Wednesday, February 27, 2013

My First Cara Box


This month I participated in my very first Cara Box exchange!
Oh my goodness, I absolutely loved it.
I'd wanted to do this for awhile now but never felt like I had the time or energy to devote to it.
So this was my first month and I LOVED it.
I got to know a new blogger friend, Melanie.
And get to know Kaitlyn even better... we even got to meet in person for a fun filled lunch!


It was great!!

So Melanie was my amazing Cara Box giver.  The girl could not have put together a more perfect box for me.
Her goal was to put together a perfect date box for Caleb and I.
And she did just that.



I got some wonderful caffeine free tea that is just delicious.


A notebook for Caleb and I to exchange notes in.... right now we're in an off schedule and don't get to see that much of each other.  So this was the perfect idea.



A deck of cards and instructions on how to play rummy.  I'm so excited to play!



A bar of chocolate!  No explanation needed, it was just what I needed.


Lotion to help me relax and the end of a LONG day.



This was perfect and appeared in my mailbox on the most perfect day!!

Thanks, Melanie, it was a pleasure getting to know you and I can't wait to get together in person soon!



Saturday, February 16, 2013

The New Trend in College


So if I want to be honest with myself, I'd have to admit that it's been 8 years since I graduated college.... ok now that makes me old!

And 8 years ago this AMAZING program was not around.
If it was, I can pretty much guarantee you that I would have used it...  so if you are in college, have a sibling in college or maybe even a child headed that way then you must check this out!!!

Remember the days of waiting in a HUGE long line to get your books for the semester?  Remember that if you avoided that long line then you'd be pretty much guaranteed not to get the good "used" prices on the books (if you got one at all)?  And then remember that awful feeling when they told you how much your total was once you checked out with all of your necessary books?  Mine were always in the 3 digit totals... and by senior year, it was in the HIGH 3 digits.  Terrible!

They want you to think it looks like this...

But really it's more like THIS!


Well CampusBookRentals.com and RentBack.com have solved the problem!
(I mean really, why didn't I think of this???)

If you rent your books instead of buying them
-  You save 40-90% off bookstore prices.
-  They'll take care of you shipping wise. (meaning it's free)
- You can highlight away in your rental book (sweet!)
- And by renting a book a proceed of the rental fee goes to Operation Smile

Ok that sure as heck sounds a LOT better then standing in a line for books and then spending WAY to much money on not interesting books.

WAIT!!  There is more!  If you have a bunch of books that you decided to keep for some crazy reason or you couldn't sell them back for yet another crazy reason then check out RentBack.com.  This wonderful site will let YOU make money by renting out your books to current college kids.  Smart huh??  Ok I think I have give you plenty to think about.
Now get your booty over to the NEW and IMPROVED way of buying college textbooks!  :)





Friday, February 15, 2013

What Motivates YOU to Give?



I love blogging for Compassion Intl.
I love what they represent and what they do, and I love how their blog topics always make me think.



Every month our family has chosen to donate a very small portion of our income to help care for our sweet girl, Melly.
We love to make presents and crafts for her and in a way she is part of our family even though I have yet to meet her in person.
And in return I have developed a letter writing relationship with a truly special girl and met some pretty amazing people.

Then the question was sent to me,

"What verse Bible verse prompts and guides you to give?"

When I think of giving I automatically think of the poor widow who gave 2 measely coins. (Luke 21)  People judged her for that gift but Jesus was proud.  She gave more than anyone else because she gave ALL she had.  
What would it look like for me to give everything?  Honestly, the answer makes me panic and that's when I realize how far I have to go.  
We give a very small portion of what we make to Melly.  This doesn't make me a professional giver.  Honestly, it's not a financial struggle to give that every month.
How much of my money goes to building treasures here on earth?  I hate to say it, but a little to much.
I want my heart to be in the place that if God asked me to give everything to follow His plans, I wouldn't think twice about it.  But unfortunately I don't think it's quite there yet.

Now I'm not suggesting that the poor are the people who are living lives pleasing God.  That shouldn't be the measure.  For me the measure is the reaction in my heart.  

"If God asked ____ of me, could I do it, happily?"

Oh sweet friends, it's times like these I realize I am truly a work in progress.
It's times like these that I realize how grateful I am for a loving Father who loves me and guides me even when I mess it all up.

Today, I pray that we all learn to be responsible with the gifts God has given us.  I pray that we are in a place to give to those who are hurting and in need.  I pray that our hearts grow closer to Him and further away from our "control freak ways".  



  




Friday, February 8, 2013

This One's for the Ladies!



I'd like to think that my husband married a fairly even keeled little lady.
I don't have out of control emotions and am pretty in tune to myself.


