Beautiful Blogger Award

I wanted to share with you this beautiful blogger award that my friend, Diva Ma, over at Mommy Fabulous, gave me a couple of days ago. If you haven't visited Diva Ma, you should head over and say hello! She is so funny and always real and I just love that about her! She's a beautiful person too and is counting down the days until her husband gets to come back home from his deployment!
So, I am supposed to tell 7 things about myself.

1. I finished reading "The Purpose Driven Life" last week and it was a great book, but I'm still not sure what my purpose is!

2. I own the domain mommyhoodrocks.com, and it's coming up for expiration next month, and I can't decide if I should keep it or not. I have no idea what I'm going to do with it, but I don't want to let go of it. I always thought that would make a great name for a maternity boutique: Mommyhood Rocks! What do you think? I don't think I will ever let go of my dreams to own a real boutique one day.

3. On 7/7/07, a guy tried to steal my purse at Kroger in the parking lot. Emphasis on the word "try" because he did not succeed! I used my UFC skills on him and he gave up. At least that's the way I remember it. LOL! Anyhow, it was months before I would carry a real purse again after that.

4. That same year, I got some Christmas money and bought me a nice designer purse, the first expensive purse I had ever owned. I am still carrying that same purse and I have learned that you really do get what you pay for because it still looks brand new!

5. Madison is participating in the Spelling UIL competition this weekend. Last year, she won 1st place, so wish her luck!

6. I read that if just 7% of Christians adopted a single orphan, there would be no more orphans. So, why do you think that we, as Christians, don't do what the Lord has commanded us to do to help the least of these?

7. I gave our dog, Bella, a bath last night and the doggie shampoo wasn't nearby, so I used the girls' coconut Suave all-in-one shampoo. LOL! She is super soft and shiny today.

Hope everyone has a great day!!

Sweet Awards

I've gotten a few awards recently, so I thought I'd share them with you all. I award them all to you if you are reading this!

Veronica gave me this "sweet" one. Thanks, Veronica!! I'm supposed to list 10 things that make me happy and try to do one of those things today.
10 Things that Make me Happy: (and I've already done several of them today) :)

1. Drinking a cup of coffee in the morning.
2. Reading emails from sweet friends.
3. Books that challenge me.
4. Learning about God/Jesus.
5. When I hear about others answered prayers.
6. Spending time with Morgan and the girls.
7. Music.
8. Realizing God has plans for me.
9. Eating good food.
10. Life!

Lauren gave my blog this one for being "over the top". Thanks, Lauren!!
It had a fun survey to answer:

1.Where is your cell phone? in my purse
2. Your hair? messy
3. Your mother? loving
4. Your father? gentle
5. Your favorite food? mexican, pizza, cheeseburgers, chocolate - no wonder I've gained weight!
6. Your dream last night? can't remember one
7. Your favorite drink? Diet Cherry Coke
8. Your dream/goal? follow God's plan/purpose for me
9. What room are you in? living room
10. Your hobby? reading, singing
11. Your fear? traveling long distances
12. Where do you want to be in six years? serving God in some way
13. Where were you last night? Home
14. Something that you aren't? outgoing
15. Muffins? blueberry
16. Wish list item? fearlessness
17. Where did you grow up? Baytown, TX
18. Last thing you did? look for a new book to read
19. What are you wearing? PJ's
20. Your TV? I usually watch what everyone else is watching, but I love Young & the Restless.
21. Your pets? Bella, a chihuahua and Hannah, a springer spaniel
22. Friends? Awesome
23. Your life? blessed
24. Your mood? excited for the future
25. Missing someone? always
26. Vehicle? black
27. Something you're not wearing? jewelry
28. Your favorite store? Target
29. Your favorite color? Hot Pink
30. When was the last time you laughed? Today
31. Last time you cried? Last night, because my book was so funny. See post below!
32. Your best friend?(s) In real life, Morgan and Jennifer. That I've never met, Veronica and all of you!
33. One place that I could go over and over? Church and Starbucks.
34. One person who emails you regularly? Veronica
35. Favorite place to eat? Lots of favorites!

Jenilee gave my blog this award for being encouraging. Thank you so much, Jenilee!

