Free candle!

Talk about perfect timing! For Every Body ( the sister company of For Every Home of which I am a consultant)
has a promotional giveaway going on! A Free Blueberry Muffin candle! I figured since I was sharing my blueberry muffin obsession with you this week I should share this as well. You do pay shipping on the candle.
The retail value of the candle is $11! Great time to try out one of our candles without paying for it! Go to the Facebook link to view the details!
Did I mention the cute little candle toppers on every candle we sale?!! They are Adorable! Also, these candles are what led me to start selling For Every Home.....they are my favorite candle ( or meltable cubes!) So I will shut up now, I tend to go crazy about scents as we all know..... ;)

http://www.facebook.com/pages/For-Every-Body/63639071844

Blueberry Streusel Muffins!

 I was in the mood to make Blueberry Muffins...don't know why, but, it could have been that I had a Blueberry Muffin soy cube in my warmer all day. Anyways,I gave in. I found this recipe on www.allrecipes.com .

                            http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Blueberry-Streusel-Muffins-2/Detail.aspx
Thank-You Sarah Phillips, my beautiful & sweet SIL for telling me about this web site! I have gotten some really great recipes off here!
Gary is laughing at me for putting this on here, so let me just clarify. I am not a great, awesome cook, but I can follow a recipe. And if the recipe is a good one then you don't need to worry!

My Opinion
Very moist, the muffin is almost cake like. The Streusel topping gives it a sweet taste complimenting the tartness of the berries. I did make a double batch of the topping because I have a really bad sweet tooth ;)
VERY EASY to make!

Ethan's Opinion: "Mom! Those are good, Can you make them every day?!"

Hope you enjoy them!

Ethan-isims!

Ethan went fishing this weekend for the first time! Quite possibly the last time till he can take himself haha!
Gary said Cayden and Tre` whinned the whole time, they were hot, the sun was in their eyes...they were thirsty, and well you can imagine. Ethan was the only one who caught a fish, here's a pic for ya!

It was a weekend of first for him as well as the boys! Sunday Gary and the boys went to a Willgis & Pam's house (couple from church). They live in the country and have animals galore there! Goats, Chickens, dogs, cats, cows, calves, baby goats, horse....so the boys were lovin' it! Anyways......they had beef from one of his cows he had butchered, and Willgis wanted to let the boys have as much fun as possible I think! He let them get eggs from the chickens nest and then the main event....they butchered Chickens! Gary said Ethan was all for killing the chickens, until Willgis cut their head off and they were floppin around and bleeding. Then he didn't like it one bit. The dogs were wanting to get some "treats", and Willgis kept shooing them away. Ethan says " Go ahead Roxie! Eat those chickens... so WE don't have to!!!"
I must say that it was a lot nicer to cook them fresh. I made Fried Chicken and Chicken and Noodles for supper tonight along with gravy, potatoes, corn on the cob. It was cleaner than the chicken you get at Kroger and tasted very good! So I am sold on the raising chickens idea.....all I need is the land ;)

Well there is a tornado or storm or something headed our way so I better get off before I lose power and all this that I have blogged!!!!

Enjoy your weekend!

Looks like a beautiful day today! Hopefully the whole weekend is this nice!
I  hope you all enjoy your weekend!
Love,
Jamie

The Little Engine that could...or so he said!

It seems the older I get the more I realize how, I really can't do anything. I mean I can do a little of this or a little of that but I am not the BEST at anything I do. My son Ethan, on the other hand, he can do anything. Just ask his cousin Levi. lol! I went to see Holly yesterday and we spent the day running around Dayton, till we were exhausted and broke. We got back to her house and Ethan was playing outside with Gavin (5) and Levi (11).
I was talking to Holly and looked out the window to check on them and, caught my breath, I said "Oh Holly, you don't think Levi will let go of him to you?!!" Levi was pushing Ethan on his bike....a bike so tall Ethan's feet could barely touch the pedals.... Holly said " Oh, No, He wouldn't let him go!" As soon as she said that, Levi gave Ethan a big shove down the sidewalk, I started screaming running out the door and across the yard screaming the whole way 'LLLLEEEEVVVVVIIIII!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Up till I ran out the door screaming Ethan had balanced the bike pretty good....once I started screaming he lost his  balance and fell to the sidewalk...then he started screaming and running towards his crazy panicked...and by now laughing a little hysterically mother!  I picked him up and checked him out he was fine and had stopped crying before we even got in the house. Holly who was in shock and embarrassment cause all the neighbors outside starring with dropped jaws was already back in the house.....laughing uncontrollably. Levi was scared to death that I was going to be mad, but I knew even before I asked what had happened. HOlly starts in "Levi! Why did you let go of him?! He can't ride a bike?!" Levi said " He said he could ride a bike without training wheels and I asked him if he was sure and he said Yeah!"  I was still laughing and Ethan was hiding his head in my chest, I turned to Levi and I said "Oh, He can drive my van too....can't you Ethan?!" Ethan looks up and nods his head Yes! with that lil' grin on his face!
I think there are some kids who should never be read "The Little Engine That Could" ....and Ethan is one of those! lol!

