the other people in Twitter that you'd like to stalk check in on too!! just check out my updates here on the right side bar and click on the link to get sign up!! just be sure if you sign up on Twitter that you tell me that in your comment so you're entered twice.

so invite some your of other friends to come over and play as well and i can't wait to hear from you!! i'll leave the comments open through Sunday evening and i'll announce the winner in my Not Me! Monday post....

be blessed!!

p.s. flame and flair boutique isn't paying or endorsing this giveaway/contest, i just love her shop and want to bless one of you readers with an awesome gift :) just in case any one was wondering..

seeing orange

have i said that i just love fall? well, i do!!! i love that my home smells like spice & pumpkins right this very minute, yum-o. i just feel all comfortable and cozy with cinnamon scented pine cones arranged ever so neatly on the dining room table and on the buffet in the kitchen. 'K' is amazingly good about not touching mama's stuff, he is constantly walking around and pointing at my decor and saying "that mama's pretty, no no for baby". how cute?! and yes, he calls himself baby most of the time, it's pretty stinkin' sweet!!

so in the spirit of autumn.... the Posse and i went hunting for our pumpkins!!

we made the trip to pick out our pumpkins on lil' Lou-Who's birthday, and it was ever so much fun!! no, we didn't make it out to the patch itself (maybe next week) but we were still surrounded by a zillion pumpkins of all shapes and sizes, the many shades of orange were making us dizzy, thankfully there were bales of hay to rest upon and several small gourds to trip over as i pulled the wagon.

my personal favorite when it comes to choosing a pumpkin are the fairy tale pumpkins... it is right out of a storybook, and 'P' was trying to simply find the biggest one he could find that was in the 2 for $5.00 category, and Lou-Who decided that she didn't care as long as i let her pull the wagon!!! seeing how it was her birthday i relented and she was thrilled... until we took out a pile of gourds, then mama got to take over. oh well, nothing cracked or exploded so we called it good!

and needless to say 'K' was content to ride along and let me snap pictures of him in the wagon until he was seeing spots but eventually he did escape and throw himself into the fun of pumpkin hunting!!

do you love the change in seasons as much as me? would you like your home to smell yummy and pumpkin spicey? how would you like me to send you an amazing, high quality autumn spice candle from a fabulous boutique for your home? you would be ever so honored to have the same type of extraordinary candle burning in your home sweet home?!! well then you'll need to stay tuned this weekend, and invite your other friends to join in on the fun, 'cause a giveaway is just around the corner...

go natural baby!

is it June already?! wow! however, i love summer so i'm glad it is finally arrived, even if i wasn't quite ready for it! and with summer comes the farmer's market and yummy, organic fruits and veggies. what?!! you don't eat all natural, organic foods?! gasp! shock! okay, i'm not surprised, many of you wonderful folks eat whatever you want not giving a second thought to how that food was grown or what was added to it; BUT STOP!!! the more i learn about pesticides and food coloring and additives, it makes me wish i had pulled my head out of the sand sooner. (but if i had never gotten sick i never would have made these important changes, so another blessing through the trial!)

so relax and let me give you a quick check on my principles for shopping for all natural/organic foods for yourself and your family...

1. if nothing else try to buy the following produce in the organic section of your grocery store (and i am an addicted w.m. superstore shopper and they are carrying more and more organic produce each week!) because these fruits/veggies are typically treated more heavily than others with pesticides/chemicals (yuck!!): peaches, strawberries, winter squash, grapes, lettuce, spinach, apples, green beans, blueberries. feel free to head to http://www.organiceating.com/ to check out the big list.artifical colors. again for the chemical components, why do we put things we can't pronounce in our mouths?!! it's not real food if you can't read the ingredients ... many doc's a

2. i don't buy, okay i don't like to buy, foods with attribute hyperactivity and allergic reactions and rashes to artifical colors and flavoring and there are tons of natural alternatives, but many companies don't want to because artifical is cheaper. but is it cheaper if these artifical chemicals cause health problems later?! my Man and me are trying to be proactive and be a good steward of our posse of kiddos health.

