Blogger Opp - Freshly Picked Moccasins Giveaway

The Chain Linky CLIMB Party @ Sew Crafty Angel

    Happy Valentine's Day

Tweet #ChainLinkyCLIMB
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  WELCOME! It's the month long Networking Blog Hop  Networking means helping each other grow!!  If you want to promote a CLIMB link, then use #ChainLinkyCLIMB on Twitter or Google+ so that we can all help each other grow! Here's how the Giveaway & Co-hosting works - the co-hosts from the previous month's CLIMB will have the opportunity to participate in a Giveaway during the next CLIMB - that gives co-hosts 2 months in a row of blog growing fun!!  (If you would like to co-host please sign up at the end of this post using the last "Linky") Please welcome The February 2015 Chain "Linky" CLIMB week#3 co-hosts:

Cathy from "A Peek Into My Paradise"

(Click on the blog button below)

  Cathy is our permanent week#3 co-host.  Checkout what's been happening on "A Peek Into My Paradise" lately:
Blogger Opp - Luck of the Irish Cash Giveaway Fruit Swirl Coffee Cake Growing Circles Hop#54

& Carrie from "Daily Musings" (Click on the blog button below)
Carrie's blog is so inspiring!  She has so many insightful posts that will help you grow in your Christian walk!  Also, join her every week for a fun "Bloglovin" blog hop!  This is how she describes her blog: " This is my journey lived out loud in reflections. My journey focuses on faith, family, and my intense desire to make a positive impact on the world. You will find that I focus my own personal spiritual journey. I also like to write about the oddities that seem to happen to me in life. Humor and the love of Christ are my goals. I hope that you find something here that will touch your heart!" ________________________________________________ We are looking for wonderful Bloggers like YOU to cohost the March 2015 CLIMB!! (please sign up in the "linky" at the very end where it says "sign up to cohost HERE") ________________________________________________ 
Also, our CLIMB GIVEAWAY! Please enter below -one person will win:

- $20 Paypal cash from Sew Crafty Angel & from Cuddlebug Cuties 

- 1 Ad Space on A Peek Into My Paradise - $30 value
- 1 Monthly Ad Space on God's Growing Garden - $15 value

- A gorgeous Necklace with natural raw marble beachstone by ShorelineDesigned - $20 value

MARVELOUS MARBLE NECKLACE
Marvelous Marble - Natural Raw Marble Beachstone from Lake Michigan, Black Waxed Cotton Cord, White Recycled Glass Krobo Bead Unisex Necklace "Simple and elegant Stone. Glass. Fiber.  I have found and drilled this Lake Michigan raw black and white marble beachstone, hand drilled a 5 mm hole, hand strung it onto a quality waxed cotton cord and topped it with an ice-white recycled glass Krobo artisan bead.  This unisex necklace can be worn long as is - perhaps for layering with others, or you may snip and re-knot the cord to your liking.  As is, the necklace as tied will hang a long and leisurely 27 inches including the 2 inch glass and stone pendant."

by ShorelineDesigned

Total prize value is $85!!

CLIMB Giveaway Rules & Conditions: - this is open worldwide (void where prohibited) - You must be 18 years or older to enter  - You MUST have a blog to win the Ad spaces (otherwise these will become a second place prizes)

- You must live in the lower 48 of the United States to win the Necklace (otherwise this will become  second place prizes)
- You MUST have a valid PayPal account to win the Paypal Cash (otherwise this will become a second place prizes)

- This Giveaway is open from January 31st, 2015 until February 28th, 2015

- Winner must respond to email within 48 hours or a different winner will be chosen

- Giveaway Hosts & Co-hosts can NOT enter this Giveaway!, however - FEBRUARY 2015 CLIMB blog hop co-hosts ARE allowed to enter this Giveaway (provided they are not also part of the Giveaway)

- correspondence is done through email and the winner's email addresses will only be used to deliver or set-up e-prizes.  Email addresses will NEVER be sold or shared.

