Fallapalooza Blog Party Is Officially Started!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I am so excited about the Fallapalooza Blog Party going on over at Below the Plateau!!! It's going to be so much fun! It has officially opened for entries today, so be sure to go on over there and enter! See the rules and ways to enter here.

 

 Here are my answers to the interview questions!

Interview Questions:

1. Ring! Ring! You receive a phone call from a national sweepstakes organization saying that you have won a life-time supply of your favorite beverage!! What would that drink be?

 Well, this may be weird, but my favorite drink has always been milk. ;-) 

                    

2. If you could live in a Jane Austen novel, which book would you pick? What character would you be?

 I would have to say Pride & Prejudice. That is my all time favorite Jane Austen novel. :-) I love Lizzy's personality, but I think I'm more like Jane.

                    

3. What is your theme song, that favorite song that absolutely matches you?

 That is a hard one to answer, but it would probably be Every Time I Breathe by Big Daddy Weave.

4. You are trapped on a deserted island. Your only supplies are the clothes you have on, and a box with five things in it. What are those five things?

My Bible,  WOULD MY HUSBAND FIT IN THE BOX?????, a gun, a knife,  matches.   

5. Chocolate or Caramel? 

  DEFINITELY chocolate. :-)

  

6. Vacation! If you could go anywhere in the world, where would you go?

    Oooooo, I'd have a hard time deciding between Ireland, the Caribbean, and horseback riding out west. :-) If I could go horseback riding in Ireland, that would be where I'd go :-) 

7. If forced to do one of the two, which would you do: sky diving or scuba diving? Why? 

 SCUBA DIVING!!!!!! Because I'd much rather swim with sharks than jump out of an airplane.  ;-)   

          

8. Favorite TV show, and why?

  The Andy Griffith show! :-) Because it's clean and really funny!

9. Are you a coffee and donuts sorta lady, or a tea and scones type of gal?

 Coffee and donuts without a doubt!

10.The time machine has finally been created, and you are the first to be able to use it! What era would you travel too?

      The 1700's. I think it would be so cool to see how life was really like back then first hand.

11. What is the last movie you watched? 

      The Fiddler on the Roof.

 

12. Ding-dong!!! Your favorite actor/singer/celebrity is at your front door! Who would it be?

 Mrs. Duggar! She qualifies as a celebrity now right?? :-) I'd love to meet her.

13. What was your absolute favorite toy as a baby? 

 I had some little plastic model horses that I LOVED :-)

14. What types of blogs do your like best? (examples: DIY, cooking, journal, ect.)

        I love blogs with a lot of photography,  but my favorite thing to do is read creative and interesting and uplifting posts.!

15. What is your favorite Bible verse, your "life verse?" Jeremiah 29: 11-13 "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, " plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart."

Ok, now go on over there and get yourself entered!!! :-)

 

Giveaway!!!!!!

There is a really cool giveaway going on HERE! Go check it out!!

Fallapalooza Blog Party ~ And Fall Is Here In Ohio!!!!

Ok, I'm really excited about the Fallapalooza Blog Party going on at Below the Plateau!!! I just posted about it on my other blog, so instead of re-writing it here, ya'll can just head on over there if you want. Don't miss out on the fun! It's going to be a blast. ;-) The giveaway opens for entries on September 22nd - THAT'S ONLY SEVEN DAYS!!! So yeah, go on over there and find out how to enter. :-)

                                           

Something else I am VERY excited about is that........... FALL IS HERE!!!! The trees aren't really changing yet (although I have seen a few twinges of color!! :-), but the weather has turned cool, the goldenrod is blooming,

the corn fields are turning from green to yellow,

and I am barely resisting the urge to PLAY CHRISTMAS MUSIC!! (Yes I am one of THOSE people)

My sunflowers are almost done blooming.

I LOVE sunflowers ;-)

The ones this color are my favorite. :-)

For those of you who love in warmer places ( I mean YOU you Florida people ) don't be discouraged, the heat will soon give way to beautiful cooler weather, the pumpkins will be out, the grass will no longer need mowed, the leaves will need raked, and before you know it, Christmas songs will be playing on the radio. :-)

And now, for some pictures of my kitchen, which underwent some re-organization last week. I told my dear friend ( you know who you are ;-) that I would post pictures, so here they are:

This is me ( duh) getting ready to tackle the cabinets....

My lovely apron- a gift from my Aunt Polly :-)

My first victim, I was always struggling to get what I needed out of here.

And here it is finished!! I decided to move my pots and pans here because it was much easier access than the one they have been in. :-) I can even get to my pancake griddle now!! Woohoo!

This is where I used to keep my pots and pans... I like this much better :-) Now to make some sort of curtain to cover the opening. :-/

Can you believe ALL of this came out of these TWO cabinets?? I couldn't. :-)

That's much better. Yes.

And here are all the others all cleaned up! :-) I am very pleased with the results!

And now I must go do some laundry and pick up the house. :-) Have a LOVERLY day girls!!!

Amazing Giveaway!!!!

I am VERY excited to announce a wonderful giveaway over at Below the Plateau. It has 5 different giveaways sponsored by Etsy shoppes- including one from MINE!

Go on over, and enter!! It'll be a blast, and all of the giveaway items are awesome!!! Don't forget to check out all of the Etsy shops! ♥

Excellent Quotes

I found these in a little book that I have, and I really liked them so I thought I'd share them with you. :-)

Lincoln is definitely not my favorite president, but I completely agree with this quote from him!

Before & After Photo Fun

Just for fun, Hannah at Find That Creative Spark asked her readers to edit a certain picture on Picnik, and post the before and after. So here goes!