3. i stopped buying 'easy to make' processed foods/meals. now i know that this isn't popular, and there are so many nights that i simply don't feel like making everything from scratch, but making meals for my amazing family that fuels their bodies and contributes to the well-being of their overall health keeps me going! and i'm not perfect, i like to say i'm a hybrid!! the Posse does eat a hamburger from a fast food restaurant every now and again, but all that fat, bad oils is enough to keep us away!

go buy a cookbook from your fav chef ('lou-who' and i love rachael ray!! and paula dean) and start experimenting with new ingredients, you get to control what goes in and it is super yummy and healthy all at the same time. or head to www.foodnetwork.com and there are tons of quick ideas there as well (and no they're not paying me to say that, but i wish they were!)

4. check out the local dairy and beef farms!! we switched to organic, raw milk and it tastes awesome and is sooooo much better for you and yours! and the natural beef and chicken is in my humble opinion essential to your health!! now i'm not a natropathic doctor, but i play one in real life (heehee), but why do we settle for meat and milk from animals with artifical hormones and antibiotics given to them?! yuck! we wonder why the childhood cancers are on the rise, colon cancer is more previlant than ever in adults, and girls are starting their cycles sooner in their adolesence (and that is from my ped dr) due so much to the large amount of artifical hormones & antibiotics given to milk/beef cows and chickens. i vote for natural moo-cows (per big K)!!

5. if this is all overwhelming to you, let's start here: snacking! stop buying all the chips, pop-tarts, cheese crackers and fill your little pantries with natural, healing, fueling foods. you want some examples?! i'm so glad you asked! here's what is in my cupboards right now:

flaxseed granola w/ dried blueberries, almonds (great source of protein & good omega-3 fats), walnuts, all-natural kettle popcorn for something sweet (w.m. sells this!! yea), annie's bunny crackers (just like cheezits but good stuff in 'em), all-natural fruit snacks, mandrine orange slices. and sitting on the countertop in cute candy-like jars (another good buy from my friends at WM for only $2 a jar) are homemade, completely organic chocolate chip/walnut cookies (oh my goodness they're good!), organic apples, bananas, more nuts. and in the fridge we have a snack drawer and it contains things like: organic cheese sticks, organic baby carrots, snow peas, sun-dried tomato hummus, spinach veggie dip, celery, organic/natural vanilla yogurt (more cost effective to buy in a large container instead of individual and then the Posse can add whatever they want to it like granola, nuts, honey, etc), grapes, nectarines.

i could go on but healthy snacks mean my Posse has the energy to keep playing outside, riding bikes, swimming (a big fav right now), going on walks, and simply staying in a better mood. i have seen if i put good stuff in them, it helps good attitudes to come out along with much prayer!!

and i am not spending much more on groceries than i was when i purchased more processed/less healthly food. and if the cost of some things scares you right out of your shoes, just think that you are saving yourself the healthcare costs down the road!! because it's expensive to be sick, don't ya know!!

now i know in the last post i promised a coveted hobby lobby gift card (again i didn't get paid to say that, but i'm really should look into that), but you guys aren't cooperating with me (smiles)!! you need to stalk me, i mean sign up to follow me (lower left sidebar) and then leave me a pretty comment saying you did!! and then pass this blog onto a friend who is a mama, or not we love ya all!! simple, right? you might be the blessed winner, but until more peeps sign up and stop by, i'm gonna hold off for now, ok?!

be blessed today!

changes are here!

change is good... say it with me, change is good! and yes the 'flooded' blog is different, huh? when i first created the site i wasn't quite sure what i liked or wanted or what in the world i was doing! ahem, excuse that little outburst... so if you have stopped by a couple times over the last day or so you've seen a couple different layouts and colors. but this is what i am very pleased with at least for today, some coloring might vary here and there, but i love my family and when i look at this most recent family picture i am overwhelmed by the grace and mercy and blessings that the Lord has so graciously poured out on me and my Man. and that's what this blog is about: being a blessing to all who read, whether i can encourage your heart and walk with Christ, give you a tip on organic cooking, a new decorating idea or make you laugh with a cute photo of the Posse of Kiddos. and secondly i want to use this space to tell of God's great and awesome works, to bring Him glory in my mothering and serving of my Man, in my ministry, as a pta mama or in my painting of many colors throughout my home!!

leave a comment, let me know what you think. and if you're having an issue leaving a comment, use the 'open' option or just quickly sign up for a google user name and it will be that much easier!!! the next post will spark a contest to win a Hobby Lobby gift card (my fav place to by decorating stuff!) and you will have to leave a comment and sign up to follow me (lower left sidebar) to be eligible to win, so get to it... smiles and good night :)