Thankful Thursday - Life's Joys

Hello everyone, it is again Thursday, a day dedicated to thinking of the wonderful things for which we are thankful.

I really enjoy the time that I take to think of the things I have in my life to be thankful for - from the smallest to the largest - and the time I spend reading other women's Thankful Thursday posts. If you are interested, you can find a list of participating blogs on Lynn's blog, Spiritually Unequal Marriage, where Thankful Thursday had been hosted in January.

I am thankful for a lot today!

I had a doctors appointment on Tuesday, and everything is going great with the pregnancy. The baby's heart rate was in the 160's, which is right where it should be. I am in my 13th week, and soon get to find out if we are having a boy or a girl.

I also started classes this week, and so far Chemistry is challenging but is not the looming nightmare I was afraid of. I am thankful that I am able to count on my husband to take care of the kids and fix dinner and do what needs to be done on the nights that I have to go to school.
I am also thankful for the ambition Zack has, as he is also starting to take classes and get the prerequisites out of the way so that he can go into the Culinary Arts program at TMCC- all while working and being a family man!

Zack went to the men's breakfast at church last Saturday, and he enjoyed it. Their numbers are growing, and for that we are also thankful! We are praying the the church numbers rise as well, not just at our church but through out the country and the world!

I am thankful that Focus on the Family is supposed to have a commercial during the Super Bowl - what an audience! Hopefully it touches many people with their "Celebrate Family, Celebrate Life" theme.

I have so much more to be thankful for, but I will wrap up with one more, then head over to read some other Thankful Thursday posts:

Things are going great with our family - everyone is healthy, happy, and getting along great! Emily is continuing to learn more about God and loves to teach it to Natalie, it is one of the cutest things I have ever seen!



Have a blessed day and week!

Super Bowl Ads

I have heard many times, from many people that they watch the Super Bowl as much for the commercials as for the game.

For some people, the commercials are more interesting than the football itself.

I recently stumbled across a momlogic post about a controversial commercial that is to air during the Super Bowl. The commercial is paid for by Focus on the Family, and has a theme of "Celebrate Family, Celebrate Life. Here is a little blurb from a Washington Post article on the issues over the commercial:

The ad - paid for by the conservative Christian group Focus on the Family - is expected to recount the story of Pam Tebow's pregnancy in 1987 with a theme of "Celebrate Family, Celebrate Life." After getting sick during a mission trip to the Philippines, she ignored a recommendation by doctors to abort her fifth child and gave birth to Tim, who went on to win the 2007 Heisman Trophy while helping his Florida team to two BCS championships.

There is much controversy over the commercial, here is one example, also from the above Washington Post article:

"An ad that uses sports to divide rather than to unite has no place in the biggest national sports event of the year - an event designed to bring Americans together," said Jehmu Greene, president of the New York-based Women's Media Center.

I had to laugh at the last part of that, about the Super Bowl being an event designed to bring Americans together. Anyways, I am praying that, in the event that I watch the Super Bowl, I see this commercial...I am sure that it is one that would stick with me as opposed to frogs chanting bud-weis-er.

What are your thoughts?

Wordless Wednesday - Thirsty Anyone?

This was the taken the day we got our Tassimo T45! We were all so excited. The beverages are hot chocolate, cappuccino, and chai tea latte...can anyone tell which is which?

Free Veggietales DVD

Who doesn't love a FREE Veggietales DVD? You get to pick one of six titles, some will sell out fast, to receive for FREE. All you have to pay is $2.99 for shipping and handling. This offer is limited to US residents only.

If you have kids who love the Veggietales, you know this is a great deal! If you don't have kids, or kids who are "Veggietale aged" this is a great price to buy for a gift or donation too!

Leave me a comment and let me know if you found this helpful/useful and if there are a lot, I will post offers I see more often!

Re-opening Anti Monkey Butt Powder Giveaway

There were no entries into the Anti Monkey Butt Powder giveaway, that has never happened to me before!
So, I am going to re-open the giveaway, on the original post, linked above, for another 2 weeks.
Keep in mind that there are so many uses for this product. This is great for those who who enjoy activities like bike riding, riding motorcycles or four-wheelers, horseback riding, those who work in the heat, walk a lot, etc...
Please view the original post and enter the giveaway if you are interested!!
Have a great weekend!

Allergy season is creeping up on us, are you ready? ***Product Review & Giveaway***

My husband has allergies, bad.
I have some seasonal allergies, mild.
My 3 year old daughter has allergies, bad.
So far my 1 year old daughter doesn't seem to be bothered by allergies, thank God!

We have tried so many allergy medications for Zack, both perscription and over-the-counter, that I cannot even begin to name them all. When we were given the opportunity for him to try an all-natural, PRE-histimine, allergist-recommended medication, we were excited!