Product Review

Mr Clean w/Febreze

Febreze Hawaiian Aloha™ and Febreze New Zealand Springs™ Scent
 Both are A+ but the Hawaiian Aloha.....is AWESOME! It smells sooooo good! 
I bought this for the young people to use when cleaning up the fellowship hall after their Food and Fellowship night, I think there was 3-6 people going to go buy some. They couldn't believe how good it smelled. Not only that but it refreshes the whole area your cleaning with that smell! I know Mr.Clean isn't like bleach, but i personally don't like to use bleach every time I clean. For my kitchen sink and toilet I will use bleach but for the bathroom sink and mopping and wiping down surfaces, I will use Mr Clean. Bleach makes me sick, so I try not to use much of it. so....like you needed to know all that;)
GO buy some, you'll love it!

Comments Enabled....

You can now post a comment as "Anonymous" ....to let me know you were here ;)

In The Waiting

Here is one of my favorite songs, I wanted to share it with you.....
I can't count the times I have sang this song to myself, and let the tears fall. I remember the first time it really struck home for me. Our cd had just come out, and Bev was bringing it to church for the girls to hear. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to go, I was at home that night, in an emotional, mentally and physical mess...I had "lost" our baby that day. Bev came over and we put the cd in, she trying to be there for me, and me trying not to let her see how hurt I was, then this song came on. She left and later told my sister, she knew I needed to be alone then. I cried and cried letting this song be my prayer, listening to myself sing it and knowing if that cd never touched another soul that maybe we recorded that one for me alone. I wish I could say I have never been "In the waiting" again, but I can't.
There have been times when I have sang this at church, and a person will come to my mind and it's almost like I know I am singing it for them. It's hard knowing people are hurting and being helpless to heal their hurt, mend their broken hearts, erase their painful pasts, heal their body...but, I try to sing it with everything in me, hoping they will realize sometimes God can take a song and use it to speak to them. There have been times I have begged God for a personal answer, let this person give me a word, or let this happen....a fleece so to speak. I have learned God don't always answer those fleece prayers. Sometime He wants us to trust Him in the Darkest times of our lives.
"The Silence doesn't mean that I'm Alone, as long as I can Hear that I am still your own" 
 How I have clung to that line! I have found healing comes in the least obvious ways for myself. Sometimes it has been through the Preacher, sometimes through a song, sometimes a promise from his Word....and most of the time it has been a band-aid at a time.....it hasn't been a surgery it has been a Stitch here and there.
Can I explain Life's hurt, or the things we go through in life....no but, I can point you to the one who can heal that hurt....

Pain.
The gift nobody longs for; still it comes.
But somehow leaves us stronger when it's gone away.
Pray.
I try and pray for Your will to be done.
But I confess it's never fast enough for me it seems.
The hardest part is waiting on You.
When what I really want is just to see Your hand move.

I want a peace beyond my understanding.
I want to feel it fall like rain
In the middle of my hurting.
I want to feel Your arms as they surround me.
And let me know that it's okay
To be here in this place
Resting in the peace that only comes
In the waiting.

Time.
Time to let it go and just believe.
Trusting in what no one else but You can see.
Free.
Freedom from the fears that close me in.
And I can get beyond where I have been
But then again, the silence doesn't mean that I'm alone.
As long as I can hear that I am still Your own.

~To Do List ~ 1. Pray!!

