Seeds of Turmoil Book Review

Seeds of Turmoil by Bryant Wright is a very interesting book for anyone interested in history, especially biblical history.  I for one am not that person.  The beginning of the book intrigued me, however, I couldn't bring myself to pick it up after the 2nd chapter to finish it.  I am not a history buff, although some biblical history fascinates me.

This book simply went a bit over my head.  Middle East conflicts have always confused me, and this book didn't clear things up much. It seems to move quickly, and assume that the reader is at the same level as the author. I appreciate the authors knowledge and insight, and I will be recommending this book to some friends whom I believe it will interest.

Rockin' S'more Bars | Bars & Brownies | FamilyFun

Rockin' S'more Bars | Bars & Brownies | FamilyFun


This recipe looks yummy...wanna save for later.

My First Giveaway!!! The Spiritual Checkup for the 50-Something Woman: Ten Steps Toward Midlife Spiritual Health

Win a perfect Christmas or New Year's gift for yourself or a 50-something woman relative or friend, with a free copy of the The Spiritual Fitness Checkup for the 50-Something Woman: Ten Steps Toward Midlife Spiritual Health. As a bonus, you also will receive services from the author's editing business, King's Ransom Writing and Editing Service, for up to fifty pages of double-spaced manuscript (book, articles, etc.). With this giveaway, you will receive more than proofreading. Sharon also offers writing assistance, tips, points out bad writing habits, etc. It's a writing analysis as well as editing. This has a value of up to $350. But wait, there's more! You also will receive a special discount editing rate of fifty cents per page (Some editors charge $5 to $10 per page!) if you sign a full manuscript-editing contract with King’s Ransom. Quite the giveaway!

To enter, simply leave a comment below on or before January 14, 2011. A Winner will be chosen using Random.org on January 17, 2011

"God Loves Me More Than That" Book Review

"God Loves Me More Than That" by Dandi Daley Mackall is a cute children's book about the vastness of God's love.  It is filled with vibrant illustrations, and with only a sentence or two per page, is easy for a beginning reader to read.  It is a rhyme, so it is something children can remember and apply to their own personal lives and God's love for them.  This book is a welcome addition to our bookshelf,  although my children won't be receiving it until Christmas.  I am looking forward to my children opening this one on Christmas morning, and I think it would make a great addition to anyone's Christmas tree or bookshelf.

**Disclaimer**  I received this book from Waterbrook/Multnomah for review. No other compensation was received for this review.

Shutterfly Gift Ideas

I looove Christmas cards! I love to post them all over my walls, I love to get caught up with my friends and family via their Christmas cards.  I love when the cards have pictures on or in them.  I usually end up cutting them out and framing the pictures after Christmas so that I have pictures of friends and family on my walls, not just immediate family.  Giving the gift of pictures to my friends and family is what they appreciate most.  It takes time to put together the perfect Christmas card, and that is what many of us appreciate in a gift is the time it takes and the thought involved.

A link to shutterfly's Christmas card collection is here.  My favorite gift to give besides photo books is a wall calendar.  It is a gift that gives all year long. My parents absolutely loved theirs last year.  They are so inexpensive as well, that it is a gift most anyone can give.  A link to their calendars is here.

Another great idea is canvas wall art.  It is a way that you can share pictures with grandparents, parents, and relatives that they can easily display them.  They don't even need to be framed!

I hope this helps you come up with some holiday ideas!  Thank you shutterfly for making my Christmas gift giving a little bit easier!


I am receiving 50 free cards for doing this blog post. 

The Latest

What a month it has been so far.  My son had his first trip to the ER, (he's fine) which I consider a significant event, as my little boy will probably have many more of those!  He had impetigo, but it's mostly gone now. 


I started an in home day care, which has been more challenging than I could have imagined, but has helped me to be grateful for what I have, while relying on God for strength. 

My daughter is potty training, and can I just say stubborn???

I had another anniversary, 7 years! Yay us!  We haven't been able to celebrate yet, because we have been so busy, but I love my husband and am so grateful for the incredible man that he is.