Thank you so much, ladies, for these awards! I feel honored to be thought of for them and so glad to have such wonderful blog friends!

Awards and Other Randomness

I have not been very good at keeping up on my blog lately!

My sweet friends, Jenilee and Becca gave me this award recently and I am so honored that they would think of me. It is a "Kreativ blogger" award, which is extra special because you know how much I like to be creative =) I try anyways. Ha!

My other sweet friend, Kari , gave me this award. She has been so good to me lately and so encouraging in so many ways......thank you so much Kari!

I always feel bad because I never give these away, but it's just too hard for me to pick certain people! I don't want to leave anyone out, or maybe you've already gotten one of these awards, etc.......but please, if you haven't gotten one of these, then I am awarding it to you!!

I added a few shirts I've been working on to my website yesterday. Hopefully, I will be able to make lots more stuff this weekend! I have an idea for some cute notebooks I want to make, if they work out. :P

If you can think of certain things you would like me to make, or have any cool ideas of stuff I could add to my shop, please let me know! I had stalled with my business because I kept thinking I had to have just one great idea that I would make and be known for, but I've come to the realization that what I love about having my shop is being creative and trying new things. So, I'm just going to keep at it and see what I can come up with! I really like the idea of everything I make being one-0f-a-kind and not just a few things being reproduced over and over.

So, what's everyone's plans for this weekend?? Kaylee is gone to an art class right now. I'm going to go to the craft store later to see what I can get into. Ha! Hope y'all have a great weekend!

Favorite Songs and Other Randomness

The other day, my good friend (and most awesomest blog designer....check out her blog boutique link on my sidebar!) Abigail gave me the Honest Scrap award. Thank you so much, Abigail!!

I am supposed to list 10 things about myself, but I was thinking since y'all already are bored to tears of hearing random things about me, and since I love music so much, that maybe I would list my favorite lyrics of my favorite songs that I sing all the time.

1. "Speak Lord, I'm listening. Yes, your child will serve faithfully."
Leeland, "Thief in the Night"
2. "You love for me to sing to You."
Kari Jobe, "You Are For Me"
3. "I live to see Your kingdom come. I live to see Your glory shown.
I live to see the lost running home to you."
Sarah Hart Pearsons, "Let Your Kingdom Come"
4. "I am not the creator, but a scribe with a pen.
I'm recreating visions through a cracked and broken lens."
Downhere, "The Beggar Who Gives Alms"
5. "Forget the fear. It's just a crutch that tries to hold you back and
turn your dreams to dust. All you need to do is just trust."
Fireflight, "Unbreakable"
6. "I will wait for You as long as I have life."
Phil Wickham, "I Will Wait for you There"
7. "And when my weakness is all I can give. Your gentle Spirit
gives me strength again."
Leeland, "Beautiful Lord"
8. "I've a feeling in my soul and I pray that I'm not wrong.
That the life I have now, it is only the beginning."
Third Day, "Born Again"
9. "And the cry of my heart is to bring You praise."
Hillsong, "From the Inside Out"
10. "My Jesus ran the opposite way."
Leeland, "Opposite Way"

So, what are your favorite songs/lyrics that you sing at the top of your lungs, and that move you?

Today was school picture day for Madison. This is the first time I've sent her for picture day without some kind of bow/hair accessory in her hair! I guess that means she's growing up :( LOL! She looked so pretty though. We painted her nails to match her shirt and she was wearing her new Tinkerbell necklace that her best friend gave her for her Birthday. It had her initial on it. And she was wearing her charm bracelet that Aunt KK gave her. I just love her so much!

Hope y'all are having a good week so far!

Living for the Very First Time!

I received this sweet award from my friend, Christy Rose, a few days ago and I thought it would be perfect to blog about on the day that I share what I learned at church yesterday. This award is for those who are "eager to share their love for Jesus with others." That's one of the things I love about reading Christy's blog.

I know I was supposed to give away the Honest Scrap Award and this award too, but I just can't do it. I can't pick just a few people, because I love you all. I believe that each one of you was sent to me to teach me something, or to help me look at things a different way, or just to be a great friend. You are each special to me, so please consider yourselves recipients of this award and feel free to post it on your blog!

