Blogversary Giveaway!!!!!!

I cannot believe that it has been one year (officially tomorrow) since I stuck my crooked toes into the world of blogging. What started out as just my own personal therapy session, turned into a path of meeting so many wonderful people who have blessed me in more ways than you can ever imagine. I am able to share all my hopes and dreams.......admit my shortcomings and failures........celebrate my highs, be comforted in my lows.

This blog has led me to meet such awesome people who have taught me so much as well. To celebrate Jesus with an amazing circle of Believers blows me away. I thank you for inviting me into your world, opening your hearts and encouraging me to be the best I can be for Christ.

So with that my friends.......I want to celebrate and have a little giveaway of some of my favorite things. All you need to do is leave a comment (and contact information if needed). If you want to be a subscriber/following friend and/or give a little shout out on your own blog/twitter about the giveaway.....feel free to give yourself another comment/chance. But my heart is into "giving back" a little something for all your love and support that I have been blessed with since starting this journey, rather than getting more readers (although the more the merrier!).

I hope that visiting my blog is a blessing to you as much as it is to me. My hope is that I can help one person through a trial or help someone know that they are not alone in what they might be struggling with. I want to help one person see our extra-ordinary God in their ordinary events of life.

To know that God is good......all.the.time.
.....that is reason alone to celebrate!

So that, my friends is what this blog is all about. If I can make you laugh while I laugh at myself......that is a little bonus.

If you are new to my little corner of randomness.....feel free and make yourself comfy after leaving your entry comment and poke around the past year of my life. I had about 2 or 3 readers (and that was including Josh) when I had some profound learning experiences where God taught me alot about patience, worrying, guilt, gossip and the importance of being prepared to serve Him. You can see why I am fascinated with butterflies and how I see myself through them. I can be found babbling about seeing God in everything from mama chickens to a single blossom. And to keep it completely all real.....how a great pair of jeans can change your life.

OK, so now onto the prizes......

One blessed (remember, I don't believe in luck) winner will get the latest Third Day CD....well, it's been out for a while, but it totally ROCKS and I just have to share!

Another winner will find a couple of bars of this yummy handmade soap in their mailbox.....I cannot be held responsible for any future addictions this might provoke.

And lastly.....a very dear friend of mine, Danielle makes beautiful jewelry. She has generously offered to bless one winner with this gorgeous pendent.


She describes this beauty as "this gorgeous green Moss Agate teardrop pendant is looped with copper wire and hung from an adjustable caramel leather cord. At it's largest, it is 28 inches and at it's tightest is 14 inches"

Please stop by her site, Doodles Jewels and check out the awesome creations she designs. Maybe you can treat yourself to a little gift or perhaps find something for someone special.
She is even cool enough to offer all my friends FREE shipping through Saturday with this code "freeship50"

And with that, I am wrapping things up.....I will keep the giveaway open until this weekend and pick three winners! Thank you all again for the amazing friendships you have all blessed me with...thanks for sharing all the amazing things that God is doing in your life.


Have a beautiful day!

Peace and love~
*~Michelle~*

Three Things This Thursday

I can't believe it is already Thursday! This week flew by......so let's get into Three Things:

1. So G, my oldest son went out and got a new tattoo yesterday. I must be a weird mama but when he got his first tattoo (at 16) it felt kinda like a milestone in a way. I have had my share of negative comments such as "I would never let my kid get one at 16" or "he is going to regret that one day".
Ummmmmm.......
A: never say never when it comes to life (and children).
You.never.know.what.tomorrow.brings.

*and most of the time, the people who give advice or make comments about parenting do not even have any children. Or they judge situations that they have never been in, such as teenage years.

B. My son got a Bible verse down his forearm. Not a naked girl or a giant Spongebob! (no offense to any people sporting Spongebob, Patrick or any of the Bikini Bottom gang)

So yeah, I love tattoos as I have mentioned before. I believe they can be a great way to express yourself . I am intrigued when I see them. I wonder who or what they represent.