I also had a birthday yesterday.  I told my friends I was boycotting my birthday, because I didn't want a big deal made out of it.  My husband bought me a cake on Sunday. Cold Stone!  Yummy.  But my birthday was a stressful day. I did have an incredible breakthrough with a friend, that made the day better, and my neighbor helped me make dinner, but I felt like my birthday needed a do-over. 

My husband made me my birthday breakfast today, so I decided to just declare this my birthday week, and try to get everything out of it I can, as far as love.  I don't need presents, just appreciate the love.

I am so blessed to have everything I do.  I love my friends and family, and appreciate the chance to vent...if anyone cares to listen! 

Worthy Is The Lamb

This is a song I am working on with fellow song leaders for church. I love this song, so I wanted to share it with my followers.  It is a great song about Jesus, and makes me want to raise my hands in worship. 

Proctor & Gamble Have You Tried This Yet? Duracell MyGrid Giveaway

Proctor & Gamble Have You Tried This Yet? Duracell MyGrid Giveaway

Toddler Talk Thursday - Clothes

So my kids will hate me someday for posting this, but when I think of clothes, I think of dress up.  My kids came up with these outfits completely on their own.  I love how my son matches so well.  And I couldnt believe my daughter could walk in these shoes! I can't even walk in them!  My kids dont dress up a lot, but they enjoy it when they do.  When halloween is over, I'm taking advantage of Halloween costume sales so my kids have more dress up clothes!
I am doing this as part of a blog hop thingy...still new to it...check it out!

Secure In Heart

I went to an amazing women's day in Reno today. The guest speaker was the author of the book, ""Secure In Heart". It was an amazing conference. The sharing was phenomenal, deep, moving, and personal. I learned so much I feel that I have to look it over all again just to absorb it. There was discussion about God being our Guard, about letting our guard down, letting relationships in, and valuing the woman (or man!) that God made us to be. I will do a review and a GIVEAWAY!!! of an autographed copy of her book soon, it will be my first giveaway, so I am uber excited.  I wish I could say more about the Women's Day, it's all jumbling around in my mind and heart right now.  There was great food, fellowship and prizes! :)  They had fun gift bags.  I felt so blessed to be there, had a great time, and a great trip.  It was put on by the Greater Reno Church of Christ.  They are a great church, and we are so grateful to them for hosting us!  If you want to know more about my trip, please feel free to email me. I will be posting a review of this book and more on the conference along with my first giveaway soon!

BEE Funny Friday

Soo...I really want to bee funny, but am still a bit under the weather, so funny doesn't exactly come naturally right now. I would like to share an exchange between my 3 1/2 year old and his little friend who is also 3:
To set the stage, they are in the bathroom....

when the little girl lifts the lid and says..."This potty is too little! My but is too big for this potty!"  Then my son says something like "I have a little butt!"  To which she replies "My butt is little yours is big!"  Kids are sooo funny!

Toddler Talk Thursday -Games

My kids love games. Especially Wii, anything on my iphone, hide and seek is a current favorite. They are too little to play board games, but its amazing how fast they pick up on technology.

This is my son and his little friend playing the Wii.  He loves Mario Kart!  He also loves Just Dance.  I wish I would spend more time playing with him!
Another current favorite of his is drawing.  Not exactly a game, but a favorite pass-time... That explains the paper on the floor!

Wordless Wednesday - Matching Outfits

This is my kids in their fair clothes. My stepmom makes their clothes for fair, halloween, christmas, among others.  Its not something I appreciated so much as a kid, but I am so grateful for it know.  She is so talented, and I love it when they match!
I have been sick the last couple of days, so don't have anything recent, but figure this is worth it!

BEE Funny Friday

Today doesn't leave a lot to bee funny about...It was a busy one, with lots of delays, and its still not over. Its almost 9 p.m. and my kids are still up.  The funny thing my son does right now, is tell me every time he hears a "bad" word.  Why this is funny to me, is because we have taught him that words like "stupid" or "hate" are "bad" words, and he keeps hearing us say them!  Or he hears them on tv, or the radio.  These are words that are used soo commonly in our society, and his innocent ears are so sensitive to them.  This may not seem like a "funny" thing, but it is very prevalent to us right now.  I am so grateful he is so innocent, and I love his pure heart.  I just think its hilarious when he says "Daddy, hate is a bad word, we don't say hate".  Caught you! Or me!