So, yesterday at church we started a 3 week series on Prayer. We talked about some of the reasons people don't pray more. Maybe they aren't sure how to pray. They might get bored or distracted while praying. (I had to laugh at that one because he was talking about how you start to pray and then that leads you to thinking about something else and before you know it you're planning your day or thinking about something you forgot to do and then you're like, oh yeah....I was praying....I do that all the time). Sometimes, we might think our requests are too small for God or we aren't sure our prayers will even make a difference.

We talked about how there is no right or wrong way to pray! Prayer is simply communicating with God. It's okay if you pray differently than everyone else. You don't have to sound like you're talking in the King's English in order to pray! I was laughing out loud, because one of my pet peeves is when Pastors all of a sudden will sound like they're from medieval times when they begin to pray. It's so fake, in my opinion, to start talking like you don't normally talk just to pray (you know, like thou hast, and thy and thee.....words that we just don't use today). Our Pastor was cracking me up because he said, if my daughters came up to me and started all of a sudden talking to me like that I would wonder what in the world was going on with them! LOL!! We should talk to God with gut-level honesty. We should just be ourselves, after all, he knows if we are just trying to "appear" spiritual or if we are putting on a show.

When we pray, we can talk about everything that matters to us with God. Prayer is a way to walk with God, to do life with Him, to acknowledge that He's always there. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 says we should pray continually. We don't have to sit down at a certain time of the day to pray. We can do it throughout the day, as we go about our day. Our Pastor used the example of Twitter. We can pray short, simple prayers about what's on our mind, just like tweets, to God. I thought that was a neat way to think about it.

Of course, no relationship is much fun if every conversation is only one-sided. When we pray for something, we then have to listen for God's response. Sometimes he will answer us in a gentle whisper, sometimes he will answer us with a message from a song, and sometimes he will send a certain person to us. I can't tell you how many times I've woken up with a song on my mind that answered my prayer from the night before, or how many times I've read a blog post that was a direct answer to the question I had asked him recently, etc. If you don't believe that God exists, or you just aren't sure if He's real, just be real with Him and tell Him so. Tell Him to show you! It won't be a coincidence when all of a sudden, at every turn, you start seeing a million things to show you that He's there.

God will lead the path to where you should be going if you are obedient. Sometimes it may not be what you had planned. Sometimes He may not change our circumstance like we pray for, but He might change US so that we see things differently.

This song describes perfectly what a relationship with Christ is like. I turned the radio on earlier and I told Lily, "This is a good song!" and she said, "It makes you smile!!" That it does, baby girl.......that it does!

Honest Scrap Award

Today, I'm anxiously awaiting my favorite niece Zoey and my Dad and Stepmom's arrival. They will all be staying with us all weekend and it's going to be lots of fun! Zoey's parents are going out of town and my Dad is coming here to visit and it just worked out to be all on the same weekend. So, I will have lots of pictures to post next week, I bet!

I got an award that I need to tell you about!

You could almost say that I gave myself this award, since I got it from Veronica, and we swear we are like the same exact person, only living in different states! LOL! This is for people who write honest and from the heart. I am supposed to list 10 honest things about me.
Since you probably know everything there is to know about me, I'll try to think of 10 weird facts that you might not know. Don't y'all love learning about those funny things about people that you might not otherwise ever know unless they told you?

1. During this last political election, I got so aggravated that I had to stop watching the coverage there at the end. I love Fox News and voted for McCain. Enough said.

2. I can't believe that I used to be pro-choice. I am now pro-life and I don't believe that anyone has the right to take the life of a child. If that child was conceived, it is because God has a purpose for its life.

3. Last night, I was watching Dave Ramsey and he used the example that people are dumb because they go to College and get a degree in Sociology and then there's no way they will ever make money with that and it's just not cost effective or smart. I totally agreed with him. I have a degree in Sociology. Ha!

4. I love the movie "The Fast and the Furious." I love the music in it, the actors, and I love the fast cars. Oh, how I miss my red 5-speed GT Mustang.

5. I have never smoked a cigarette or done drugs.

6. My Granny (my Dad's Mom) was related to Bonnie and Clyde. They were both Barrow's. I'm not sure how closely related they were......cousins I think.

