I know some basic html and with the help of some website designing programs, I designed our first couple of web pages by myself. However, graphics aren’t really my specialty, and I’ve since found that web design is well worth the cost of services rendered.
I’ve paid for design work on several of our blogs and websites, and it has been SO worth it in the long run. The final result is so polished, pulled together, and just has a different feel than the blocky, side by side graphic arrangements that I can manage. With websites incorporating far more css and php these days, a designer is even more important because I know almost nothing about scripting.
Whether personally blogging or putting together a business website, I can attest that professional web design services are worth it!
The last trip we made to the city we took our new/used vehicle – a mini-van! We arranged to trade labor in the value of $1000 to purchase a blue caravan with 300,000 km on it. That’s just when we like to get our vehicles, when they’re good and broke in .
Our truck has close to 600,000 km on it now, and needs some work done in a few areas, but we don’t really need to haul it around with the livestock hauling box on the back when we’re running errands and taking the children to the dentist.
The children are SO excited, and loved helping to vacuum and wipe down the inside of the van before we took her out for her first trip to the city.
I think we’ll call her “Madame Blueberry”, but nothing’s official yet .
This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of Boudreaux’s Butt Paste. All opinions are 100% mine.
When our first daughter was born we went through a LOT of different diapering ointments. One that wasn’t available at that time was Boudreaux’s Butt Paste, formulated by a pharmacist with the direction of a pediatrician to help out with effective diaper rash care.
Diaper rash, I know we’ve all battled it at one time or another. One of the main ingredients in Boudreaux’s is zinc oxide, around 16%. If you’re familiar with mineral makeup at all, zinc oxide is one of the compounds responsible for the protective, nourishing properties of minerals for the skin, and it works this way on baby bums too. Zinc oxide is a soothing, anti-inflammatory, and definitely worth giving a try. There are other ingredients as well, like peruvian balsam. Apparently it smells good, cleans up easily (have you ever had zinc preparations that are terrible to wipe off of babies bum at changes?), comes in many sizes, has been featured all over national television, and is easy to find nation-wide.
Whew. Worth giving a try? You can get your free sample of Butt Paste by sending them a 6″ x 9″ SASE (around $1.69), so you can try it for yourself on any rashy baby bottoms you have handy before investing in a full size.
It’s been awhile since I’ve made a Bible reading update, and I’m sorry to say that with all this lack of mental clarity (hmm, but what came first, lack of Bible reading or lack of mental clarity?) my daily readings have really suffered. I’m sort of hung up in the return to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple, I’m about to head into Daniel’s last vision, and on from there into the ‘restoration’ period.
But, oh, it has been slow going. I still hope to get all the way through before October of this year (which will mean I’ve read through in one year), but in order to do that I’ll definitely need more focus (please, God!)
This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of PBM Products. All opinions are 100% mine.
If you are at all like our family, economizing is a way of life! We live on the equivalent of a single-income, so we are definitely frugal when it comes to shopping. I recently came across an article on the 10 Products to Always Buy Generic. I definitely don’t have a problem with buying generic brands, but sometimes they really don’t compare to brand name.
If you’re looking for some easy-peasy areas where you can’t go wrong for the price difference, check out the article I linked to above. From personal experience I can definitely say that cereal is one area where you can realize HUGE savings without compromising value. One area I can’t really speak to personally is buying store brand formula, because all of our children have been exclusively breastfed.
However, there are definitely moms who find they need to supplement or due to health issues and concerns need to feed formula exclusively, and this is an area where they can save a lot of money without compromising quality or their little one’s health. Formula is one of the highest costs for newborns that are using it, so it definitely pays to check out your options.
Yesterday I had the official ‘heads-up’ from my body that I need to be more diligent in taking my supplements. I’ve been struggling with mental clarity for the past month or two, and yesterday I was so foggy that I felt I was almost starting to slip into depression.
Uh-Oh! Off I went to the cupboard to take some iodine ASAP! I have been taking it, but not very often, maybe only 1 – 2 x/week, so I really, really need to make sure I get it in every day, and the co-factors as well, like selenium and zinc. So I’ve got my little pill dispenser loaded up with ‘just the basics’ (which is like 7-8 supplements and not even everything I SHOULD be taking most likely) and hopefully that will help with the entire process!
For history, I’ve struggled with PPD in the past, and have had some bipolar struggles as a teen, so this entire feeling is unfortunately, nothing new. I’m praying that I can avoid symptoms this time around though! I’d appreciate your prayers as well .
Anne Elisabeth Stengl makes her home in Raleigh, North Carolina, where she enjoys her profession as an art teacher, giving private lessons from her personal studio, and teaching group classes at the Apex Learning Center. She studied illustration at Grace College and English literature at Campbell University. Heartless is her debut novel.
ABOUT THE BOOK
Princess Una of Parumvir has come of age and will soon be married. She dreams of a handsome and charming prince, but when the first suitor arrives, she finds him stodgy and boring. Prince Aethelbald from the mysterious land of Farthestshore has traveled far to prove his love–and also to bring hushed warnings of danger. A dragon is rumored to be approaching Parumvir.
Una, smitten instead with a more dashing prince, refuses Aethelbald’s offer–and ignores his warnings. Soon the Dragon King himself is in Parumvir, and Una, in giving her heart away unwisely, finds herself in grave danger. When Una makes the wrong choice, catastrophe ensues for the princess and her family, and love, courage, and trust are needed when darkness engulfs the kingdom.
Only those courageous enough to risk everything have a hope of fighting off this advancing evil.