Toddler Tuesdays - Halloween

Halloween is going to be a fun event this year. My kids know what it is, more or less, and are excited about it. Luckily my son and daughter are kind of working together on what they are going to be - a dragon and a princess. It works right? Grandma is making their costumes again, so we are all really excited about that. I am so grateful to have her to do this for me! Besides the fact that costumes are expensive, it is so special to have her doing this. I always (well, almost) appreciated it as a kid, even though I didn't express it. I remember feeling so proud that she made our costumes.
I am posting pics of last years costumes...Little Red Riding Hood and the Big Bad Wolf. I hope my kids continue to want to be complementary things, they are so close in age they should!

Ok...I cant find a pic of my daughter, but you get the idea.  They were so cute!  Ok...Im in class now, so I really should get back to class!

Wordless Wednesday

This is my first time participating in Wordless Wednesday.  It is a challenge for me, because I cant even spell Wednesday!  This is the sky at my mom's place in Northern California.  It is so beautiful there, and I love to lay out and watch the stars.  I thought this was a cool pic, it looks like something you would find as a desktop screensaver or something, but I actually took it!

Blogger Input

I would like to send an appeal out there to all my fellow mommy bloggers.  I am trying to update and improve my blog, but really need some technical help.  I am unsure how to make more "pages"  and would appreciate any feedback/input/advice any of you have.  Thanks in advance!

Free Bibles

Use this link to get a free bible for your mobile device!  This is a great app, I use it all the time, and am excited to offer it to my readers!  It is so helpful to have the bible all the time, at my fingertips, without actually carrying one around.  I hope all of you are able to take advantage of this offer.

Outlive Your Life - Max Lucado

Outlive your life is Max Lucado's new book. It is a page-turner filled with insight, scriptural reference, and life stories. It is inspirational, motivational, and life changing if you let it be. It can be hard for me to read these kind of books at times, because I can be too cynical, wondering what kind of life the author really lives. I can honestly say I've never been a fan of Max Lucado, not because I didn't care for his work, I just never really gave his work a chance. I haven't finished the book yet, but what I have read I really have enjoyed. I would recommend it to anyone.

I received a copy of this book from booksneeze.com for review.

One Hand, Two Hands

This is a book by Max Lucado for children. It is a simple book, but great for kids. I enjoyed reading it myself, and look forward to reading it to my children. (It is going to be a Christmas gift!) I love the pictures, and think the message is a good one. I would recommend this book to all my friends and readers!  This book shares a great message about prayer, friendship, and our relationship with God. The illustrations are age appropriate, and cute to look at.  The book keeps you wanting to know whats on the next page, if ever a childs books could be a page turner, this is it!

Swagbucks Code!

Check the swidget on the right side of my blog for 7 Swagbucks! This is a great week for swagbucks! If you don't know what Swagbucks are, check out Diane's blog Grocery Shop for Free for a great tutorial!  I collect swagbucks all the time, and they can be redeemed for great stuff, such as gift cards! (Think Christmas!)

National Night Out

I recently participated in a National Night Out Event in my community.  It was an amazing event, with music, dance contests, food, bouncehouses and backpack giveaways.  It was amazing to see all the people come out in the apartment community I live in to celebrate taking back the night and starting the new school year!  The kids were excited to get out and celebrate, the parents were encouraged to win backpacks full of school supplies, and it was great to come together as a community for a common good.  Do your communities celebrate the new school year in any way?

RitaMonti Coffee

"Rita Monti was born in a small town in Italy, where time is at a stand still. Today, she would like to share her best products with you.
Her creations are personally inspired and cared for to bring a touch of Italian taste, and elegance
into your home. She welcomes you to her website, where you will discover exquisite coffee and beautiful hand-painted dinnerware."

This is a description from the website ffor her coffee. Rita Monti sent me a sample of their coffee, which I must say, was a large sample. It contained a can of coffee plus a coffee pod.  I was hesitant to try it, as I recently decided to stop drinking coffee. 

