just a reminder

just a little friendly reminder that my giveaway will end on Wednesday, November 3rd.  Be sure to get in as many entries as possible!!  And thanks to all of those that have entered!!


If you haven't entered to win $35 GC to CSN Stores, enter here.  

wee bit wednesday v. 8

i just realized i forgot to do last week's wee bit wednesday.. oopsie!!





{one} have you ever seen a ghost?nope.. the thought of seeing one scares me.  
{two} when was the last time you dressed up for halloween?i have only really dressed up once & i was in college.. but dressed up for work when i worked at a pediatric physical therapy clinic in louisiana
{three} what’s your favorite candy?jolly ranchers, the coconut squares, snickers, coconut m&m's, reese's peanut butter cups
{four} did you have a favorite costume growing up?nope, my family didn't celebrate or dress up for halloween.
{five} did you carve pumpkins this year?no, i've never carved a pumpkin.. we bought some this year, but i'm not sure i want to mess them up
{six} what’s your favorite scary movie?texas chainsaw massacre with jessica biel, i think
{seven} haunted houses or corn mazes?corn mazes for sure
{eight} are you superstitious?no
{nine} have you ever owned a black cat?no, thank you.  i don't like cats.
{ten} what are you plans for this coming halloween?i'm not sure.. fox is dressing up, but i don't think we will go trick-or-treating, but just hand out candy for the neighborhood kids.. maybe go to the pumpkin patch.. and we're having a church potluck after church on sunday.

don't forget to enter my giveaway!

CSN Stores $35 Giveaway

You may be wondering what CSN Stores is?  CSN Stores is an e-commerce company made of over 200+ online stores.  They sell just about everything from cookware to baby items, home decor to upholstered headboards and so much more!  I search their website just about every day trying to get some ideas on what to get my family members for Christmas!!  CSN Stores would be the perfect place to do all of your Christmas shopping.. or just any shopping for that matter!!  And they have free shipping on just about everything!


These are some of my favorite items:

 

 

{Source}

See, I told you they had just about everything!!  I could spend hours browsing the website!!


Anyways, let's get down to business!!

Giveaway:

Thanks to CSN Stores, one of my readers will  win a $35 Gift Card to CSN Stores which can be used at any of their 200+ stores. (Gift card will be sent in the form of a $35 promotional code.)

How to Enter: 

Mandatory Entry: Go to CSN Stores and have a look around.  Come back & tell me one of your favorite items.  Be sure to include your email address within your comment.
         Example: I like the Skyline Furniture Tufted Arch Headboard in Sangria.


Extra Entries:
*** Extra entries are only to be done after the mandatory entry is completed.  I will be checking.  Be sure to leave a separate comment for each entry & also include your email address.  ***


  - Follow me via Google Friend Connect (on the right hand side) (1 entry)
  - Become a fan of CSN Stores on Facebook  (1 entry)
  - Follow CSN Stores via Twitter (1 entry)
  - Come back everyday and tell me a different item you like (1 entry per day)

Giveaway Details:

- Contest is open to U.S.  and Canadian Residents, 18 years and older.

- Giveaway ends on Wednesday, November 3rd, at 11:59 pm CST.
- Any entries after the deadline with be deleted.
- Winner will be chosen at random via Random.org generator.
- Winner will receive a notification email & has 48 hours to respond or another winner will be chosen. 

- The winner will be announced Thursday, November 4th.
- Each entry must be submitted in a separate comment! - If you don't leave your email address in your entries, make sure your profile is public. 

Thanks again for stopping by & entering the CSN Stores giveaway!!


Good luck & happy entering!

i like pretty things

i know i've raved on & on a few times about giveaways.  i have found some really cute shops.. and honestly, i love winning some!  so far, i have won about 30 giveaways.  woohoo!!  i love getting packages in the mail!  i've been able to keep quite a few things for myself & i am gifting others at christmas!  don't judge!  sometimes, i enter giveaways with other people in mind.  heehee!  like i just won something this past week for my brother.  and honestly, i have only bought 2 items so far for christmas.. and i am half way done!  this year, we are buying gifts for 15 people so any little bit helps!  and this year, the gifts will be good!  heehee!!