7. I was looking through some old papers the other day from the University of Houston and found one that I kept because I made a 100 on it. It was on "Conflict Within Southern Baptist Churches" or something to that effect. I'm such a nerd! Ha!! Ironic that it was about churches too. I thought I was so cool because my Professor was a Harvard graduate and he gave me a 100. LOL!

8. In high school, I used to get secret admirer letters in my locker that were addressed to the "lady in red." Are you dying laughing now? LOL!!!

9. I have always loved accessories and little things. I love to go to the store and buy lots of little things like makeup, nail polish, little notepads, and other little trinkets. I love the dollar store and the dollar section in Target. I love taking my girls to Claire's to look at all the earrings and jewelry for that reason.

10. Here's a hint on a concept for my next big project for Summer Suzette Couture. Can you guess what I am going to make?

I hope everyone has a great weekend! I have another award I need to post about, but it will have to wait because I need to run to Target and pick up a few things before everyone gets here.

Lily's Birthday (and the longest post ever!)

Today was another great day with lots to report. Ha!
Of course, today was sweet Lily's 3rd Birthday.

We went to church and Lily made sure to wear her Spongebob wristbands to church today with her dress.......it's what all the 3 year olds are wearing these days! LOL!

Then, after church we went to Lily's favorite restaraunt, Red Lobster. She loves to look at the lobsters in the tank. Here's a picture of the girls......it was from my phone, so it's kind of blurry.

Today at church, Jason spoke. Jason moved here from Shreveport, LA, specifically to help with getting our church launched. Like I've mentioned before, our church is brand new. I would say that right now, we probably have about 10 families that attend regularly. I love that. Every week, it seems like I feel more and more at home with them. I love that we are a part of something that we all believe in, and that is to be a church that welcomes everyone.

Moving to Houston was such a huge change for Jason. He had to create a whole new life for himself and could've easily given up and went back home to his comfort zone. I remember the very first Sunday that I visited Lifepoint, Jason was the one who greeted me at the door. He was the friendliest person and made me feel so welcomed. I never knew until today that he moved here specifically for our church. I loved his message today.

We talked today about how we are always looking for things to make us happy. We are always thinking, I'll be happy when......(fill in the blank). In Ecclesiastes 2, Solomon says, "As I looked at everything I had worked so hard to accomplish, it was all so meaningless." Don't we all feel that way? We finally get whatever it was we were trying so hard to get, and then once we have it, we find something else that we must have before we are happy. The things that we have are gifts from God, but they shouldn't be things that we worship. Those things are tools to glorify Him. We should be on a mission for God, called to love, serve, and bring others to Him. We can't make everything all about us. We all have a purpose and even though we "cannot see the whole scope of God's work from beginning to end" (Ecclesiastes 3:9-14), we can find happiness by submitting to God, feasting on his teaching, having fellowship with one another, and being in awe of God.

In Acts 2:42-47, it talks about the first church and how they shared everything and every day the Lord added to their fellowship those who were being saved. We don't have to have a big fancy church or be the most creative church in order for God to be able to do His work! It's really about each one of us doing His work every day, it's about getting out of our little bubble and asking God what we can do for Him every day.

So, you remember the other day in this post how I wanted so badly to help the man who asked me for money at Walmart? Well, today the Lord gave me another chance to help and to do what Jason challenged us to do. I was leaving Target and a man on a bike asked me for money to get some food. I looked in my wallet and I had a whole 15 cents! I laughed and I said that was all I had, but he could certainly have it. He was so nice and thanked me for that. Well, I went to my car and I saw a little over a dollar in change and I opened this little compartment and found $3.00. I don't remember putting that money there either. I seriously do not remember having it because I never have cash. Well, by this time I had loaded my groceries and I look around and the man is nowhere to be found. I drove around the parking lot and he was gone. I saw another man on a bike, but he wasn't the same one. (I even stopped, rolled down my window and asked him, and he looked at me like I was crazy.....LOL!!!!)

I thought I had missed another opportunity to help, so I told the Lord, "well, I tried Lord" and I went to Starbucks to get a coffee. Big surprise, huh? LOL! I thought, well maybe the Lord was blessing me by multiplying that 15 cents. I told you I'm still learning!