Now this is not to say that I don't have the good ol emotional breakdowns or PMS irritability, because I do.  I wish I was perfect, dad gum it, but I'm not.

I don't believe in the excuse of "its my time of the month which is why I'm acting like a complete lunatic".  I'm a pretty firm believer that as women we CAN and SHOULD control our emotions.  Might be tough at times, but it is possible and should be done so we don't kill our husbands or families. (or they kill us)
*Note: I understand there are extreme circumstances and that is not what I'm addressing here. * 

But now I'm back to a problem area... PREGNANCY.  The emotions are a totally different ball game. And the poor hubby has to practice EXTREME patience.

 

Point in case, I specifically remember at week 35 of being pregnant with Little Miss, I lost my mind on my husband for taking a nap!  I was mad because sleep just wasn't happening for my big ol preggo self and I was IRATE that my husband could so easily pass out on the couch.

I did what any normal gal would do.  I felt the smoke coming out of my ears, so I grabbed one of the 3 huskies and made myself trek out on a 45 minute power walk around the neighborhood.  (this I'm sure was quite a sight, a mad, very preggo person, trying super hard to quickly puff her way around the neighborhood)
After 45 minutes I was still a mad mess so I walked in the house, slammed the door as hard as I could and watched in pleasure as my husband jumped up from his comfortable napping position on our very comfortable couch.  The pleasure of watching him wake quickly dissipated and I then proceeded to yell and cry about errr... his napping ability.

I'm not proud of this moment... in fact, I'm pretty embarrassed even though it is kind of funny looking back.

Well, I've been working EXTRA hard to control these preggo emotions lately and it's been tough.  I haven't yelled and screamed at my husband, and I've remained pretty mellow with my daughter, but I have let out quite a few snide comments and huffed and puffed around the house.  And I may or may not have sobbed inconsolably for 25 out of my 30 minute drive home from work last night.

So as good as I am about controlling PMS and other gal emotions, pregnancy emotions are NOT my forte.  So if anyone has any great tips on how to control the psycho other half of you while pregnant, I'm all ears.  I thought I'd be better at it for round two, but so far I'm not and I'm only 3 months in.

Thursday, February 7, 2013

Love Me Some Michael!



Happy Valentines Month, ya'll!



I don't know about you, but I LOVE Michael Kors' watches!!

I purchased my first MK Watch about 3 years ago, and to this day, I adore it.
Well, in honor of Valentine's Day and my incredible love for all of you,
I'm giving away the Michael Kors Watch of your choice from above!

I've teamed up with Shanna & Kaitlyn and all the other ladies below to bring you this amazing giveaway.
They all voted, and these were their top 6 choices.
1// Kaitlyn 2// Shanna 3// Emily 4// Stephanie 5// Robin 6// Kalyn
7// Samantha 8// Lisette 9// Kristyn 10// Jami 11// Courtney 12// Ashley
13// Erin 14// Hallie 15// Jessica 16// Kim 17// Michele 18// Rebekah

Happy Valentine's Day to you my dear, sweet friends!!!

To enter, please use the Rafflecopter below!
This contest is open to US Residents only.
The giveaway will run from February 7 - February 13, 11:59pm EST.
Winner will be announced on Valentine's Day.

***All entries WILL be verified to make sure the winner has completed what she said she did (:









Friday, February 1, 2013

Closure to a Horrific Incident


Back in July my dear husband was one of the first few officers inside Theatre 9 after the dreadful shooting during the Batman premiere.  He rescued many people and had others die in his arms.  He and his fellow officers witnessed something that most people will never see.

I wrote about this a week after it happened here.

As the months have passed, I have been pretty impressed with the State of Colorado.  They truly have supported the victims and their families in some pretty amazing ways.  Nothing will ever erase what happened but I think they have felt supported.



Batman himself... I mean, Christian Bale, came out to show his support.  Many heard of him coming out to visit the victims at the hospital.  He did this quietly and people only found out he came after the fact (or maybe during) but it was not a highly publicized event that he initiated.  What many don't know is he came to thank Aurora PD as well.  Caleb got to meet him that day and let's just say he became a true super hero to a lot of people that day.

Then last week, the first responders were honored for a job well done with a ceremony that brought closure for them.  After all of the pain, sleepless nights and nightmares (when they do sleep), they were honored for all they did.   Caleb was honored with 2 medals, and he now holds 3 of the highest awards in the department.   As a wife you see the behind the scenes, you see the true feelings behind the brave face, you see the aftermath.  It's nice to know that people recognize this and all they did.


forgive the picture quality here

His job is hard.  At times it's really hard on him, and hard on the family, but it's times like these when you realize it's all worth it.  He is making a difference in way most people would never be able to.  I will persevere through the hard times because God has called our family into this life.



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