a new goal:

Apparently, the month of June is national blogging month. Who knew? Well, some of the blogs I follow are blogging on the same topic as other bloggers each day for the entire month. I’m going to try and blog daily this month also, following the same topics as they are but with a spiritual twist. I do hope you’ll join me for the fun!

I am 3 days behind, so I’ll try to post today’s topic along with the other 2 today and post  one per day moving forward. Wish me luck!

My first blog-award: The Stiletto Award

Ok, so i’m new to blogging. I don’t get many comments, and almost every single email that this site generates is either full of hate or spam. So to have been given a little award for blogging has totally made my day! Its also going to give me the opportunity to let ya’ll know who’s blogs I really enjoy reading on a daily basis so you can start to follow them too.

I have a short list of blogs I read every single day. If they haven’t blogged that day, i’ll check back more than once. I love these blogs and I love reading what they have to say.

What is a Stiletto Award???

There are thousands of blogs, and there are hundreds of awards. The Stiletto Award is a little different than most!

The Stiletto Award Is For Excellence in Blogging!

I want to salute the women who balance life, family & relationships with style & class! Those women who share their experiences with us…who encourage us, inspire us, teach us, make us laugh and basically keep us going! You know who they are! While you read this blog, your family is looking at you wondering what the heck you are laughing about so hard…or why the tissue is necessary for internet browsing. It’s the one that the kids are excited about cuz a new post means a new craft project or family outing. The one that inspires you to be a better mom, friend, person in general. The one that reminds you that we are all “in this life together” and you’re not the only one going through the hard stuff. The one that you secretly wish your blog was like…

If you’ve received this award, someone out there thinks you deserve it! Be proud! Display the badge with honor! You earned it…after all it means that you brought something special to at least one other person, and really, isn’t that what life’s all about????

THE RULES!

This blog is meant to be shared, to be given out, to be bestowed upon any and ALL women who exemplify what the stiletto represents. If you’ve received this award, here’s what you do:

1. Display your Stiletto Badge of Honor on your sidebar! Wear it with pride!

2. BRAG ABOUT IT
3. SAY THANKS
4. SHARE THE LOVE
5. DO WHAT YOU DO…keep at it. Keep inspiring and encouraging and sharing your life! We love it and we thank you!!!

So, to pass it on i’d like to award the following blogs a Stiletto Award.

Ebbe at Ebenezer Jones – Always honest. Always uplifting. Always a great read!

Amanda at MandaJuice – Wife, Mom, Financial Planner. With a blog named after her breast milk, you can expect the funny parenting stories and way to cute photos. She also write about gun rights, politics, and real life issues. Amanda also lists recipes from time to time (i totally recommend trying the cauliflower!) and writes about her RNY weight-loss journey too.

Margi at Between Loads of Laundry & Kelly at You Make me Live. Margi and Kelly are both new internet friends of mine. Margi found me from a link I left at a blog we both read, and I found Kelly from a link that Pastor Ryan posted about her pregnancy. I love both of their blogs, and have quite a bit in common with both of them. Great reads, and i check back so often that they probably both think i’m a stalker… LOL

please join me for another year of chasing conviction!

My domain ownership (rental?) for this site expires tomorrow.

I wasn’t going to renew it (it isn’t free…) but after much thought I decided to renew. This blog is a great tool for me. Its a way to hear from others, and its also a way for me to speak to others. It just seemed like the right thing to do.

So, please join me for one more year. I’ll be here untill January 2, 2011.

Recipe for an awesome day:

In one of the blogs I read, jesslovesjesus, I have noticed a pattern when Jess has good days – it always starts out with Prayer Time while she is alone in her prayer closet sipping coffee. I decided that I would try this today, and see how it went… it was AWESOME. Sam spent the night at my mom’s house last night (because I was there until 3am getting my etsy site up and running) and Casey had to work this morning. When Casey and I woke up this morning we had about an hour of time together. During the week he gets up and leaves at 4:30am to go to his full time job, and then works until 11pm or so at his part time job. So, we don’t get much time together during the week. We try to make Thursday’s family days where Sam and I spend all day together doing things together, and all night the three of us hang out. This week Casey was asked to work Thursday night so we missed out on our family time. After our time together this morning, Casey gave me the grocery money for the week (because… we replaced the stove we lost in the fire and we can actually cook now!) with an additional ten dollars for myself. I got dressed and prayed about today – my alone time with Jesus. I excitedly got dressed and headed out to the store where I carefully choose my groceries and took my time shopping. This is the first time I went shopping alone in a long time. It makes a huge difference when you don’t have a toddler with you, even if they are very well behaved like Sam. I got all the groceries on my list and a few extras and spent EXACTLY what I had budgeted to spend, right down to the cent. Then I used my “me money” from Casey to get a new 2G Micro SD Card for my camera, a sugar free decaf iced coffee from McDonalds and a Sunday paper. The man who sold me the paper also gave me a $5 gift card to Wal-Mart because of a special the Houston Chronicle was running today. We try not to shop at Wal-Mart very often (because I feel like they are killing the small businesses of America) but, of course, I welcomed the gift card.