PreHistin worked well to help relieve Zack's allergy symptoms, but he did still need to take occasional other allergy medication - more so in the beginning. From what I have read, it is pretty much expected in the beginning to still have allergy issues as your body takes time to build up your immune system so that it may remain neutral when "confronted" by allergies. (I have a whole Magic-School-Bus-goes-inside-the-immune-system type of thought playing in my head right now, lol!)

PreHistin is a small cherry lozenge that is placed under the tongue to dissolve, both morning and night - for 30 days. It tastes similar to a cherry candy - always a bonus! ;) PreHistin is for both indoor and outdoor allergies, and is safe to use year round if needed. PreHistin is approved for people over the age of 12. You can find out more information about PreHistin and how it works here.

You can also sign up to receive emails with coupons, discounts, and special offers from PreHistin on their website.

You can order PreHistin online, and there is always amazing deals on their website. OR, one lucky Proverbs 31 Mom & Wife reader is going to win one box for FREE.


GIVEAWAY RULES - ENDS 2-6-10 at 8PM, PST.
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Leave a separate comment for each entry you are completing
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WoW - Who ever thought a little bit of shopping could be so exhausting?

It has been a while since I have been shopping. I am not talking about running to the store and getting milk, eggs, bread, chicken, etc. I am talking about SHOPPING - every isle at Costco and then to Wal-Mart to do the same. It is exhausting!

Really, I must be getting older because in my day I could shop from dawn til dusk and still have energy to spare. But now...now I am tired, my back is sore, and I would be happy to never shop again! LOL!

That was pretty much my day, I hope that you all had great days of your own! ;)

Tassimo Hot Beverage System Review

I love coffee, tea, and on occasion hot cocoa.
Zack loves coffee, espresso, etc.
Emily loves tea and hot cocoa.
Natalie love to drink whatever she can get a hold of. LOL!

These are just some of the reasons that I was so excited to receive a Tassimo T45 Hot Beverage System, free for review.

We didn't wait too long after receiving our tassimo to try it out, only long enough for Zack to get home and help me put it together. My part was to keep the kids busy and he put it together...but I did put in the water filter! The machine was easy enough to put together, following the directions.

The first thing that I loved about the Tassimo was that our model included an optional water filter, and came with an extra filter for later use.
The ease of using the hot beverage system was amazing. The Tassimo uses T-Disks to make whatever beverage you want. There is a barcode on each disk that when inserted into the machine is "read" and within 60 seconds the beverave is ready to drink!
I really liked that the Tassimo came with a disk for cleaning and decalcifying the machine, and the disk fits neatly into a pocket behind the water tank.

For my review, I was also sent four packages of T-Disks: Starbucks Cafe Verona, Starbucks Cappuccino Primo, Twinnings Chai Tea Latte, and Milka Hot Chocolate. I also noticed in the box that the Tassimo Machine came in, there was an offer of receiving a couple packages of free T-Disks just for registering the machine - it is always nice to get a thank you for using an amazing product, huh? :)

Another of the many things that I like about the T45 is that it makes, or can make a variety of drinks including: coffee, espresso, cappucuino, latte, hot chocolate, tea, and even had a t-disk to add real milk creamers to your beverages! We have tried a variety of drinks, sometimes making three drinks one after the other, and have never had any flavor trasfer from one cup to another, that is one of my favorite features of this machine!!!

There were three drawbacks that we have noticed thus far with our tassimo. First, the lattes are not as frothy as they are when you order them in a coffee shop - this does not bother me, but some people really like the froth. Second, there is no way to control the brewing temperature. I really wish that there was an option on the temperature because of making drinks for the kids, or even adults who don't want their beverave that hot. Third, we used our coffee grounds in the compost for our garden, but with the T-Disks it is more difficult and not really worth it to get the grounds out once used - but it is possible!

Overall, I would reccomend this product as we have had great results from it. The retail cost of the Tassimo T45 Hot Beverage System that we were provided with is approximately $169.00, which allthough is quite a bit up front it pays itself off with the savings versus going to a coffee shop.
The price of the T-Disks varies based on what brand and type of drink you are looking for. For example Starbucks coffee ranges from $10.49 to $10.99 for a 12 disk pack, Seattle's Best is $8.99 for 16 T-Disks, you can get espresso starting at only $7.99 for 16 T-disks. For the occassional coffee drinker, this is a great deal: there are no more half pots of wasted coffee. For the person who can sit and drink an entire pot of coffee, this might not be the cheapest way to go, but can make a great addition for those times that you want a specialty drink!

I have more pictures of some of the beveraves that we have made, but my computer is acting up tonight. Hopefully I will be able to upload them soon, and will link back to this review at that time.

If you have any questions for me about my familys' experience with our Tassimo Beverage Machine, please feel free to ask and I will do my best to answer you!