so i wanted to share some of my pretty little things:

i love this little set.  the top picture is a headband/clip, bracelet, & baby legs for a baby girl.  and the 2nd picture is a matching headband & earrings.. that makes a mommy/daughter set.  as you can see, i don't have a little girl, but i am stashing it away in hopes that our next baby is a girl!  speaking in faith, people!!  ;-)

want one of these items? check out Just Our Style

i love this headband.  i've never been a big fan of this color, but i was brave & had just bought a cute little shirt in that color & when i saw that Shawnee at My Fair Ladee had a headband in this color, I knew I wanted to get this one!!  And it matches my shirt just great!!  She has other cute headbands, too!!

ahhh, these are my lovely pearls i won!!  they are so beautiful!  they are so pretty i still haven't worn them yet!!  i'm too scared!  heehee!

how cute are these two headbands & flower clip!?!?  looove them!  i am so into headbands right now.  some mornings, i am so lazy i just wash my hair, but it in a bun & pop in a headband & i look so cute!  heehee!  tasha, from My Creation Corner, was so sweet & great to work with.  i had won the two headbands & she added in one of her flower clips!!  it was a sweet surprise!!

oh, how i just love this clutch!  this is the Montgomery Clutch that i won from Dear Lillie.  it is so pretty.  i wore it to church the sunday after i got it.. and wore my mommy's pearls with them.  just love this clutch.  and i love reading Jennifer & Jamie's blogs.  and love their shop!!

these are my cute vintage spoon & fork decals that sit in our dining room.  i'm so glad i won these because i had no clue what i was going to put on the wall!!  you can find more adorable decals here.

oh, how i love the vintage pearl.  isn't this necklace so cute?  i won a GC (gift certificate) & i made myself a necklace & order one for my sis in law for christmas.  the heart holds the "b" for brandon.. because he holds my heart.  cheesy, much?  the flower is for me,  "j"= jessica. and our little star, "f"= fox.  something i love about this necklace is that when we have another baby, i can order another charm to add after fox.  

well, i have a surprise for you!  i am hosting my first giveaway tomorrow!!  be sure to check back with me tomorrow!!  

Song that makes me cry :-(

i absolutely love this song, held, by natalie grant.  this song has been out for years.  it's absolutely beautiful & makes me cry every single time.  


i feel like my life is so unfair sometimes because i have to live the rest of my life without my mom by my side.. and i know that God does not owe anything to me.. so i love this song because with everything i have gone through & have yet to go through, God is there with me every step of the way.  and he is holding me in his loving arms.

Two months is too little
They let him go
They had no sudden healing
To think that providence
Would take a child from his mother
While she prays, is appalling
Who told us we'd be rescued
What has changed and
Why should we be saved from nightmares
Were asking why this happens to us
Who have died to live, it's unfair
This is what it means to be held
How it feels, when the sacred is torn from your life
And you survive
This is what it is to be loved and to know
That the promise was that when everything fell
We'd be held
This hand is bitterness
We want to taste it and
Let the hatred numb our sorrows
The wise hand opens slowly
To lilies of the valley and tomorrow
This is what it means to be held
How it feels, when the sacred is torn from your life
And you survive
This is what it is to be loved and to know
That the promise was that when everything fell
We'd be held
If hope if born of suffering
If this is only the beginning
Can we not wait, for one hour
Watching for our savior
This is what it means to be held
How it feels, when the sacred is torn from your life
And you survive
This is what it is to be loved and to know
That the promise was that when everything fell
We'd be held

i also love this song, letters from war, by mark schultz.  it's an older song, as well.  i believe my brother, lester, was in the navy when i heard this.. and it just hit home with him.  and now, it hits home with aaron being in afghanistan.  it's just a beautiful song.

She walked to the mailbox
On that bright summers day
Found a letter from her son
In a war far away
He spoke of the weather
And good friends that he'd made
Said I'd been thinking 'bout dad
And the life that he had
Thats why I'm here today
And that the end he said
You are what I'm fighting for
It was the first of the letters from war
She started writing
You're good and you're brave
What a father that you'll be someday
make it home
make it safe
She wrote every night as she prayed
Late in December
A day she'll not forget
Oh her tears stained the paper
With every word that she read
It said "I was up on a hill
I was out there alone
When the shots all rang out
And bombs were exploding
And thats when I saw him
He came back for me
And though he was captured
A man set me free
And that man was your son
He asked me to write to you
I told him i would, oh I swore"
It was the last of the letters from war
And she prayed he was living
Kept on believing
And wrote every night just to say
You are good
And you're brave
what a father that you'll be someday
Make it home
Make it safe
Still she kept writing each day
Then two years later
Autumn leaves all around
A car pulled in the driveway
And she fell to the ground
And out stepped a captain
Where her boy used to stand
He said "mom I'm following orders
From all of your letters
And I've come home again",
He ran into hold her
And dropped all his bags on the floor
Holding all of her letters from war
Bring him home
Bring him home
Bring him home