So now I am home, and I am about to start cooking my first “real” meal on my new stove. Casey and I LOVE to cook, and our ONLY arguments are over who gets to cook each week (seriously!). I choose to make my favorite dish today, homemade spaghetti, and to share my secret recipe with you today.

Here’s the veggies we are gonna start with, along with 3 pounds of ground beef. If you are a vegetarian, like I used to be, then you can skip the beef. It will be tasty either way.

I’ll be back later with the recipe and photos of the steps I take to make it. See ya then.

Samuel. (not my Sam, but a Sam none-the-less)

I have been reading this blog for a few months now, and every time I read it I can’t help but cry. Literally. It’s gotten to the point where I purposely only read it every few weeks when I am able to stop what I am doing and just cry for about 15 minutes. Otherwise, I’d never get anything done.

These are happy tears, mind you.

This blog is about a couple that prayed for years about having their own children, and they were led to adopt from Russia. They blog about the adoption process, and everything it has taken to get them as far as they have gotten thus far. They are getting two boys, Samuel and Rowan.

As I already mentioned I cry every time I read this blog, but today when I saw the photos they posted when they got to meet their boys for the first time in a Russian orphanage I cried harder than I had cried before. They are so precious, as are all children, its just uplifting and awesome to see.

Their story is amazing. I want so badly to send them something, so I think I will. I’m debating about what it will be though. A book, a toy, a stuffed animal, money to help with their expenses?

Bottom line, keep this family in your prayers…. They are going through a lot right now. Apparently, after you meet your children you have to leave them there (in Russia!) for a 10 day waiting period while the Russian courts decide if you will be allowed to take them home. Then fly back out there and get them. This, understandably, is scary for any parent…. I’m tearing up again!

Postsecret -

For our first valentine’s day Casey bought me one of the Postsecret books, and I have been in love with the series ever since. Postsecret is where people from all over the world artistically create a postcard and write one of their most personal secrets on it before mailing it in anonymously.  I only actually own one of the books, but have read all of the others. One day I hope to own them all, though. Their newest book, expected to come out later this year, is titled Confessions on Life, Death & God. While looking at some of their preview images today I saw this and thought it was too good not to share. When I was about to give up, and gave one last ounce of effort God spoke to me.

James 1:27

Religion that God the Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.”

Wow. I still have tears on my face.

This morning while catching up on my blog reading I came across a link to a new blog on one of my favorites. This couple, Steve & Liz, wanted a child. They had tried for years. They had had hands laid upon their heads. They read the stories of Hannah and such in the bible. They prayed. They weren’t pregnant.

Click here to watch a short video about their struggles.

They have just received news that they will be adopting two boys whom they will name Samuel (I can only assume it’s because of Hannah’s story, but I am not sure. My son’s name is Samuel and that just makes this story that much more closer to my heart.) and Rowan. These boys are brothers, sharing the same mother but different fathers, and they are currently in Russia.

I have never met these people before. I don’t know anything more about them than what I have posted here. With that being said I am sooooooooooooooooo incredibly happy for them that I wanted to share their good news with you!

Here is a link to their blog where you can read their story and see pictures of their new children!

http://www.bringingsamuelhome.blogspot.com/

Collections/Addictions

I came across this post from Pastor Ryan at www.ThisIsReverb.com this morning. I related to alot to what he had to say in this particular post, so I thought I would share it with you.

http://www.thisisreverb.com/2009/02/a-need-to-collect.html

Let me know if you also relate, and what you think!

on tattoos:

I have 3 tattoos and 12 body peircings so I found this particular blog to be intresting.

This was posted at www.thisisreverb.com by Pastor Ryan. I LOVE his blog. I read it daily.

Check it out, and tell me what you think and where you stand on the subject of tattoos and peircings…

http://www.thisisreverb.com/2009/01/on-tattoos.html