Before...

And After! :-)

I enjoyed playing around with it the other day :-) And now, I'm off to clean the Casa de Blu! (aka- the house :-)

I got to talk to Brandon!!

Update on Brandon ♥

(This is his Amish look ;-)

(Playing with our sister Beri)

Prayers For My Brother In The Military

Testing.... 123 .... Testing

No Other Plea

I woke up this morning with this hymn playing in my mind, so I decided to share it with you. :-)

My faith has found a resting place,
Not in device nor creed;
I trust the Ever- living One,
His wounds for me shall plead.

I need no other argument,
I need no other plea,
It is enough that Jesus died,
And that He died for me.

Enough for me that Jesus saves,
This ends my fear and doubt;
A sinful soul I come to Him,
He'll never cast me out.

I need no other argument,
I need no other plea,
It is enough that Jesus died,
And that He died for me.

My heart is leaning on the Word,
The written Word of God,
Salvation by my Saviour's name,
Salvation through His blood.

I need no other argument,
I need no other plea,
It is enough that Jesus died,
And that He died for me.

My great Physician heals the sick,
The lost He came to save;
For me His precious blood He shed,
For me His life He gave.

I need no other argument,
I need no other plea,
It is enough that Jesus died,
And that He died for me.


Isn't that beautiful?! What a great way to start the morning!

A Matter of the Heart

Last night I was talking via Facebook to an old friend of mine that I hadn't seen in about 8 years. Her family used to home church with my family before moving to Wisconsin. I asked her about her family and she told me a heartbreaking story. Her stepfather, who had been a new Christian when my family knew them, had become a drug addict and ended up in jail many times. He eventually left home and moved to a different state. Her younger brother ran away from home when he was 16, and she has only seen him once since then. Her own mother disowned her and started spreading mean and untrue rumors about her. She left home last year and since then has lost her job, her car, and is currently living with the help of friends and working on a ranch in Texas, trying to pick up the pieces. She said she feels lost.
I didn't quite know how to respond to all of that, but I told her I would pray for her, asked her if she had a church family there, and tried to encourage her that God loved her and would give her strength and help her through everything that is going on. Here is what she wrote back.
" I guess i've given up on going to church and God, i know that sounds pretty bad but it's the truth... When both of your parents and everyone you know "says they are a christain" and yet they live life just like everyone else or worse, you think of it all as just a joke. I just dont see the difference in a christian execpt they live a double life. I dont want that, i am who i am no matter what or who's around, i HATE liars."

Isn't that sad?! Because the Christians she has been around were not living their lives wholly for Christ, this young lady has turned her back completely on God. Now, that is not to say that it is completely their fault. We each have a responsibility for our own selves, but she has grown up watching people who called themselves Christians living very sinful and un-Christlike lives. There was no change in them brought about by having the love of Christ in their hearts. It isn't surprising that she now views Christianity as a joke.
This brought up the question for me- when non-Christians look at me, do they see someone who puts on a 'Christian' front but on the inside is no different than the non-believers they know? Do they see a real Christlike spirit in me? Am I just going through the motions, or is it in my heart?
But the Lord said to Samuel, " Do not look at his appearance or the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart. " 1 Samuel 16:7

"I, the Lord, search the heart,
I test the mind,
Even to give to each man according to his ways,
According to the results of his deeds." Jeremiah 17:10


God doesn't want us to put on a show. He wants us to give Him our hearts. He wants us to be living for Him and being a good witness for others.

"Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see you good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven." Matthew 5:16

"Keep your behavior excellent among the Gentiles, so that in the thing in which they slander you as evildoers, they may because of your good deeds, as they observe them, glorify God in the day of visitation." 1 Peter 2:12

We need to remember that the world is watching us, to see if we practice what we preach, and if God is real or just some made up idea. How we live our lives may be a major influence in wether someone accepts Christ as their savior or not. My conversation with my friend was a big wakeup call for me. And a good reminder. I hope it is a good reminder for you too.


I don't want to go through the motions
I don't want to go one more day
Without your all consuming
Passion inside of me

I don't want to spend my whole life asking
What if I had given everything
Instead of going through the motions?

Animal Pictures!!!!! :-)

Well the I ♥ Faces theme this week got me looking at all of my animal pictures, and I thought I would share some of my favorites with you now, just for fun. :-)

This is Cotton. Isn't she cute?

I don't know this guy's name, but I thought this pic was cute with him peeking out the barn door. :-)

Here is Cotton again. I thought it was so cute how she posed for the picture. :-)

Ninja Kitty!! This is Fog, from the I ♥ Heart Faces contest. :-)

He winked at me just as I was taking his picture. :-)

I take tons of pictures of Pat. C. in strange positions sleeping around the house I think this one is particularly cute. :-)

And this one was really funny. :-)

Here is Belle, from last winter.

Here's Pat. C. as a little kitten! He was hopping and jumping all around the living room.

Awwwwwwww! :-)

Pure Cuteness!

This is Clover. Isn't she pretty?

I'm not usually a big fan of pigs, but this one was pretty cute :-)

It's Dukums!! That's what I call him anyway :-) Actually his name is Duke. Isn't he cute? He is my family's Golden Retriever.

Pat. C watching the Indians play baseball. He learned to like doing this from Josh :-)

I really like this picture of Belle!

This is Tiny. He is now in the freezer. lol

Handsome Duke.

Handsome Pat. C last fall. ♥

And again....

And again. :-)

This is Yeller, our neighbor's dog, and Belle.

And for the last one, here is a picture of Pat.C from the day that we got him. ;-)