I was on Facebook this morning and seen this status update, "Prayed-Much accomplished today".
I kinda felt a little "nudge", you know what I am talking about if you have a relationship with God, that little convicting thing you feel. Sometimes, a pause, sometimes a pricking of your conscience, a whisper to your heart... one of those ;)
Do you know how many days I think," I need to pray today, I can't forget today...but FIRST....I need to get this done or that done, or I should clean the house or wait till Ethan is asleep"...on and on. It's like I need to complete my "To do list", before I can pray, when really if all I get done today is pray, nothing else matters. Sometimes, I treat prayer as a luxury or like one of my "hobbies", if I finish all my chores then I can reward myself. It's not that at all, prayer is a necessity, it's a need. I need to feel that God hears me, I need to know that no matter what happens in this world, I am still His child, I need to know if I died right now His face would be the next face I see....Sometimes, I "To Do List" myself right into bed at night without ever stopping to pray.....My prayer today would be, "God forgive me for the times, I push you away because I am busy, for the times I keep my mind busy trying to avoid thinking of the trials of Life,  help me to not just know in my head that your all that matters but to live it in my daily walk, to show You that, YOUR all that matters....."
When all is said and done, the house won't fall around me, the laundry won't get up and run away...unfortunately... the dishes aren't going to call me names....and nobody is out there holding their breath for this blog or my Facebook status update! ;)

Product Review

Organix Shampoo & Conditioner - Moroccan Argan Oil - A
Scent A+!
Price $6 and up- more than I want to spend as I go through a bottle of each, every week.

This smells sooooooooooo good! Maybe I should add another couple "o's" to that just so you understand how good it smells!
I have tried Organix Brand hair products before and not been real pleased, most of them smell good in the bottle but, don't smell at all on my hair.  This one however smells absolutely wonderful! I have witnesses and some believers on this one ;)  I used it and when I took my hair down that night my grandma, aunt and mom couldn't believe how good it smelled and all wanted to go buy some! So while this is a wonderful smelling shampoo, other than the smell, my hair feels normal, I can get the same results with Suave Professionals or Herbal Essence.
BUT......we all know my obsession with smells and that is why I rate this one an A!

My Favorite Hairspray
 Aussie Instant Freeze- A+

 

Cost is only $2.97 at Wal-mart!  If your buying it at the grocery store expect to pay almost $5. This is the only hair spray that holds my hair. Sometimes, I think it would be nice to be able to just buy WHATEVER and have it last FOREVER, but since I don't cut my hair, my hair needs* this Spray to hold it's curl or whatever I do to it. I do buy one of these a week if I am curling my hair but if I am just wearing my "daily" then I can make it last 2 weeks.  

So here is the pros for this spray: Smells good / No white flakes / washes out easily / Holds hair all day / Very cheap!

I hear a lot of times "How do you get your curls to stay?!"  or "My Hair don't/won't/can't curl!" "My curls won't stay"
The answer to that "problem" is simple, you aren't using the right products or the right amount.

*when I say need, I mean like, pigs need mud, flowers need rain, like women need chocolate...it's a real need!

Well.....that's all I got for you on Products today, hope it helps you in choosing what works for you, remember to leave me your opinions on the products you try because this is after all.....
Just one mom's opinion!

Life Lessons from a Chick....

Here is a blog post from my family blog, my mom's best friend asked me if she could post it to her blog.  I was humbled she asked to post my ramblings on her blog. Her husband is my old Principal. They are really good and godly people!
If you like conservative, well educated and spiritually uplifting blogs, you should subscribe to hers!


A Sheltering Tree- Guest Post

Decorating Idea

I do the Food and Fellowship Hall decorating for the Youth Services at our church. If you know me, you know I love this and take it seriously ;) We have Youth service every last Sat of the month, and serve food afterwards.
So this month I had to decorate it. I thought a lot about what I could decorate with that would make it more personable for everybody. I wanted the Youth to feel like it was THEIRS, and I wanted a way for the church to connect to each of the youth. But How to tie that in with decorating, I wasn't sure. Here is what I came up with.

Testimony side(picture on the other side)

Big Vases with 3

Small Vases with 1, This is Ethans ;)

Partial View (Pardon the Christmas decor, it was already there)

So I think it turned out pretty cute, and everybody seemed to like it. What I like best is that the kids all gave me testimonies, and I got to read the whole paper. I had to pick out a few sentences to put on the small circles. Some make me cry, some made me laugh, but all of them made me remember my own youth. Yes, we all make mistakes, we all fail, and we all need for somebody to pick us back up, we all need for somebody to believe in us when we don't believe in ourselves. And sometimes, when we're to shy to say what's on our hearts, a written testimony is just that. They wrote these from their heart and that is the personal, unifying "decor" I was looking for ;) I love it. If your interested I will post how I did it.

