{$50 Target Giveaway}

Who wants to win $50 to Target?

Who doesn't, right? :)

I'm teaming up with Kelley from The Grant Life and her other lovely sponsors to give one lucky gal or guy a $50 Target giftcard!

Enter to win via the Rafflecopter widget below!

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{that thing called hope}

I've always been a fairly optimistic person. 

I try to see the good in others and in all situations. Emphasis on try. ;)

I believe that God has a plan for my life and every day I do my best to stay on the track that He wants me to be on. 

I don't know if it is a by-product of how my parents raised me, or just my DNA, but I tend to have a lot of hope about life in general. Even when things look bleak and aren't working out the way I want them to, I have hope that the right thing will come along when I most need it. When my family most needs it. When my friends most need it. 

Sometimes I think about hope, and feel silly or naive about the whole concept. 

Do good things, and good will come back to you. Does that always happen?

Well, honestly, not always. Sometimes we do our best and we still get crap dumped on us. That's life. But I think we have to see the beauty amongst the crap. OK...that's a horrible illustration. 

How about we have to see the shining light in the darkness...even if it is just a small flicker in what seems like an enormous black hole. 

It IS there. 

Sometimes we just have to work REALLY hard to find it. And I think all of that extra work is God's way of refining us...getting us ready for what's to come...making us a better version of ourselves.

If anything so far in my life has taught me that, it has been my journey so far as a mother. I didn't even realize how much refining I needed until those two boys came into the world. You would think there would be nothing left of me after all of the shaping, chiseling and polishing God has done to little old me. And I do have to admit that I lost hope for a few weeks right after they were born. But I'm SO thankful it came back.  

To quote one of my favorite movies...

"Hope is a good thing. Maybe the best of good things. 

And no good thing ever dies."

-The Shawshank Redemption

Two things happened over the past few weeks that got me thinking a lot about hope, and the blind faith I tend to carry in my heart. One was hope for a better financial situation for our family. An opportunity came up that ended up not working out, and to be honest, I did get frustrated. I cried a bit. But then I thought about it a bit more and was reminded that we are doing OK. Yes, the money would have been very helpful. But we're doing OK. The right think WILL come along. 

"Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer."

-Romans 12:12

I also took quite a big step a few weeks ago to heal a personal relationship. It was quite a scary leap...taken after much prayer and difficult contemplation and talks with God. Much to my surprise some baby steps have been taken toward healing, and for that I'm grateful. I believe I was rewarded for that crazy, scary leap I took. 

And I have hope. 

"For in this hope we are saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. 

For who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, 

we wait for it with patience."

-Romans 8:24-25

If you can stand one more quote about hope, I have a free printable to share with you today. I love this quote from Emily Dickinson, and I am obsessed with feathers, so it makes me happy...and I hope you will find it an encouraging reminder...

*Click on the image to download*

So tell me, what gives you hope friends? What do you lean on when things get tough. Le's encourage each other!

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{InstaThis Giveaway}

Today's giveaway is such a perfect fit for me because...

1. I love pictures.
2. I'm ADDICTED to Instagram.

Oh, and I guess there is a 3rd thing...

3. I love decorating my home with meaningful photos.

So when InstaThis offered to send me a 10x10 wood print AND give one away to my lovely readers, I was ALL IN.

Have you heard of InstaThis? They print your Instagram photos on either wood or acrylic. So fun, right?

You can connect to your Instagram account directly on their website, choose your favorite photo(s), the size and material you want, and order your beautiful artwork. They can print from 6x6 inches up to 12x12 inches so there are so many possibilities.

For my print, I chose one of my favorite photos of the boys and they printed it on a 10x10 wood plaque...

It is the perfect addition to the little gallery wall we have going in on the family room...

And I love how easy this thing was to hang. Each wooden piece comes with this super easy track system and a specially made screw that slides right into the notch on the back...

As someone who is lazy about hanging things correctly, this is like a dream come true.

So do you wanna win one of your very own? Enter via the Rafflecopter widget below!

Good luck friends!


a Rafflecopter giveaway

{giveaway opportunity}

If you're looking to grow your blog or social media following, I'd like to share a great opportunity with you that I'm going to be participating in. A Kindle Fire giveaway! And it is free to participate. FREE! Pretty awesome, right? :)

Isabelle from Le Chateau des Fleurs recently released a new Android app called Smartphone DNA, and to promote it she is giving away a Kindle Fire HD-which she is sponsoring entirely.  The giveaway will be hosted by My So-Called Chaos, but what we need are other bloggers to share the giveaway on their blogs in order to spread the word! In return, you'll get two of your links in the Rafflecopter to get extra promotion for you in return for posting.  This is entirely free, there is NO buy in, we just need two posts from you.

1. Post this announcement on your blog (code will be given after you request to join) to ensure your readers/followers have the opportunity to be a part of this giveaway too! 
2. Post the actual giveaway (full Rafflecopter and all! People will be able to enter directly from your blog!) 

If you are interested in participating in this FREE promotional opportunity, please email Miss Angie and once accepted into the giveaway you will be given all the information you need for your posts.

Giveaway is set to run from 4/10/13 to 4/30/13.

All requests to join required by 4/5/13!

{playing dress up: L&B edition}

Today is the boys' turn in the fashion spotlight!