- All prizes will be delivered by the contributing Bloggers/Shop Owners.

- if you have any questions or concerns about this Giveaway please email one of the hosts:

Angie:  angeliquetower@gmail.com

Angel:  sewcraftyangel@gmail.com

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Now onto the CLIMB (blog hop): We have changed it up a bit - instead of linking your homepage you may now link up to 4 of your family friendly blog posts per month!!

 

By participating in this blog hop your understand that your link might be featured &/or promoted on our blogs & social media.  Also, by participating in this blog hop your email address will be added to our CLIMB list & you will be sent an email reminder next month. 


Remember - If you co-host you will receive a free Weekly Sidebar Ad and your blog button will appear on both Angie's blog & Angel's blog!!
(The Ad will run live a few weeks after you have co-hosted)

Sign up to receive emails about the CLIMB

Fab Feb Frigidaire Giveaway @ Sew Crafty Angel

It's February, the month of LOVE.

Time to show the special someone in your life how much you love them.

Or just show yourself a little love.

Enter to WIN this awesome Convection Oven and some CASH to burn.

Once again I'm joining my friend Katherine from Katherine's Corner

and some awesome bloggy friends to bring you the

One winner will receive-

$200 in PayPal Cash and a Frigidaire Convection Oven ( value $175) !

PayPal cash provided by Katherine and friends ♥

listed in no specific order

Katherine- Katherines Corner

Angel- Sew Crafty Angel

Kim, Jessica, Cassie, and Amber- Lou Lou Girls

Angelique- Gods Growing Garden

Prudy- Butter Basil and Breadcrumbs

Diane-Mamal Diane Keepling Life Simple

Linda- Crafts Ala Mode

Andrea-Tabler Party Of Two

Christine- I Dig Pinterest

Amanda- Diary of a Semi Health Nut

Rachel- Craving Some Creativity

Christine- The Painted Chateau

Entering the Fab Feb Frigidaire Giveaway is easy-

Just log into the entry form using your email address or facebook and click on the first entry on the rafflecopter form. Please read the terms and conditions and write yes.

Confirm you are an email subscriber of Katherines Corner or become an email subscriber (this will be verified) and enter as many bonus entries as you would like.

Open to all Katherines Corner subscribers over 18 where permitted . Giveaway starts today and ends February 28th.

Copy the button for the Giveaway below and paste it to your blog with a link back to Katherines Corner for extra entries. :-)

( remember to let her know where to find it ).

Good luck in the Fab Feb Frigidaire Giveaway ♥

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Contentment

I'm so happy to be visiting Angel and all of you here at Sew Crafty Angel, I'm visiting from my corner of the world over at Heartbeats~ Soul Stains.

As one of Angel's Contributing Angels it's such a pleasure to be making connections with such a beautiful and kind-hearted woman! She's always looking at bringing the best out in others and shares her sweetness all over blog land :)

With November here, there is so much talk about gratitude and being Thankful. I'm participating in a month-long link up where you can share what you are grateful for in a blog post or in the comments every week. Visit here to check it out and spread some love.

In a post Angel wrote a while back she talks about all she is blessed with and taking the time to experience all the wonderful things life has. She especially makes a note about how important it is to stop and make sure those around you know how much you love them. In the spirit of Thanksgiving her post If I Had To Do It Over is a perfect reminder.

As I read her post I realize how much I desire to keep the heart of gratitude in me not only this month, but all the time. With this in mind, I think of the word Contentment. This was my toddlers word for the month a couple of months ago. At the time I thought how can a 2-year-old grasp that. I pondered on that thought and realized this is a gift we should be instilling in them at a very young age.

What does Contentment mean to me? It means that I am where I am and I accept it, embrace it and love it. Things may be troubled, I have deep sorrow and pain; but I am truly happy. I have everyone and everything I need. When negativity seeps in I must refocus and remind myself of the things in my life that are magnificent and beautiful.