Yes we were provided a free Tassimo T45 for this review, but the opinions are my own and have not been edited by any one. Thank you for taking the time to read this review.

Thankful Thursday - "I'm not driving"

Yay, it is time for another Thankful Thursday! I have been out of it for a few weeks now and am starting to get back into the swing of things, that is one thing I am grateful for today!
Last night I was watching Dog the Bounty Hunter and in that episode, Dog and the team were going after a couple. It turns out that they were both meth addicts, the man was a thief to support their habit, the woman was a prostitute, and the woman had abandoned her four children a year ago to "go on a one week vacation." I cried.
I am not normally this emotional, but being pregnant I am pretty emotional. When Beth was taking the woman to jail she let her call her mom and kids. I really started crying when this lady got on the phone with her daughter and told her that she didn't know where she was going because "Mommy's not driving."
I guess that the point of me telling you this story is that I am thankful for everything that God has done to bring me to where I am today, because with out Him, there is no telling where I could be. I am thankful that my husband is a man who loves the Lord and wants our children to grow up knowing Him and His love for them. Emily, my 3 YO, knows about ten Bible verses and that God loves her and Jesus will wash away her sins. I am so thankful that she has a heart for God, she loves learning more and hearing more Bible stories.
Second chances, even third and forth when they are needed, are another thing that I am thankful for. God is so good! I hope to be able to live my life always knowing where I am going (in the end) because God is driving, and I trust Him!!!



I hope that you all have a blessed week, and I encourage each of you to take a few minutes and think of what you are thankful for today.
You can read more thankful hearts here and link up your own.

3 Little Princesses

Little girls love dress up, and these three are no exception! Well, maybe Natalie wasn't having the best time while this picture was being taken...if she would have only stood up, it all would have been more harmonious!

I hope that you all have a wonderful Wednesday and a blessed week!

I am terrified of Chemistry

I am terrified of Chemistry - seriously terrified.
When I spoke to the counselor at WNC she looked at my math grades and said I should do fine in Chemistry.
I love math. I have always done well in math classes.
I have never liked science. Of all the science classes that I have taken, and there are quite a few, the only one that I liked was Biology (in high school, college Biology was BORING.)
Now I find myself in a predicament. I am finishing up my pre-requisites and co-requisites for the nursing program and I have to take Chemistry this semester. Then I have two more semesters of science classes - Human Anatomy and Physiology I & II and General Microbiology.
I am freaking out about the Chemistry class though. And as if I wasn't nervous already, I went to the college bookstore to get my books and other required materials, and the guy at the bookstore laughed when I told him which professor I had...laughed. He then told me that there was no text for his class. So I am thinking, great I just saved like $200 on a book! Then he says, "But you are going to wish there were, his is the toughest class...but you will learn a lot." I am slightly excited now, I took the gentleman from the bookstore's comments as a challenge, I am going to do awesome in Chemistry! (If I don't, I will never tell you! hehe)
I just keep reminding myself of this:
I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me! Philippians 4:13

Something I am working on...

For Christmas, I received a book - God's Promises for Your Every Need. I love it. When I have a few extra minutes or longer sometimes, I read it. The book is broken up into 9 different sections, most having numerous sub-sections. One (two actually) verse that I have read a few times now that I believe would help me in many aspects of my life is:

Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice.
And be kind to one another, tender hearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.
Ephesians 4:31, 32

These verses, this concept has really been speaking to my heart lately, and I just felt like sharing it with you! In all aspects of life, with all relationships this is great instruction.
I always feel better when my relationships are pleasant and courteous, but there are times when arguments and bitterness occur. God is working on my heart to change my thought processes and I am seeing myself becoming more of what He wants me to be. I pray that it is a continuous change and that I stay open to the will of the Lord.

This is not a New Year's "Resolution" but I am making changes this year, and I look forward to sharing the journey with all of you! Please feel free to leave any thoughts, suggestions, advice or your own journey with me!
I hope that you have a very blessed day!

Wordless Wednesday - When the hubby cooks!

Eggplant Parmigiana!
Looks good, huh?

I was nervous because I had never eaten eggplant, at least that I can remember. But I liked it! It almost tastes like a squash...maybe! LOL.

Leave me a link to your WW and I would love to stop by!
Have a blessed week!

She's a crazy teether!

Today Natalie decided that she was going to chew on my finger, and I let her. I know, what was I thinking?
Well, I certainly was NOT thinking that she was going to have molars on the top. Not the whole molar, but there is a sharp piece of tooth sticking out on both sides of her mouth. I mean, really...she doesn't even have her two front teeth on the top. Natalie is a crazy teether!
I am thinking about taking her to the dentist just to make sure that her teeth are healthy, in spite of the sparatic order in which they show up!!!

Did your kids have any interesting teething "adventures"?