I still had $1 bill and the change left after getting my coffee. I was driving away and I felt I should drive through the Kroger parking lot, just to make sure he wasn't over there looking for money. I still didn't find him. Then I was leaving Kroger and I looked across to the Target parking lot. The street I had to cross is 4 lanes, plus a median, the busiest street in town and would you believe there was no traffic coming either way?!! That never happens! So, I thought, "Okay, I'm going to go back over to Target one more time and see if he came back." So, I'm crossing the street and I see him pedaling back into the parking lot! I drive into there, get his attention and I hand him the dollar bill. He thanked me so much and he said, "You didn't have to come looking for me." Then I handed him all the change and I told him that I tried to find him earlier and I found that money and wanted to give it to him. He told me that he had a job, but that he just started and he wouldn't get paid for two weeks, so he was having to "hustle" until then. I wished him luck at his new job and he was just so nice, thanking me.

I have no idea if he was telling the truth or not, and I don't care. My mission was to give him what I had. I knew if it was meant to be, the Lord would help me find him again. I know that what I gave him was barely anything, but I just wanted a chance to do what the Lord asked me to do. I feel like I was kind of selfish in doing it, because it just made me so happy. I wondered to myself if I should even tell y'all about it, but I consider it a chance to share with you what the Lord did for me today. He gave me a second chance after what happened at Walmart last weekend. That was not a coincidence. And after getting mugged in a parking lot, my first instinct is to run or scream when someone approaches me! But, as soon as the man spoke, I knew this was my chance. I just KNEW it! And immediately my mind was racing on how I was going to do it right this time. Then, when I saw all I had was 15 cents, I thought at least I had something this time! And then, when I saw that money in my car that I seriously had no idea was there, well I just got so excited! And even after I thought I lost the man, the Lord still gave me another chance to get it right. That's just like the Lord isn't it........his mercy never fails, his love is never ending, and no matter how many times we get it wrong He will still give us another chance to get it right. Oh, how I love Him!
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Okay, so in other news:
My very special friend, Christy Rose, gave me an award today. This award is for those who love blogging, love to encourage friendships through blogging, and who help others seek the reasons why we love blogging. Thank you so much, Christy! I feel honored to receive this award. I can see why Christy would be picked for this award too. She is so encouraging.....no matter what you may be going through, she has a genuine desire to support and encourage you through it, to pray for you or just to leave you a really sweet comment that will make your day. I am so glad to call her my friend. She has a precious family, loves the Lord, and has a great blog, so if you haven't met her yet, stop by and say "hello!"



You all know how much you mean to me! Your friendships mean so much to me! Blogging is just no fun at all without the friendships that come along with it, so I'm going to give this award to every single one of you. If you are still reading this longest post ever, then I definitely consider you my friend, and I hope you know that your friendship and your sweet comments truly make my day! Have fun giving this award away to your friends on your blog too!

A Super Awesome Day!

I have so much news to report! LOL

I'm so excited because next week, I will be doing alot of this for 3 days:
Zoey's parents are going on vacation and I get to keep Zoey. Hooray!

Today, my sweet friend Kari gave me this award:

I just love Kari. She has the most adorable kids, the cutest dog ever, and a pot-bellied pig. LOL! How can you not love a blog about all those things rolled into one? Plus, she loves the Lord and is so encouraging. She also introduced me to a new Christian artist, Sarah Hart Pearsons, and I can't wait to get her CD in the mail! And I was absolutely amazed when I saw her wedding posts......she made her own wedding dress and all her bridesmaids dresses! And looked gorgeous! Can you even imagine what my dress would've looked like if I had tried to make it? Ha! So, thank you so much for this award Kari! I just love your blog and if y'all haven't visited her yet, you'll just love her!
Then, you remember the post I did a few days ago about Angelica Grace Designs? I won her giveaway! It was amazing!!!! It had so many neat things and my Birthday is coming up at the end of the month, so this is like a super awesome Birthday present!

