our BIG news + win an Ultimate Healthy Living bundle

I've been waiting SO long to tell you this news!! :) Here is a picture- see if you can guess what is happening at our house this week:

I can't believe I'm showing you this. We must be good friends.

No, we aren't filming an episode of Hoarders at our house... ;)

We're moving next week!! :) I have so much to catch you up on, but we sold our 1895 house last month, and Lord-willing, we are moving our family of 7 next week. It's been crazy-town around here, and boxes are everywhere. I wouldn't say we're the most organized movers, but luckily that pic was all the attic storage that was in the middle of being sorted out. It looked slightly better by the time I went through it all. ;)

The main problem with going through everything you own? You find random things like homemade ornaments from your senior year of high school:

I've let go of so much junk this week, but I couldn't bear to throw that one out. :) I have so much to tell you, but not much time to do it as we are in the big crunch to finish by next week! I even have lots of posts to show you of our completed house before we took everything down and boxed it away. :( It's a good move though- we are very excited about what's to come. We aren't moving far, but I'll tell you all that later! :)

I'm very excited to share our big news with you{and the fact that we're almost done packing, Lord-willing!}. :) I cannot wait to get back into a clean house and start cooking real food again!! I hope by next weekend all this will be over. :)

BUT- to celebrate our exciting news this weekend, I'm giving away one copy of the Ultimate Healthy Living Bundle- and if you're the lucky winner, you get all of these ebooks and courses for free on Sunday! :)

AND!! the lucky giveaway winner also gets $200 in bonuses on top of all those books and courses:

The bonuses:
** a bottle of Healthy Mouth Blend from OraWellness,
** a baltic amber bracelet from Sweetbottoms Boutique
**a starter culture from Cultures For Health.
** gift sets from Made On Skin Care Products and Homegrown Collective.

There are virtual goodies, too – a 4-month membership to StayAtHomeYoga.com and a 3-month premium membership to meal planning service Tradishen. And as if all that weren’t enough, there are also $15 gift certificates for TheJoyfulGiraffe.com, Strawesome.com and Trilight Health. {There is a nominal shipping charge for many of the bonuses, based on each company’s standard shipping rates, and is usually $3-5.}

After all this moving business, I'm totally going to nab some time alone this weekend and read an ebook or two from my bundle. ;) {Ha!}

the contest is closed*

p.s.  There are only 30,000 copies of this bundle available {total}, so if you were interested in purchasing the Healthy Living Bundle while it's for sale, you might want to get one while you can. If you win this giveaway and have already purchased one, you can give it away as a Christmas gift! :)

What is it? 73 eBooks and 7 audio & eCourses, PLUS over $200 worth of bonus products you’ll really use! 

When does the sale end? 11:59 p.m. EST this Monday, September 15 

Where do I get it? Purchase the bundle HERE. 

How much? The entire package is worth $1030, and it’s selling for $29.97. That's only 37 cents an ebook or course!!  

Click here for more info or to buy now.

Disclosure: I have included affiliate links in this post. Read the fine print about this bundle and read the answers to frequently asked questions about the bundle.

family, food, and one negative side effect

Back on Labor Day weekend {forever ago now?}, my brother Josh and sister-in-law Cayse came down from Arkansas to stay for a few days. They're extremely awesome people and we miss them like crazy, so we soaked up every moment we had together after not seeing them for 9 months. In fact, we enjoyed seeing them so much, I totally forgot to take any pictures with them. :( But I did get one shot I was very happy about...

We played washers one afternoon, and Noah needed to get one washer in the center pipe of the box- a major long shot. It was never going to happen, and then... he got it in the center!!!

It was so cool. :) I can't remember if it won the game, but it was crazy fun. :) I can't even believe I got that shot of him getting that shot. :D

Zaner's getting around these days. He's standing on his own, but mostly resorts to this frog position to get from place to place: 

After the family left, we went back to school as usual. The boys made their first loaves of bread for science:

And here were the results of their experiment:

I love homeschooling. :) I love experiments that involve my belly. :)

Although there's one potential side effect of being a homeschool mom I'm not so sure about: 

Accidentally carrying your toothpaste to the car for no good reason. :)

Or, I guess that might be a side effect of being a mom. 

It was a good trade though. Those brain cells were going to die someday anyway. ;)

When was the last time you accidentally carried something you didn't need with you? Or washed a hammer in the laundry? hahah!

Have you ever played washers? Is it a southern thing? 
Either way it's so much fun!

Have you made bread lately? Any good recipes?
We made this recipe and love it, but I'm always up for new ones! I really want to make some rosemary garlic bread since it's almost fall. :)

today in three words.