G came to me and told me what he wanted for his next tattoo. Together we found the perfect font and designed it. (nothing like a little sketching-tattoos-with-your-mom bonding time to create lasting memories, huh?). As you can see, it says "In God I Trust" where he can flip it around to also say "I Trust In God". We dropped it off at the tattoo shop and made an appointment for the following week.
Well that week....G received some pretty devastating news. He found out that his basketball coach, who is an amazing guy.....has cancer. It really shook G up. This coach has been so influential in G's high school years.....he actually is one of the reasons G is still in high school as academically he struggles. But his determination to play and star on the basketball team has kept him focused and disciplined. We owe alot to Coach D. And Gunner felt he owed him this added piece as well.
Can I ask you to please pray for G's coach this week? He starts his treatments and we believe in the power of prayer and miracles. We believe that when two or three come together, God is with us and answers our prayers.

2. So I was actually mad when I went to the grocery store and saw the price of hummus. I think I might have even said "Are you kidding me?" a little too loud when I asked for a price check with that teenager working in produce. He gave me this strange look and quickly resumed stacking his cantaloupes. It was like this thimble sized container (OK, I am exaggerating, but it was something that would last about 12 minutes in my house) and it was priced $4.29!

So not giving in to the MAN (who is the MAN anyway?).....I came home and with the help of a friend found a recipe to make my own. I went a little too heavy with the balsamic vinegar so we toned it down with more garlic, onion powder, salt and some toasted sesame seeds. But for the price of a couple cans of chickpeas and other things I already had in my cupboard....I will never be buying hummus again. The great thing, is that you can make it with whatever added ingredients you like. I am going to try blending in roasted red peppers the next time I whip up a batch.

Homemade Hummus

• 1 clove garlic, peeled (I used 2-3 heaping tablespoons of minced garlic)
  
• 2 (15.5 ounce) cans chickpeas, drained
• 1/4 cup olive oil
  
• 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar(this was WAY too much.....I would suggest maybe 3 tablespoons)
• 1/4 cup cold water
• salt and pepper to taste

Put garlic and chickpeas in food processor until evenly blended....with processor running, slowly pour in olive oil, scraping sides as necessary. Then add vinegar until evenly blended.....add water until you get a spreadable consistency........season with salt/pepper to taste.
As I mentioned, we added toasted sesame seeds and onion powder too. Chill before serving.

If you don't have a food processor, which I do not.......use your blender on "pulse" setting. It is a little harder as you have to keep stopping and mixing it up......but it worked!

This ended up giving me enough hummus to fill up a medium size tupperware container and send some home with my friend.

It was awesome with toasted pita pockets, tortilla chips and pretzels......it basically lasted 2 days in this house! But it probably cost me less than $2.

3. Don't forget to enter my giveaway for the yummiest hand-made soap ever!!!! Bath Artisan Soaps is also offering FREE shipping to you all this weekend.......great time to treat yourself!

OK, so there you have it........my Three Things This Thursday! Please join in and leave your link with Mr. Linky! I could always use a great laugh or learn something new such as a helpful hint or a new recipe.






Have a great day! We are off to a wildlife sanctuary for a homeschooling field trip. :)

Peace~
*~Michelle~*

Support Local/Homemade.....and a *GIVEAWAY!*

So you might remember how I subtly left Josh the MapQuest directions to the llama farm where I wanted some handmade soap for Mother's Day. I know he could have gotten just any fancy soap gift baskets from a national store for the same amount of money..... but buying homemade and supporting work-at-home moms/local businesses is very important to me. (plus no store can even come close to feeding my addiction like a nice big chunk of home-made goat's milk soap)

It's pretty obvious as I have my own two online businesses that helps our home with a little extra income. I feel blessed and so thankful when I receive orders knowing that these people decided to spend some of their hard earned money on one of my creations. I know that my little $12 tees will never make me "rich" in the sense of what this world considers "rich".......but I *am* rich in reward that I am helping spread the word on what is important to me.......God and family.
(btw......a little shameless plug.......use BLOGGING at checkout for 20% at Little Earth Angels all summer! *not valid on gift certificates or Mothering subscriptions)

Knowing that you are helping a mom stay home with her children is one reason it feels good to buy from a WAHM (work-at-home-mom). Buying your fruits and veggies from farmer's markets is what keeps food on the local farmer's family table. Not to mention, I don't know about you.....but one less episode of crazy drivers or cranky people in the check out line is reason enough for me to buy handmade items.