Today, we went school shopping and somehow ended up at the cookie place for some yummy cookies:
My friend Christy also tagged me today about the 5 Things I Love About Summer:
1. Sleeping in late! This is my very favorite part of Summer because I am so not a morning person!
2. Celebrating Birthdays! Kaylee's was in June. Lily's is this weekend. Mine and Madison's are at the end of the month. Then Morgan's is Sept 1st. Okay, so technically that's not Summer anymore, but close enough! I will be doing a special post about Lily soon....she'll be 3 on Sunday! Where has the time gone? My baby's not a baby anymore {sniff, sniff}.
3. Spending time with the girls. I like having my girls home. Every day they make me laugh and I just love those days when we have fun together. You should have seen us all last night. Somehow we got to talking about instruments and Morgan went and got my violin and guitar, which none of us know how to play, and we sounded like the worst band ever trying to play! The girls thought that was so funny!
4. Not having to be busy every day. I like not having to be somewhere every single day. Some days, we stay in our PJ's all day. I love that!
5. Making Memories. Summer is just the perfect time for doing fun things that will be remembered for a lifetime. In a couple of weeks, we are heading to Galveston for a little mini-trip with the girls. It'll be lots of fun!
That was lots of fun Christy! Thanks for letting me play ;-)
So, that was my super awesome day! I feel so blessed!
Thanks also for helping me to raise so much money for Zach! I sold a couple of bows and a shirt, but most of the $85 was raised by selling my $1 each notecards, so that's a lot of love that you all sent my way! I haven't even told his Mommy about it yet, so I'm excited to give her the check! I mentioned that I might see what I could do at her baby shower, but she has no idea about all of this. I know she'll be so thankful.

I'm Awesome and 2 Featured Mommy-Owned Businesses

My blogging friend, Stephanie, gave me this fun award! I must be super awesome, because when I uploaded this picture to blogger, it uploaded it about 10 times before I realized what it was doing and stopped it. LOL!!! It's called the Queen of All Things Awesome and I'm supposed to list 7 things about me that are awesome. Ha!!

1. I love Jesus and every single day He shows me that He loves me too.

2. I have an 8 year old daughter, Madison.

3. I have a 5 year old daughter, Kaylee.
4. I have a 2 year old daughter, Lilian. We call her Lily.

5. I have a hard-working husband who is a great man, named Morgan.

6. I have an online boutique, Summer Suzette Couture.

7. I have met lots of really special people through blogging and I'm proud to call all of you my friends! And for my real-life friends and family out there....I love you too!

A very wise woman (my Mom) once said that "we are here to love and to be loved." I wouldn't be who I am without my friends, family, and my Jesus who have loved me. That is the greatest gift we could ever be given!

Now, since Stephanie gave me this award, I thought it would be a perfect time to feature her as one of my favorite Mommy-owned businesses! If you haven't stopped by her Etsy store, stop by and take a look! She loves to make cloth diapers and cloth wipes, which are so much cuter and look way more comfy than disposables. If I ever have another baby, I think I am going to try cloth diapering. Also, she makes nursing covers in adorable, trendy fabrics, as well as little taggie blankets, which babies love!

I also would like to mention my other favorite Mommy-owned business, Hooked on You Hats, which is my best friend Veronica's business. Since Summer is almost here, she is now making her hats with cotton yarn and has updated her business blog with all of the bright, adorable, colors that you can now choose from. I personally am loving the apple green one with the hot pink flower! Veronica sent me some hats the other day for Miss Zoey (my new niece) and I have to tell you that as precious as they look in the pictures, they are even more super precious in real life! Veronica takes great pride in her work and her hats are boutique/heirloom quality hats that are priceless treasures to be passed down from generation to generation. And if you have older kids, like me, they will love them too!

I am a huge advocate of Mommy-owned businesses!!! So much so, that I am seriously considering starting a blog specifically designed to market and feature them. Would y'all be interested in something like that? I don't know where I'm going to find the time to do that, but it will always be in the back of my mind! I love Mommy-owned businesses, specifically ones that make children's products, because who knows better what other Moms want and need than Moms themselves? There are so many talented, creative Moms out there. They make these products with their own hands and with lots of love. The quality of their products are just unmatched by all of the mass-produced products in stores. And the best thing about buying handmade, from Mommy-owned businesses.................you are getting a unique product that is sure to be the talk of the town!