and as you read this, please continue to keep my baby brother, aaron, in your prayers.  the situation in afghanistan is not going really well.  i last heard from aaron almost 3 weeks ago & he said they were all going from home to home inspecting & whatnot.  and i know a few guys from his unit/division have died in the past few weeks.  please just pray for his safety & protection.  and most of all, that he just has an intimate relationship with God & learns to fully rely on him to get him through & bring him back home safe.

thank you!

my dream house

funny we talk about my dream house. 


before my hubby & i got married, my daddy promised us the down payment for our first house.  well, we've always rented.  brandon & i would love to own our own home.  but honestly, we've just never known where we wanted to end up.  and we'd hate to buy a house to only want to move & have a hard time selling it.  


my dad came to visit this past weekend & we were talking about buying/ building.  and he wants us to build a house.  and he will finance it & send up a crew of his to build it for us.  so now brandon & i are looking for some land to build on.  and i, of course, have been day dreaming of what i want my home to look like.


since my daddy builds houses, through the years i've been able to look over house plans & whatnot.. and i've made rough sketches of what i want my home to look like.  i have a sketch for a single floor home & a two story home.


i would love to have a 4+ bedroom, 2.5+ bath... with an office/library & a play room.  a big kitchen & with a breakfast nook.  separate dining room.  a sunroom.  i'd love to have a little courtyard & an outdoor kitchen.  i'd love a grand staircase.  i want a big, grand house!!  i would love a guest house, too.  heehee!!


i know it's my dream house & my first house will not be like this.. but a girl can dream!  

a non fiction book

this is pretty easy.


The Bible, of course.


it's the manual of life.  got questions?  the Bible has the answers.  the Bible has great stories.. and it's all true!!


i also like to read about the lives of famous people.. such as Princess Diana, Mother Teresa, JFK, etc.

a fictional book

i don't know if i'm really supposed to talk about a certain book? 


but i like to read.. whenever i can.  i usually read Christian fiction books.  i love to read the Amish Christian fiction books by Beverly Lewis or Wanda Brunstetter.  i own a lot of their books.. and just love to read them.


of course, my favorite book is Little Women & Pride & Prejudice.  


i also like to read books about the 1800s.. or the old west.


i liked the Twilight Saga books.


i like Karen Kingsbury & Nicholas Sparks.




i think i need a new book.  ;-)

OCD

OCD... hmmm.  i don't know if i really OCD about anything.

• i usually try to straighten the house up before going to bed.
• i am the only one that does laundry because i like my clothes folded a certain way.
• i always straighten my desk before i leave work.
• i always check the locks before going to bed, even though, i know i already locked them.
• i have to iron my clothes before going out in public... sometimes, my undershirts.

those are just a few things i can think of right now.. but i don't really think i am OCD about anything really.  i used to be a lot more when i was younger.. but as i've gotten older some things just don't matter anymore.  know what i mean?

Recent Photo

here are a few recent pictures of me.  

me & my hubby on the road 

 my little family

 mommy & her little man

 my stepmom (coco/carmen), foxy, & mommy

my daddy & me 

my litttle family

Old School Photo

okay for this post, i had to find some pictures of me that were taken over 10 years ago.  and the pictures were taken with my hubby's phone so they are not of great quality.  


this first picture, i was about 3 or 4.  the oldest is alex (behind me), 2nd oldest is lester, me & my little brother, axel.  aaron wasn't born yet.  :-(

this 2nd picture was of me in 2nd grade.

so cheesy.  

heehee!  

so yea.  i think that's enough for now before i embarrass myself even more.

sorry.

i know i haven't been doing good the past few days with my "30 days of me".. i've been traveling the past 2 weeks for work.. and when i'm home, i just want to relax or play with my family that i don't get on the laptop to post my pictures.  i think it would be easier if i didn't have to post pictures.  heehee!  and i want to do them in order.. so yea.

oh well.. bear with me & in the next few days, i will catch up with my 30 days of me..