When my mom came to visit, though, I needed coffee to give her, and so the timing was perfect.  I was surprised at the quality of the coffee. It has a rich flavor that doesn't come across too strong, but rather full.  My mom likes her coffee so strong it brings tears to your eyes, and I like my coffee strong, but not so strong it takes like tar.  This coffee has a great balance.  I didn't use the pod, because I don't have that kind of system, but my mom and I enjoyed the coffee.

This product was provided to me free of charge for review. No payment was made for the service, and I was not required to review this product on my blog, but have done so of my own free will.

Giveaway at Frugal Living and living Fun!

The website http://frugallivingandhavingfun.com/ is having a giveaway right now.  She is giving away something from the Carolina Pad website. Check it out!

Review of Dad's Bible

I was given this book to review by booksneeze and I really wasn't sure how I was going to be able to review a bible.  Not that all bibles are the same, but, well, they are at least mostly the same.  The versions differ, the commentary or notes inside differ, the covers differ, but the message is essential the same. I found this bible to be beautiful though. It is one that I am proud to give my husband.  Below is my review of it.


This bible is an incredible bible for fathers! The New Century Version isn't one I'm familiar with, but it is easy to read, and similar to the NIV in many ways. This bible has many notes, some called character notes, some insights, as well as bios on dads in the bible. There is also a set of notes called Walking in Authority. In the beginning of every chapter there is a small section about the chapter, which I find nice for reference. The pages are thin, but not too thin, and they are beautiful, I must say. They have a brownish tint around the edges, as if they are a scroll. It has a beautiful cover and binding. I appreciate that it has a topical index and a small space for taking notes in the back. I just can't wait to give it to my husband for father's day!

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze.com <http://BookSneeze.com> book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 <http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html> : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Playtex Bra Makeover

Playtex is offering a Bra Makeover to Moms! Did you know that seven out of ten women are wearing the wrong size bra? I think I am most of the time! Part of the problem is it seems like my size keeps changing, but that's news for another post! Playtex recently launched this site, a site where women are able to apply for a bra makeover, or nominate a friend! What an opportunity! If chosen, the winner will be flown to New York and receive a bra makeover with Alison Deyette, who has been featured on Millionaire Matchmaker(I love that show!) and Ten Years Younger.  In addition, the 10 winners will star in their own webisode, in which the candidate will receive a fitting with Deyette and receive perfect Playtex products!  A new webisode will premier on their site every two weeks! I know for me it gives me confidence to go and get a bra fitting, because then I know I am wearing the right size and can be comfortable and confident!  The last day to apply is Friday May, 21st so hurry!
By posting this information, I am entered into a contest to win a free bra from Playtex. I did not receive any compensation for this post and thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.

Say Cheese!

I recieved a BZZ Campaign from BzzAgent for President Cheese. It contained one coupon for free cheese, as well as several coupons for money off future purchases. I used the free coupon to buy Feta cheese for my honey, because it is one of his favorites.  It was a nice treat for him, because its not something I normally purchase. I am not a big fan of the softer cheeses, such as Brie, but I haven't really given them much of a chance. The next time I go to someones house or to a party though, you might just find me bringing cheese and crackers! (Or cheese and Greek olives?)

Radical by David Platt

I got a chance to preview the first chapter of this book, and it is now one I yearn to read. It is not something that can be read lightly, or simply for pleasure. It is one I want to read, highlight, re-read, pray about, and read again. It looks at the life of Jesus, his ministry compared to how we live our lives as Americans. The big mega church, compared to a following of the twelve faithful.
My lucky readers can request a copy of The Radical Question here
You too can download the first chapter of Radical here
Also, check out the website http://www.radicalthebook.com

This is the coolest rhyme I have seen in a long time! Makes you think!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WUQYJ77qa50&feature=player_embedded

Babies will be in theatres on Mothers Day around the country! It documents our first hours, days, weeks, months of life on earth that we all must go through. It profiles four babies from four countries who each go through different challenges and joys. A must-see!