You also are buying products where attention to detail is important. Most are one of a kind items where as skill and craftsmanship is absent with mass production.

Another thing to think about, my fellow tree huggers........most handmade items are made from natural (or as close to natural as you can get) as opposed to mass marketed items.....which also contributes to many environmental effects such as global warming and the poisoning of our air, water and soil.

So I wanted to brighten a friend's day and decided to grab her a couple of bars of soap for a little pick-me-up. I like to spread the love around.....so I went browsing at one of my favorite Etsy soap mama's shop.... Bath Artisan Soaps. I found myself drooling over all of her choices and completely unable to make up my mind. I am tempted to grab a couple bars of Blue Rush Spa Salt Bar for my next spa night. But the Jojoba Shea is screaming my name too!

You also will find yourself truly entertained by the creative names of her creations....I think my favorite this virtual shopping splurge are Sand in Your Speedo I laughed out loud when I saw her Ugly Betty Hand Made Cosmetically Challenged and The Bailout Bar and the witty descriptions. And loved the prices even more! I will promise you that you will not be disappointed with the quality of these oversized luxury pieces of Heaven!

And not only is Leann, the mama behind the lather, talented.....she is also generous. She is offering one of my friends (that would be you!) a couple of bars for FREE. Yep....that's right....you will get TWO full size bars of her best sellers sent right to your home so you can have your own little luxury experience on us.

(*disclaimer.....I cannot be responsible for any addictions that arise from these said experiences)

All you need to do.....is pop on over to Bath Artisan's Soap's Etsy shop and let us know what your favorite scent(s) would be.....come on back and leave a comment and you are *in* this giveaway. If you feel like spreading the word with Twitter, a blog post, Facebook.....give yourself another entry. Become a subscriber to my blog.....grab another one. Make sure you leave a separate comment for each entry. It's easy! I'll pick a winner over the weekend.....but if you don't want to rely on Random.Org generator to determine your luxury fate and want to grab a bar while you wait......Leann is having a FREE Shipping offer until May 25 for my blogging buddies. Just note Early Bird Special at checkout in the "notes to seller" section and all shipping charges will be refunded.

OK, I think my final choice is her Patchouli Honey Bar made with cocoa butter and clay.....because nothing tickles my hippy heart than a fresh whiff of Patchouli!

So reminding others about the importance of supporting WAHMs, local family businesses and handmade Works For Me This Wednesday......(and *FREE* works for me too!)......join in on the fun over at We Are That Family's blog for more great links and tips!

Peace, love and stay barefoot~

*~Michelle~*

Count your blessings!

So this morning, I woke up to my obnoxious rooster cockadoodling like a broken record who wouldn't shut up to the sounds of chirping birds outside my window. It just put a smile on my face and made me realize, once again.....how blessed I am.

So I thought I would just list ten random things that make me smile and thank God for (in no specific order)

• everyone in my family is healthy, even with broken fingers, sunburns and poison ivy rashes today. (sums up what we were doing all weekend)
• Josh and I started on a new garden bed so that we can have a better place to grow our veggies (hence the sunburn)
• we have a gorgeous clean little stream way back on our property that E and N made a little "sinkhole" to cool off in, by creating a small dam with large rocks on one part (hence the broken finger)
• we are clearing out some land to build a new chicken coop (hence the poison ivy)
• I am raising my family out in the boonies, close enough to society.....yet far enough away from it at the same time (if that makes sense, lol)
• we were doing school outside in the fresh air yesterday and plan on doing it today as well.
• I have very special close friends that I can share where I found a deer tick on me (it was the size of this ".") and laugh about it with them (*shudder*)
  
• I found $10 in my pocket, so we went out for ice cream last night
• then ended the night watching a gorgeous sunset
• I have Jesus Christ in me.