As we approach the Holidays everything around us can be geared towards shopping and materialistic things. I love to give to others and bring smiles and joy to everyone around me. I do believe we can keep it simple. The most wonderful things I have ever received in my life were not tangible things at all. They were gifts of unconditional love. A gift I can give to myself is to be content.

In my eyes Contentment doesn't mean everything is perfect or that I am settling for the status quo. I always want to be striving to be and do better in certain aspects of life. I feel being content is a place I am at; at that particular moment where I am satisfied and filled with gratitude for all that I have.

My teenage daughter put things into perspective for me one day with an English assignment she had to do. You can read about it here. In her assignment she showed true happiness and contentment that is hard to find especially from a teenager.

We all have areas we want to improve on or make changes in. That's the wonderful part of life, things change and we can always grow as human beings. Being content, happy and satisfied can be a freeing place to be. I find when I am able to be in this place of satisfaction I then can have an open heart and truly have genuine growth.

I love the scripture "Be still, and know that I am Lord" Psalms 46:10. This brings me to my knees and is a complete reminder that I am where I should be and must trust in HIM rather than myself. This is a hard area for me. When times are tough I have to constantly bring myself back to having complete faith and a thankful heart.

With Thanksgiving approaching are you filled with contentment and in a place of gratitude? When things are difficult is it hard to remember to be grateful?

Debbie Tom 

Blog:  Heartbeats~ Soul Stains

The Balancing Act After “I Do”

Somebody Loves YOU

All of this He did for YOU and for ME

He Is Risen!

Take time today and meditate on what the death of Christ

 means for all who believe in Him.

Choices

HATE  
Expensive

LOVE

Free

You Choose

Meet My Guest Michell from "Prowess and Pearls"

Hi everyone! I would like to thank my sweet friend Angel who invited me into her lovely space today to share with you. And thank you all for stopping by! For many of you reading this post, you’ll be finding out what I share with my lovely readers over at my “place” in the bloggersphere every Monday. What would that be you ask…”Mastering YOU Monday” of course! It’s a series where it’s all about you, me, us and the things we need to master about ourselves in order to master our lives! Today, I’m writing about how we’re ALL God’s “favorites”, yep, that’s right! And He truly desires that we know this truth! 

We as women have learned and mastered the game of “pretending” that everything is okay! We say to ourselves that life is great and we’re doing just fine, when deep inside we’re yearning for something more…wanting reassurance that He really does have us and that we’re kept and loved and treasured by Him. I’m here to tell you that He really does and we really are…yes indeed!

 Do you ever find yourself having one of those days? You know…one of those “does anyone even care” or "is it ever going to get better" kind of days? Those days where you get out of bed and push yourself because you know that’s the only way you’ll get through the day and quite frankly you’ve got babies to raise, jobs to go to, houses to manage and others are depending on you. 

God tells us in His word that He remembers us. And we all know that God IS NOT like man! When we as humans remember someone or something, it's because we have forgotten about them/it. God's “remembering” is on a totally different level! When He says He remembers us, He’s reminding us of His promise to NEVER abandon us and to never leave us without help and comfort. He will never forsake us, He has never and will never forget about us…He will ALWAYS hold us dear to His heart. Do you get that…I mean really get it? God never for a moment forgets about His girls – we are ALWAYS on His mind! 

And despite the craziness that may be going on all around us, and no matter where we may find ourselves in this life, or the circumstances we may find ourselves in; even if those situations or circumstances are by the fault of our own hands…in the face of all of this, His grace and mercy are new for us EVERY morning! Yep, that’s the kind of God we serve! God is right here with us and He’s always aware of our deepest desires and our hidden pains, EVEN when we think He’s forgotten all about us! God Almighty Himself created us before the beginning of time and because of that, He places a high value on each and every human life and yes that includes yours! Our.lives.do.matter! So, if you ever find yourself having one of those days where you’re at your lowest point, at the end of your rope or at your wits’ end - just speak to yourself these word…that “God IS MINDFUL of me and He ALWAYS has MY BEST interest at heart”! On your road to “mastering you”... keep this in mind (even if you don’t think so)…that He will ALWAYS remember YOU!! 