Stay tuned for another featured Mommy-owned business soon: my friend, Melissa, at Initial Designs. She is creating some of the cutest paintings for my girls' teachers that I cannot wait to share with y'all!!!

This is What it Means to be Held

This video came on the Gospel Music Network today, and it gave me chills! It is such a beautiful song about the promise that the Lord has made us that He will always hold us in His arms. Sometimes, I think He sends people our way to lift us up too, which brings me to my next topic:

Last week, three of my precious blog friends gave me the Sisterhood award. I was honored to be given this award by ladies that I look up to so much. They are strong, Christian women who love the Lord with all of their hearts. They live their lives for His glory and they find hope in His word. Most of all, they are just really fun! I love them and I know you will too, if you haven't met them yet.

Joye from The Joyeful Journey: Joye says she began blogging "to bring glory to my God through the everyday ordinary of my life." I LOVE that! Joye's story does bring glory to God. In fact, today as I read her post, the video above came on and I could literally feel the presence of the Lord surrounding me.

Stephanie from The Hanes Family: I have been struggling with having the confidence to open my business again, and also with wanting to learn more about the Bible, but not knowing how or where to start. Then, all of a sudden, the Lord brought me Stephanie! She was an answer to my prayers. She has a super cute etsy shop that encouraged me to just get going on making stuff for my own business again, and she has weekly Bible study posts!!

Veronica from The Veronica Blog: If you've been following along with me, you probably already know how much Veronica's friendship has meant to me. I think we for sure are the same person, just living in different states! We are very much on a similar journey, and she inspires me every day. Her hat business, Hooked on You Hats, brings glory to God and I am so proud of her!

I love you girls!!!!!!!!!!!! Thank you so much for inspiring me, lifting me up, and being my friends!

Attitude of Gratitude....The Lemonade Award

Today, I hopped on over to one of my favorite blogs, Linda's blog, Truthful Tidbits. Imagine my surprise when I saw that she had given me an award! I was so surprised and so honored. Linda has been such a treasure in my life. She has been like a Mother to me, always encouraging me and loving me, and she has influenced and inspired me greatly in my new walk with Christ. She is an awesome lady and if you don't know her yet, you are missing out!

This award is for having an attitude of gratitude. It is for trusting the Lord, making Lemonade from the lemons, and bringing glory to God. Wow, I am honored that someone would feel that about me! Linda wrote about me:

God's Girl! Loving wife and mommy to three girls. Newly alive with overflowing love for her Lord. Eager to share Him with others. Overcomer, exchanging fear for faith.

Thank you so much, Linda!

Blogging Brings Great Friendships!

I am so excited! Becca, over at Made with Love, gave me this award today!! I met Becca this week and I love her already! She has the most precious little girl and one on the way! I'm looking forward to following her pregnancy and seeing pictures of her new little one when she is born. She recently became a stay-at-home Mommy, and it looks like she likes to do crafty things like I do too, so we have a lot in common. Let's all show her some friendship and head over to her blog and say "Hi!" Thanks again, Becca!

I'm supposed to give this out to 10 friends, as well as my last award, but since I just did my Valentine's Post on my favorite blogs, I nominate all of the blogs from that post. All you have to do is post the award on your blog, nominate your favorite blogs, and leave them a message telling them that you nominated them and why. Have fun!

My First Award! Thanks, Diva Ma!!

Today, I received my very first award from Diva Ma! How exciting!!!
Diva Ma is a Mommy of 3, just like me, and she is so funny! She keeps it real and tells it like it T-I-Z, and I love that about her! I can always relate to her posts about how she sometimes chooses to put herself last, behind her Mommy duties, even though she knows she deserves some pampering every now and then!

Today, she wrote this about me: "I love her blog because it is so cute and she is really inspiring. A mom of a buncha girls and many many girlie stories to tell!" Isn't that the sweetest thing?!! I feel so honored. So, thank you so much Diva Ma! I love your blog too!!

So, hop on over to Diva Ma's blog when you get a chance! Sometimes she's funny, sometimes she's serious, sometimes a little of both, but always she is sincere and just a really great lady! I just know if we lived close by, we would be great friends in "real" life!