There are some delightful things and scenes: the Twelve-Year Market that appears in its own good time and sells fairy goods; a clever blind cat who is invariably underfoot and has, of course, a secret!
If you would like to read the first chapter of Heartless, go HERE.
MY THOUGHTS: Wow. Great read. If you know me and my family, you’ll likely know that I’m NOT a big fan of faery elements in fiction, but somehow…in this wonderful, absolutely marvelous allegory, Jesus as a fairy prince works. Now, there isn’t any magic of the spell-waving type, just an other-worldliness. This is one of the BEST fantasy allegories of salvation that I’ve ever read. Marvelous.
Though I’ve read many of Jane Austen’s novels, and several works of historical fiction based around her life, Jane Austen by Peter Leithart, part of Thomas Nelson’s Christian Encounters series of short biographies is the first formal biography I’ve read of Austen’s life.
Jane Austen was a so-so read for me. It did touch upon Austen’s rather subdued, formalized Anglican faith, and the outward demonstrations of it in her good works, but the author’s main thrust was rather to present his portrait of Jane, which he feels is a correction from the idealized one generally presented. In that, he succeeds. However, in some way I found his work unsatisfying. It is certainly competently written, but it aroused no great interest or passion in me, and left me feeling rather neutral.
Leithart also very rapidly introduces Jane’s extensive family connections in the book’s first chapter, and it is difficult to keep up with all of the names and family ties. Because of my previous familiarity with Austen’s life through historical fiction, some of these ties were already established in my mind, which certainly helped, but even so, it was too much, too soon.
In conclusion, I can’t particularly recommend Jane Austen, but neither can I recommend readers avoid it. In the end I don’t have much of a stand to take on this brief (153 pages) biography, but if you are looking for a short introduction to one of the world’s most beloved novelists, you may want to consider this title as an option.
It is time for a FIRST Wild Card Tour book review! If you wish to join the FIRST blog alliance, just click the button. We are a group of reviewers who tour Christian books. A Wild Card post includes a brief bio of the author and a full chapter from each book toured. The reason it is called a FIRST Wild Card Tour is that you never know if the book will be fiction, non~fiction, for young, or for old…or for somewhere in between! Enjoy your free peek into the book!
MY THOUGHTS: Another fun read for children, but its more than that. This is a great reminder for believers young and small to abide in Jesus, to live in the vine, and not to strive to produce fruit under our own power. I cried while reading it aloud. My children really enjoyed it too, and it provided plenty of room for discussion on deeper spiritual truths, though I’m sure a lot of young ones will only be able to pick up the surface level story. This is one to grow with.
You never know when I might play a wild card on you!
***Special thanks to Pam Mettler of Zondervan for sending me a review copy.***
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Andrew is the creator, writer, and illustrator of the Lost Sheep series. Way back in 1989 as a young Bible college student, Andrew was asked to give the dreaded “children’s talk” at a large church. Andrew possessed one talent: he could draw sheep. He bought some overheard projector sheets and drew up the story of Cecil and the Lost Sheep. The congregation loved it, so Andrew continued to draw stories to use with kids and adults. Other student, pastors, and teachers started borrowing the stories.
My Thoughts: I was raised LDS, and there’s so much Mormon history that just isn’t related to the members of that organization (I’m no longer a Mormon – I’m born again!) Ahem, in any case, this is a difficult book to read, not only for those with an LDS background but really, for ANY woman. It deals with difficult themes in realistic ways, and isn’t afraid to probe into true emotional pain. That being said, it’s an important read. It presents Mormon history and doctrine accurately while dealing compassionately with those swept away by Mormonism’s charismatic leader Joseph Smith. I’m looking forward to the rest of the series. ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Diane Noble is a former double finalist for the prestigious RITA Award for Best Inspirational Fiction, a finalist for the Romantic Times Career Achievement Award and the Reviewers’ Choice Award, and a three-time recipient of the Silver Angel Award for Media Excellence.
With more than a quarter million books in print, Diane feels incredibly blessed to be doing what she loves best—writing the stories of her heart.
For the last three years Diane has been honored to be lead author for the popular Guideposts series, Mystery and the Minister’s Wife (Through the Fire, Angels Undercover), and has recently returned to writing historical fiction. She is currently writing book two of her new historical series, The Brides of Gabriel. Book one is The Sister Wife.
Diane’s hometown is Big Creek, California, a tiny village nestled in the rugged Sierra Nevada back country. As a child, Diane’s older brother Dennis fueled her creative streak by entertaining her with his own gift of storytelling. Growing up without TV and iffy radio reception, Diane became an avid reader, inhaling more than one hundred novels—both YA and adult—in a single
year by the time she reached seventh grade. Her passion for reading continues to this day.
Now empty nesters, Diane and her husband live in the Southern California low desert, near a place known for the lush and beautiful gated communities of the rich and famous. ABOUT THE BOOK
What if the man you loved told you God wanted him to take another wife? What if that woman was your best friend?
Set in the heart of the earliest days of a new nineteenth-century sect known as the Saints, The Sister Wife is a riveting account of two women forced into a practice they don’t understand, bound by their devotion to Prophet Joseph Smith.
When Mary Rose marries Gabriel, neither of them could foresee how quickly the community would turn to the practice of plural marriage. Devastated when Gabe is faced with an order from the Prophet to marry her best friend, Bronwyn, Mary Rose tries to have the faith to carry through with the marriage.
But can she really be married to the same man as her very best friend? Can Mary Rose and Bronwyn face betraying both their husband and their God to do what they feel is right?
If you would like to read the Prologue and first chapter of The Sister Wife, go HERE.
Watch the book video!
Via RSS feed.
.
.