My fun friend Chelsea is hosting a Trendy Little link-up over on her blog, so of course I am super excited to participate. Dressing up boys can be a lot more fun than you think!

This is what the L&B wore on a recent trip to IKEA...one of our favorite places to take them shopping. They always end up on a treasure hunt when we're there. And of course for us adults it is like a treasure hunt too!

Ben's wearing: Target sweater & jeans // thrifted Converse

Landon's wearing: JC Penney sweater // Target jeans & boots

This is my absolute favorite sweater the boys have right now...the aztec print is so adorable. And Ben's little striped elbow patches...too.much.cuteness! Such trendy boys!

They are already killing me with their modeling skills...I haven't even worked up to using props yet! ;)

Linking up with...

{today}

Oh, how I needed today.

Waking up late, without the sound of an alarm, to stare at this cute neck while we watched Casper...

After the movie, Landon asked me if he could have a vitamin, AND THEN brush his teeth.

Um...YES son, that would be just fine! Seriously? That doesn't happen every day folks. 

The boys' Gigi took them out on the town while Dan and I enjoyed some time to get things done around the house and enjoy a lunch out together...a rare treat for all of us! 

And spontaneous shopping trip with her to TJ Maxx where we both found rings that just HAD to come home with us...

I got home just in time to snuggle with my Benny after the boys' nap...

And this is my new chalkboard message in the entryway...

Amen.

It was a good day. 

{instagram friday}

This photo kind of sums up how I've felt this past week...

All I've wanted is comfort...comfort food {in this case a big cup of Tim Horton's chili and a large fountain coke}...comfy clothes...and time spent at home with my boys. 

I just want to be surrounded by all things comforting. 

Work has been super busy, the blog has been keeping me on my toes, the boys are as crazy as ever {in mostly good ways}. 

Everyday life...it can just be too much sometimes. Don't get me wrong...I love our life, but sometimes I can let it get just a bit too full. This past weekend I really had to slow down and take a break from the computer, my phone, and just be me with my family...

I got to snuggle with the boys...

Take a fun trip to the library and other shops around town...

And do some much needed creating on Sunday putting together my February Insta-Life album...

And then moments like these during a busy work week can really melt the stress away...

Ben said, "I look gorgeous!" Why yes, yes you do sweet boy. :)

Watching my parents read a book with them was also one of those "stop and take it all in" moments...

I'm so thankful that the boys are growing up with their grandparents so close by.

And then I threw in just a shameless seflie...no Instagram is complete without one...

I came home for lunch Wednesday and the boys had made a "racetrack" through basically the entire house with their books...

I love watching their imaginations at work. Even if it does mean putting away a gazillion books. 

And they are really filling up their read-a-thon chart for school...one "x" = 5 minutes of reading!

You can tell when we went to the library because they have full rows after that. Those boys love reading and that makes me very happy!

With a life that seems to be going a mile a minute, and isn't going to slow down anytime soon, I'm so thankful for all of these everyday life moments that make it all worthwhile. 

What did your week look like? 

{Made from Scratch with Aunt Jemima}

If you are anything like me, you love breakfast but on busy mornings don't have much time to prepare something...especially something your little ones will want to eat. On the weekend my hubby usually spoils us with homemade brunch, but during the week we typically go for easier breakfasts like cereal or quick fix options.

One great way to have a made from scratch breakfast without making a mess in the kitchen is to fix some yummy french toast or pancakes from Aunt Jemima. Aunt Jemima puts love and care into every breakfast item they make...and they make every batch just like we do at home, just on a much bigger griddle.

"Every batch made from scratch" is their tagline...and they really do make every product with milk, eggs and and sugar like we do at home.

On my last trip to the grocery, I picked up their french toast and blueberry pancakes...

I'm a huge fan of french toast, so that was the first one I tried. And I have to admit, it tasted just like my homemade french toast, but instead of dirtying up a bunch of dishes and a pan, I simply popped two pieces into my toaster, added some maple syrup, and dug in!

Everything about this french toast felt and tasted like home-made...enough so that I'm tempted to never make mine again! Seriously...I'm not much of a cook to begin with so anything that is this delicious and  easy to prepare and clean up is a no brainer in my book.

Aunt Jemima also has a new product...Lil' Griddles....bite-sized versions of their original items. You can get them in three varieties...pancakes, blueberry pancakes, and cinnamon french toast sticks. Personally I think I need to grab some of those cinnamon french toast sticks...yum!

What is your favorite breakfast food? What Aunt Jemima product sounds the yummiest to you?

Thank you to Aunt Jemima Frozen Breakfast for being a sponsor. I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls Collective. All opinions expressed here are my own.

{February Insta-Life Album}

OK, so this is my new favorite crafty thing, friends.

I put together my February Insta-Life album on Sunday and it was so much fun. You can see last month's by clicking the photo below...

My basic formula for these albums so far has been:

6x6 paper +
4x4 insta photo {I print mine through the Printicular app} +
washi tape +
Tag or sticker for journaling +
optional extra embellishments

They come together super quick. This album is 20 pages and took me only a few hours to put together.

Here is a peek inside my February album!

These little books satisfy my scrapbooking urge, and are also really great therapy for me. Something about flipping through the pretty papers, picking out matching tape, tags & stickers, and putting everything together that relaxes my mind and brings joy to my heart.

Do you scrapbook your instagram photos? I'd love to see how you document them!

Linking up with...