Psalm 136:23, Genesis 30:22, Psalm 115:12-13, 1 Peter 5:7
All Rights Reserved copyright© 2012-2013 Michell Pulliam “Prowess and Pearls” by Michell Pulliam

Post sponsored in part by

The Harvest

Wow, I can't believe it's November.  I grew up on a tobacco farm and I can remember when the weather got cold my daddy started talking about the upcoming time to strip tobacco.  I remember the warmth from the huge metal barrel in the barn for heat, the songs we all sang while we worked, the smell of my mommas cornbread she'd bring down from the house at lunchtime.  We worked hard living on a farm, by age five I was cooking and was actually pretty good at it.  We also learned that the work could be enjoyable as well as hard.  My Gramma sounded like an angel singing as she worked alongside PaPaw.  My grandpa taught my daddy, and daddy taught us kids, that if you sow good seed in fertile ground and trust in The Lord you will reap a bountiful harvest.

Angel Boy

I sometimes just sit and watch him play.  I love his smile and his laugh makes my heart sing.  When he's really into doing something he has his tongue sticking out the side of his mouth, like it won't work unless the tongue is out.   He sometimes gets the most serious look on his face, a look of total determination. 

Sometimes he'll catch me looking at him and he give me this big smile that melts my heart. Then he'll run up and hug me and I just want to cry because I know that he'll grow up so fast and I'm going to miss these hugs more than my heart can bear.  Tears roll down my cheeks as I type these words, the thought of missing even one hug is breaking my heart.  

He's our miracle boy and he's blessed all of our  lives.  I think of all those long nights in the NICU praying he'd be ok, yearning for the 5 minutes a day that I got to hold my little boy in my arms. Sitting beside his crib helplessly watching his tiny chest rise and fall, holding my breath every time an alarm went off.  All those awful wires and tubes attached to my little miracle. It's said that memories fade with time but I don't think those memories will ever fade. It feels like they are branded into my brain.  I can remember those moments like they were yesterday.  

What kind of man will he become? He's very smart and already amazes me sometimes with how fast he is developing.  The world is full of wonderful things to experience and enjoy and I want him to be blessed to march triumphantly through life not just be pulled along through it.   
I pray that he will be kind and wise; that he will be strong but gentle; loved and able to love freely.  Blessed with a life of joy, peace, love and laughter.

            

It's late at night now and he's sleeping beside me and I'm just watching him rest and listening to his breathing. I sometimes catch myself once again holding my breath to make sure I can hear him breathing. He's lost in peaceful dreams now, without a care in the world.  Hopefully dreaming of puppies or the moon that he loves so much to look at.  I lie here in the dark and wonder if he knows how much I love him. Will he ever doubt the way I feel about him in my heart. I make a promise to myself to tell him each day how much he means to me.  I don't ever want him to wonder " does mommy love me". 

Does your angel know how much you love them?

Angel

Have You Let Yourself Go After Marriage & Kids?

There comes a time in every long-term romantic relationship when both partners achieve their preferred level of comfort. You get to know each other and become familiar with all of the lovable little quirks that make up your partner's personality. It's just the two of you and you feel you can be totally yourself with each other, that's what love and marriage are all about.  Unfortunately, some relationships reach a point of partners becoming much too comfortable.  A point where we take for granted that the other person will always be there because they're married to us.  

Then the day comes when the the children start to enter our lives and we become consumed in taking care of them. We dedicate our lives to teaching our kids everything that they need to know and value. But what happened to us? What happened to our identity of who we were before the kids? Does this new life have to naturally exclude the old one? When we watch our kids grow up and aid them in fostering their individuality, wouldn’t make more sense if we continued to do that for ourselves?