In this upside down world, where most worry/complain what they don't have, I encourage you to take 5 minutes today and count what blessings (no matter how simple) you do have.....and please share even just one thing with me!

p.s. Don't forget to enter my giveaway! Picking winner tomorrow~ :)

Peace and love~

*~Michelle~*

Three Things This Thursday (giveaway, free stuff and something even better)

So LOST was a recap last night.....I will put a bag on my head and admit that I was having a hard time staying awake.....still the aftermath of mind-racing wakeful nights and knowing that I didn't need to have my precision deciphering antennae up for secret clues or observations

.....or maybe there were some clues with that recap I missed.....please let me know!

So let's get to Three Things This Thursday


1. I am excited to be doing a fun Earth Day Giveaway this week......yeah yeah, I know it was yesterday, but as you can see.....I had something more important weighing on my heart so I was distracted.

I am a reusable bag addict. Seriously.......I buy one at every store I see them at......and is it me or are they getting cuter and cuter? My aunt came over with this adorable one from Stop and Shop with a mama and baby polar bear on it and then I saw these funky ones at Target the other day.
So anyway.....I also went in on a coop recently with Chico Bags and I have one that I am giving away to one of my tree hugging friends.....that would be you guys. ;)

It comes in a little pouch as shown, except this one is olive green. All you need to do is leave a comment and let me know something you do or have that is a great "green" thing. Could be your favorite earth friendly cleaning product, a green "tip" to share.....maybe something like the Earth Day gift we gave to our birds this week! You also can get bonus entries if you subscribe to my blog and/or if you post/twitter/facebook about it. Just leave a separate comment for each time you blab about it. ;) I am also allowing Anon. comments, so please make sure you leave your email addy so I have a way to contact you.

(*Oh, and if you are leaving any tidbits on LOST, that counts too.......just let me know that you want to be entered!)

I'll use that random org thingamajig and pick a winner next Monday Wednesday evening so I can include it with my WMFW over at We are That Family's blog too! :)

2. I found (as in friends have sent along to me and/or tips from fellow homeschoolers/bloggers) a few more cool FREE resources with homeschooling. First, there is a free downloadable (is that a word???......yikes, scary thought that I am responsible for my children's education) book that has 101 Ways to Save Money on Homeschooling. I will tell you that I did download it, but haven't gotten chance to really look at it.....so I cannot vouch for it personally. But I am sure if there are 101 suggestions......there should be able to use at least a couple that could help, right?

Another free resource I stumbled upon was these Bible e-charts at Rose Publishing. Again.......I just found this and haven't gotten chance to know the nitty gritty on the company (and you can see that when I recommend any of these products/resources....I clearly am not getting anything from them, quite sure they do not know I exist, lol).

I did see a couple of charts that I will be printing out such as The Amour of God, Bible maps, etc......see them all here. When you sign up with your email, they will send you new charts every week or so. The only thing I am not sure of is there are some "comparisons" of religions and I am not so sure what that will be all about. But like a cafeteria line....it's nice to be able to just pick and choose what might work for you.

3. And saving the best for last.....although giveaways and free stuff are always good......

is the greatest FREE thing you can get.

GOD!

That's right folks......come on down (Price is Right style).....God's love is free and He has plenty to go around. (He's got this way about multiplying things and never running out......it's insane!) All you need to do is accept Jesus Christ as your personal Savior and start (continue) living your life for Him.

"that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved." Romans 10:9

Does this mean that your life will now be free from sadness, issues or confusion? Nope. Won't even try to sell you on that idea......But what I will tell you is that you will now have the Great Comforter, The Ultimate Physician, and the most Qualified Counselor in your life that will see you through it all! You will have The Gentle Shepherd to lead, correct and protect you.....The Redeemer who will forgive.

He is the Truth.......He is the Way....He is the Life.

.......and that's my final answer. :)

Have a wonderful day.......if you want to participate in the Three Things This Thursday fun.....please leave your link with Mr. Linky~

Peace~
*~Michelle~*

ps. Don't forget to enter my giveaway!