Life today in three words per picture: :D

1. I'm sorry, mommy.

2. Much needed snack.

3. Bread machine wins.

4. Dinner is thawing.

5. Amazing butternut squash.

6. Reading takes effort.

7. Messes are everywhere. :)

How's your day? :D  {in three words? ;) }

Mine is good! ;)

our week in pics: getaways, tornado meal-prepping, and it's happening again

Oh, the crazy fun of summer! Can I admit that I've been sleeping in this summer, and it's been wonderful? I feel like a new person when I sleep 8-9 hours a night. The baby still wakes up a couple of times at night, but with the extra hours in the morning I've been making up for the last year of lost time. :)

We have some exciting things happening at our house, so our days have been full to the brim. {I can't wait to tell you soon!} I haven't even had a chance to tell you yet, but we celebrated our 12th anniversary with a weekend away in Dallas:

My awesome dad kept the kids and I enjoyed waffles not made by me. ;)

We did take the munchkin along with us, and if you were wondering what hotel breakfast with a little is like, I snagged a pic for you:

I have a good man, because he took one for the team and fed him while I enjoyed this:

Good times. :) And you know any weekend at a metroplex is sure to include a trip to Anthro:

I didn't find much I needed there, but I did end up with one cool, very inexpensive-for-anthropologie thing I'll show you soon! :)

For the first time in I can't remember, we got dressed up for a date! :)

I really need to branch out more, but the heart wants what it wants. ;)

We might be a little predictable, but hey- we did try two new things. Did you know gas station fudge can be amazing?

I would have never thought. And we already know Restoration Hardware is pretty amazing itself:

All kinds of eye candy there. That place is something else. :) I have never liked so much extremely expensive furniture at one time! ;) {Which reminds me of something else I want to tell you soon!}.

My feet were back on the ground last week with a birthday, grocery shopping, and getting back in the saddle with cooking:

Last night was a late night flurry of trying to cook this week's meals in advance:

I made dinner last night, and got this ready for the week:

And speaking of getting back in the saddle...last week, these came in the mail:

Once we the rest of the girls' books arrive, I suppose we'll dig in. :) I can't say that I'm ready, but the kids are! They've already arranged their desks, plugged in their computers, and can't wait to start. :)

As for me, I'm still going to enjoy every minute of sleeping in that I can. :)


How was your week/weekend??


Are you back to school yet?


Ever tried something from a gas station that you never thought you would love? :D

if I could slow down a moment, and the day I long to see

If I could have slowed down a summer moment this year, it would have been this one:

In the middle of a very crazy weekend, I got to see the sun set out at my in-laws' place. And this guy was sitting right next to me:

He's growing up so fast. We're like the same size now. I give him all my extra combat shorts to wear. {Don't worry- we buy boys long shorts for launches so they're appropriate! :P}

Speaking of combat launches- today is our summer launch, so I'm studying away. :) We're going to wear these $4 head wraps from Walmart, and for some reason I'm excited about it. I love fighter chick kind of stuff!

After enjoying lots of this kind of food this weekend, I'm so glad I've got a hardcore workout on the schedule for today: 

Anyone recognize that salad {or this brownie?}. We went on a date this weekend to Freebirds, and even with a fussy, teething baby, we had fun. 

Last week he was much happier. I have evidence:

:D That smile kills me. After our dinner, we went here:

You know shopping at Target is every man's dream date, right? :P It would be like going to Lowe's for me. ;) What can I say? Rob loves me.

I saw this at Ross the other day and I want to replicate it:

 

The truth of it caught me off guard, and I loved it. The thing is- our earthly love stories do come to an end, but an eternal one is written on our hearts. We long for a love that will never die, and that's what our Savior has for us!

Earthly marriages are only temporary; they're only glimpses of what lies in store for us on that last day. That's why we won't grieve the loss of our earthly marriage in Heaven- because we who believe on the Lord Jesus are going to be united together with our lasting Bridegroom. We will be with our eternal Love!

It's so exciting! :) You know what C.S. Lewis said is true:

“There are far, far better things ahead than any we leave behind.” 

Happy things like curling up for a nap, sweet dates, great food, loving our children and husbands- we get to enjoy this life now because of who Jesus is. We know that He is our love, and like the gift of salvation first- every good and perfect gift comes from the Father! We enjoy Him in abundance, and in need- because He is our strength and the true source of our contentment.

I know for me- sometimes the days are actually hard, and I struggle to feel any of His joy, but it doesn't mean that He isn't there with me. I really feel that in those times the Lord is pruning back parts of my heart so that I don't love these earthly things first. 

When I don't feel joyful- when I don't see the goodness in this life- He is revealing to me that my hope is falling in the wrong places. I'm putting my joy in earthly things I've been given instead of delighting in the GIVER of all good things, you know? In those days, I must choose to praise Him, even when I don't feel like it's naturally overflowing. A lack of feelings sometimes forces me to set my mind on things above just to keep going. 

That's why I think feeling the struggle for joy can even be a good thing too.

I want my heart to be wholly devoted to the Lord, and as much as I don't enjoy them- the lows show me I need Him even more desperately.

Our lives are so short. It feels like yesterday that boy sitting beside me at the lake was born, and now he's in the double digit. I can't imagine how much faster the rest of this will fly by.

I don't want to waste my time living for the things of this earth, because even the trees in my yard will outlast me! I'm a tiny blip on the radar. But I want my blip to be the death of who I am, so that Christ may live in me. And honestly, it's the hardest thing I can imagine doing with the time I've been given. It's way easier to live for myself than to put all those earthly things to death, you know?

But the good news is this: the same Spirit that raised Christ from the dead lives in me!!

And!

I can do ALL things through Christ who strengthens me. 

I cannot do it, but HE can. 

Jude:24 Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to make you stand in the presence of His glory blameless with great joy, to the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen. 
HE is able to keep me from stumbling, and to present me before the presence of His glory blameless.

That is the day I long for. To be in His presence, blameless, and forgiven, and free from sin.

Oh, that is worth it all.

This life is wonderful, but that day will be SO much better. :)



May the grace of the Lord Jesus be with you this week, my friends.