Are we losing interest, too tired to care or did we just get lazy? Are we too tired to put the emphasis on who we were? Or is it becoming more comfortable to resign ourselves to our new ways? Have you let yourself go?  Did you just quit trying? Remember the days when you wouldn't go outside your front door without perfect hair and makeup?

Do you ever ask yourself  “Where is the girl that I used to be?”

I think that girl is still in there but maybe she needs a wake-up call. Just because she got married and had a baby doesn’t mean that her life is over.  It might take a little effort but I'm betting you can find that girl if you really look for her.

Everything takes work and if we can carve out a little bit of time in our day and focus on ”us,” we can get “her” back. But before we do we have to be honest with ourselves and really think about something first.  Putting aside our marriage and our children and just focusing on our internal struggles, we have to come clean about our motives and desires for wanting the changes. I think the more important thing to realize is that it’s not so much “can” we get her back, it’s “do” we want to get her back?  If we are honest with ourselves, everything else will fall into place.

So, do you want to find the girl you were before?  If so here's the first step. Get your butt out of that chair and go look in a mirror.  Seriously, I'm not just writing this to take up space, get up and go to the mirror.

Sweatpants may be much cozier than those form-fitting jeans but if you’re perpetually donning clothes you wouldn’t be caught dead wearing out in public, then you may be a little too comfortable in your relationship. Getting dolled up daily is a little unrealistic, so try swapping your sweats for a more feminine alternative and running a comb through your hair wouldn't hurt either, no offense to anyone, but we've all been there.


Like clothing, your beauty routine can easily hit slump mode as time to primp gets harder to come by. But just taking five minutes to spruce yourself up shows your spouse that you still want to look good for him. On date nights, book the baby-sitter to come early so that you have time to get ready.

Having other things going on in your life-hobbies, passions, projects will help you continue to grow as an individual and stay interesting to your partner.

Try straying from your comfort zone to show your spouse that you care about his interests. Do something together that he would love, like going to a soccer game or a restaurant you’re not really into. Enjoy the fact that he’s delighted you’ve chosen to do what he likes to do.  Who knows, you might even enjoy it if you tried.

Another consequence of a busy household and getting too stuck in your routine is forgetting the romance that brought you together as a couple in the first place. Plan a night to get away together or for kids to be away so you can have a romantic night. When young and in love, most couples can’t keep their hands off each other. But as the novelty of your spouse wears off your desire to smother him in kisses may wane too. Give him a big hug when he comes home in the evening or if you come home last go find him for a hug.

Surprising your husband with a gift, it doesn’t need to be expensive just a token that you care like a book on a subject he is interested in. Buy it out of the blue and sit together when you pass it to him-don’t just hand it over the kitchen table, as you will downgrade the moment.

It is most important to remember who you both are and what made you fall in love in the first place, reminisce about fun times you had together.

         

Angel

Article exerts by Scott Douglas, Mallary Collier & Mr. CEO

Are Kids Ruining Your Marriage?

The Family Fix: Are Kids Ruining Your Marriage? 

(this article seemed worth sharing for anyone who has kids, from ABC News)

Before they had kids, Kathi and Greg Scearce were not just husband and wife, but best friends, they say. They thought raising children would bring them even closer — but they found the opposite was true.

Mare and Joe Rivera tell a similar story to ABC NEWS' John Stossel. Before they had kids, they spent a lot of time writing songs together. But they haven't since they had 6-year-old Layla and 3-year-old Jesse, who want to be with their parents all the time.  If Mare and Joe simply want to sit next to each other, the kids try to squeeze in between.  Now they rarely go out as a couple. They haven't spent a night away together in 12 years.  In fact, they barely seem to interact at all, except when it's about the kids, Marie, 10 and Olivia, 4.