Product Review

I love smells....good smells that is. Sometimes, you can smell something and it just has the power to relax you or calm you down, like spraying on perfume every morning, it just makes me feel good!  On the other hand, I  can smell unpleasant things loong before the rest of my family! That being said you understand why most of my product reviews have to do with the way things smell ;)
Here is some of the new bath/shower gels I have tried recently and like.
For some reason they are all purple.....I don't know why but I tend to favor the Black Orchid type scents, which are always purple.

~Olay Luscious Embrace~B

I really like the smell it reminds me of the Purple Ribbons they used to sale. The downside of this one is that it smells wonderful when washing but there is no scent on your skin after you get out of the shower. It is also a watery type gel, I kinda like it to be a little more thicker. I would rate it a B

~Caress Sheer Twilight~ A+

 I love this one. It smells like a sophisticated, beautiful person would smell like!  Call me weird but I associate smells with people, like the Classic Ralph Lauren models, the Lauren style.  lol!  It is under $3 at Walmart!
I have noticed before when using Caress products that they seem to smell on your skin longer than most and this one is the same. I used this last night and Ethan came over to where I was sitting and I asked him didn't I smell good and he said " Yes!  I could smell you from over there in my chair Mommy!" He has my thing about smells ;) hahaa!

Ok last one I have used for a while and I love it too.

~SoftSoap Black Orchid and Velvet Hibiscus~ A
I couldn't find a picture for you of this one.
It smells very good and is thick, it is not an A+ because it doesn't last as long on my skin as the Caress...but I still love it!

As always this is just my humble opinion ;)

Lions, Tigers and.....Cups?!

Last night we all went to bed a little after 9. For some reason Ethan was just not sleepy. He kept giggling and we could hear him talking to the boys and this was what we overheard at one point Ethan "There's a snake and a cup in the bed!" the boys were trying to ignore him, Ethan "GRROOWWWLLLL!" Cayden in a very tired quiet voice says, "Ethan be quiet." Ethan, "It's not me, it's a CUP!"   I laughed so hard....a cup?! Since when do cups growl and scare people?
I had taken NyQuil because of being sick this week, I have had no voice since Sunday. You would think I wouldv'e slept like a baby, but no. First I wake up because of the baby chicks, they were chirping real loud, I go check on them, go back to bed. They wake me again, this time they are scratching the box with their feet....so I unplugged the heat lamp. This always shuts them up, they cuddle together and don't chirp.(I think they get cold, but I was to tired to care) So once the chicks are taken care of I go back to sleep, only to be woken by what sounds like Ethan upstairs whinning. He won't go to the bathroom alone so I figured he had to go and was to asleep to wake me. So I jump out of bed and start up the stairs, half asleep, then I hear the sound him peeing, it was pretty loud so, I look up and  there he is at the top of the stairs, under ware down, and peeing all over the kitchen wall and trash can! I had to run grab a towel and clean it up. I was just glad his back was to me and he was not peeing down the stairs!
Well I better jump off here, I have a lot to do today!

Product Review

"Dr. Teal's Epsom Salt Soaking Solution"
Cost: $6.99 at Drugstore.com
http://www.drugstore.com/dr-teals-epsom-salt-soaking-solution-relax-eucalyptus-spearmint/qxp304749?fromsrch=epson+salts
 This item Qualifies for Free Shipping!

I LOVE THIS STUFF! My favorite kind is the Relax it is spearmint, eucalyptus scented. They have other scents but, I haven't wanted to switch because this one is sooo good! Seriously, run HOT water, sprinkle this in, lay back, close your eyes, breathe deep.....I like to "mentally" transport my body into a HUGE jacuzzi surrounded with candles and Kenny G playing on the stereo....of course I am brought back to reality as soon as somebody bangs on the door saying they need to potty....but it's nice while it lasts! ;)

While your at the Drugstore.com, you should go ahead and purchase their sunless tanning lotion! It is the best I have ever used and is also the cheapest! No streaking, light smell which mostly goes away after your first  shower. I am VERY light skinned and the DARK color works best on me.....try it out if you are scared of Tanning Beds & Wrinkles ;)

http://www.drugstore.com/banana-boat-sunless-summer-color-self-tanning-lotion-deep-dark/qxp139721?fromsrch=Sunles+tan

So that's all I have for you tonight! Hope you enjoy the new products!