My first bloggy giveaway!

UPDATE: The giveaway ends on Friday, August 1st!!!

This is my first attempt to try to do a giveaway on my blog! I am learning as I go, so please bear with me! I am giving away this piece of jewelry! This is the Shades of Bali two strand necklace made with genuine shell. It retails for $32.

In order to enter for my giveaway, all you have to do is post a comment to this post. Be sure I have your e-mail address too.

To see a little more about Cookie Lee jewelry, visit the site http://www.cookielee.com/home.aspx

I am planning to post some photos of the jewelry I have for sale in the near future. If you are connected to me on Multiply or Facebook, I already have some photos and prices posted there. Stay tuned for more!

My new business--Cookie Lee Jewelry

This is my new business adventure! Cookie Lee jewelry. Fine fashion jewelry at affordable prices. My neighbor Hannah is joining my team and these photos are from her launch party last week. We are having a blast with this business!

Happy 1st bithday Ronnie!

Ronnie had his first birthday in June. We had a little party at our house. His friends Blaise and Asa came with their mommies. Ronnie got some toys, books, clothes, and money. He had a good time with his friends, enjoyed tearing up his cupcake, and playing with the balloons!

Devotional for today

What's a Parent to Do?

Come, you children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the Lord. Psalm 34:11

Recommended ReadingProverbs 2:1-5

The next time you're in a bookstore, check out the section on "Parenting"—and see how many shelves of books there are. Or, for a better perspective, check the "Parenting" section at Amazon.com and note the nearly 32,000 titles that are listed. If a confused parent went looking for help on raising children, the chances are he might come away from these sources even more confused. What's a parent to do?

It might be best to consult the "manufacturer" when it comes to seeking advice on the "product." God is the creator of children (Psalm 139:14-16) and has filled the Bible with precepts and examples on how to guide them to maturity—maturity meaning adults who choose to love God through His Son, Jesus Christ. Children need "training and admonition" (Ephesians 6:4), and directions for both are found in Scripture. Indirectly, the path to maturity must go through a home where God is part of everyday life—an unforced relationship of willing choice and fruitful benefit. And parents are responsible for creating such a home.

Great children are raised by great parents who serve a great God with great expectations for the outcome.

What greater work is there than training the mind and forming the habits of the young?
~St. John Chrysostom

The garden is ready for planting!

This is our first time putting in a garden. We have been working hard and really enjoying it. In our quest to live a more simple life, it just makes sense for us to grow some of our own food. We hope to get everything planted today!

A mother's prayers

A Mother's Prayers

She continued praying before the Lord . . . . Her lips moved, but her voice was not heard.1 Samuel 1:12-13

Recommended Reading1 Samuel 1:8-18

Someone once said, "It's not easy being a mother. If it were easy, fathers would do it!"

That's especially true for mothers torn between work and home. Former Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir put it this way: "At work, you think of the children you have left at home. At home, you think of the work you've left unfinished. Such a struggle is unleashed within yourself. Your heart is rent."

But Christian mothers have a secret weapon—prayer; and the "patron saint" of praying mothers is the biblical hero named Hannah. In half of all the verses about her in 1 Samuel, she is praying; and her prayers produced one of the greatest heroes of the Bible, her son Samuel.

You can pray for your children when you're at work. You can pray for them when they're at school. Your prayers can pursue them to college, to Iraq or Afghanistan, or to the far corners of the world. Your prayers can mold, shape, protect, recover, and enrich them. And in praying, you can trust the Lord with their welfare and remain hopeful for their success.

In an age of "Hannah Montana," it's time to rediscover the original Hannah and to emulate her example.

Praying Samuels come from praying Hannahs. . . . Praying leaders come from praying homes.E. M. Bounds

More honeybees!!

There is a Civil War battlefield just a few miles from our house, and it has a greenway connected to it for walking and riding bikes. We took a walk there today and we saw this huge clover patch in the tall grass. There were honeybees all over it! I was so excited to see all the bees, so I decided to take some photos.