Like many couples, Joe and Mare miss the closeness, spontaneity and the sex they had before they became parents. The couple say they now have to make "appointments" for sex every few weeks. "Now it's a big, huge arrangement that's just so much work that it's not even worth it," said Mare.

According to William Doherty, a family therapist and author of Take Back Your Marriage: Sticking Together in a World That Pulls Us Apart, 70 percent of couples become less satisfied with their marriage and their sex lives after they become parents.

"After we have children for most of us our energy begins to drain out of the marriage relationship unless we put something back in," he said. "If we're married we simply must give some time and attention to the marriage if we want it to survive."

The Riveras and the Scearces grew so frustrated at how their kids were imposing on their relationships that they agreed to let 20/20 put cameras in their homes, in the hope that Doherty's advice would help them rekindle some of the passion and the romance they used to feel.

When Lovers Become Strangers

The footage showed that Joe and Mare had to practically beg their children to let them sit alone together. Getting a night out together involved a negotiation. At night, the children refused to sleep in their own beds, often falling asleep on the sofa, denying their parents any time alone.

"I want all the family to be together — not just you and Daddy," their daughter Layla told them.

Greg and Kathi also seemed to be consumed by their kids.  Almost every conversation was about them, they always helped them with homework, and little time was left to nourish their relationship with each other. After the kids went to sleep, Kathi went to the piano, and Greg to the exercise machine. They then wound down in different rooms, with Kathi usually going to bed long before Greg without even kissing her husband goodnight. (Kathi said she doesn't want him to think she's got anything on her mind other than getting sleep at that point.)

Both couples said they want the romance back — but they are concerned that spending time on their marriage will shortchange their children.

An Expert’s Advice

Doherty described Joe and Mare as devoted parents, but said they were "overfeeding their children and starving their marriage." By spending so much time with their children, he said, they neglect the relationship that created their family.

But both couples, said Doherty, can begin to take back their marriages by doing simple things.

"Children can learn to respect their parents' time," he said, so parents should insist on having one date a week. "Children, like most of us, get accustomed to that which is inevitable."

Second, Doherty recommends going to bed together, even if you're not going to have sex or if one of you isn't ready to go to sleep.

"Going to bed together creates the opportunity for physical contact, as well as emotional contact," he said.

Kathi and Greg should start kissing goodnight, he suggested, even if they have to make a pact that it need not lead to more. 

"Wouldn't it be nice to kiss each other goodnight and say 'I love you' at the end of the day?" he said.

Finally, Doherty suggested the couples set 15 minutes aside every night to talk without the kids around."If you have 15 minutes a day of friendship, conversation in which you're not talking about the bills and you're not talking about the kids' schedules, but just visiting with each other like a good friend, that would sustain a lot of marriages."

Two Weeks Later

Did his advice make a difference? After heeding Doherty's advice for two weeks, the couples checked back in with 20/20.

Kathi and Greg were firm that the kids leave them alone every night for 15 minutes. They even used a timer. At first, they said, their conversation was awkward. But gradually, it got easier.

Joe and Mare changed their lives too, getting firmer with the kids. Instead of asking the kids if they could go out, they told them what they were doing. They now have a date once a week, and are finding time to work on their music again.

Also, the kids are sleeping in their own beds.

"It's a good thing, it's a real good thing," said Joe.

Angel

Anything Goes Blog Hop

Wow, it's almost June.

I always think of weddings when June gets close.

Not sure why, since I was married in August.  

Everybody seems to always want to be a June Bride.

So I decided to start the hop off today with showing

you some of my Dream Wedding Dresses.

A girl can dream, right?

(all dresses compliments of Pinterest)

Angel

On to the hop
Pour yourself a cup of coffee and start hopping.
I've already got mine and I'm ready to party!

RULES:  only a couple

Please follow Sew Crafty Angel 

Please visit other bloggers and make some new friends

You can link up as many links as you want

(family friendly only)