Photo I took

i know i missed a few days of posting.  my daddy & stepmom came in to visit over the weekend.. to celebrate my daddy's birthday early.  we had such a wonderful & great time!!  daddy took us shopping!  woohoo!  we usually do 2-3 big shopping trips a year & it usually happens when i go down to visit them.  we usually travel to shreveport & dad gives the girls money to shop while the guys play soccer.  well, this was actually the first time this year that he took us shopping (i missed shopping with my sis in law-gina & the boys).  

i have to say i am really blessed by my daddy.  he has blessed my little family & all of his children tremendously.  God had blessed him with a successful business & he in turns blesses his kids... and it teaches us to give to others & be blessings to them.  after i had fox, i was feeling really frumpy about myself.  and i know you shouldn't put much stock into material things or the clothes you wear.. but having pretty clothes after having a baby made me feel a lot better.  and my dad sent me & carmen shopping & spent a lot of money on me.. just because he loves me & wants me to feel good about myself.  i love my daddy tremendously.. i continuously pray blessings over his life.  i know i could never repay him for all that he has done, but i will die trying.

well, carmen & i left a store & were walking towards my dad, brandon & fox.. and i saw my dad holding fox & both of their heads were together.. and i thought "awww, that's so sweet!"  when i came around in front of them, i saw this:

of course, fox was being very sweet!  his lito gave him a big chunk of chocolate!  heehee!  they are a mess!  the only time fox really ever has sweets is when he's around his lito! 

Sad photo :(

i think it's possible for  a photo to bring you both joy & sadness at the same time.  even though, when these pictures were taken, there was such great joy.. good & fun times.. and i'm glad to have happy memories! 

i know i just posted this, but seeing this photo makes me miss my Mom even more. thus, causing me to be *sad*.  i wish i could hug her just once more.. hold her hand.. smell her sweet scent.. kiss her.  just once more.  


tell her i love her.  and that i'm proud to have had such an amazing mommy & woman in my life.

and this picture makes me sad because preston was the only one that met his Mimi.. and i'm sad she's not here for all the grandbabies: Preston, Maddox, Fox & Latimer (& future ones)... and sad that none of the grandbabies will really know who Mimi was.

she was such a proud mommy & mimi.  she loved God, her hubby, her babies & grandbaby.  

gosh, i miss her.  her birthday is coming up at the end of this month.. and i have already been feeling down.  she would have celebrated her 47th birthday this year.  


*sigh*

wee bit about me - v. 7

these past couple of days i was out traveling for work, so i didn't get a chance to do my wee bit wednesday.. so it's a wee bit late!  ;-)  

{one} have you ever milked a cow or a goat?no, i'd like to milk a cow one day
{two} what sound does your alarm make when it goes off in the morning?it's just a ring tone from my phone.  it annoys me every morning!  ;-)
{three} chocolate milk or hot chocolate?both, please!
{four} what is one of the quirkiest things about you?me, quirky?  i dunno!  edit: i just asked my husband & he said i'm not quirky.  ha!
{five} are you more like your mom or your dad?i like to think i'm a good mixture!  i get the attitude & smarts from dad.  ha!  and probably everything else like my mom.. especially her ba-donk-a-donk (however you say it!) ;-) {six} do you sleep with the tv on?nope, just the fan!
{seven} if you were a crayon, what color would you be? sunset orange, coral, turquoise, pink, violet/ lavender..one of those! {eight} ross,  joey, or chandler?joey was the funniest!
{nine} do you play any musical instruments?i used to play the clarinet!
{ten} what’s the worst thing you’ve ever cooked/baked?ummm, ranch style chicken thing from walmart.  never again!

Photo that Makes me Happy :-)

a photo that makes me happy, huh?  

hmmm.. well, i love taking pictures.. so i am just adding a lot of my fave photos & of course, they all make me happy!

apparently, they are in no order!  heehee!   i didn't feel like re-arranging.  tsk, tsk.

 my boy at the park on a sunday afternoon

fall 2010

watching the ferris wheel at a local park

fall 2010 

 fox & ainsley. this makes me happy

labor day 2010

 my little family

summer 2010

 our wedding day

may 19, 2007

 me & my Mommy

Dad & Mom's renewal of vows

25th wedding anniversary

 maternity pictures by Jordan Smith Cassels

april 2009

 Mom & Dad's 25th wedding anniversary

Renewal of Vows

 my beautiful parents

day of Preston's dedication

October 2005

my hubby & son

july 2010

one year before: 

the night our lives were forever changed

july 29, 2009

I have really been blessed with a good life.  and I'm glad to have pictures to look through & reminisce over a good life!