Kid Creations

Emahry's Giraffe

Jonathan's ... well, you're guess is as good as mine.

But he sure was proud of it.
Emahry's person or potato person as I like to call them.

Kid creations are definitely Finer Things.

What have your kids been creating recently?

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CSN Stores Review ~ Commercial Chrome Drying Rack

Every time I visit the CSN Stores website I find new products that interest me. There are over 200 individual stores that carry anything from tableware to electronics. You could easily shop for everyone on your Christmas list from this one site.

When we were offered the chance to review an item from CSN Stores it took quite a while to decide on what we wanted. We finally chose to replace one of our very worn clothes drying racks.

I like our cloth diapers to stay as stain free as possible and last as long as they can, so we normally skip the dryer and use the sun's bleaching power to keep the diapers looking nice. However, where we live we cannot have a clothes line. Instead we use a foldable clothes drying rack. Our old one was made of wood that had begun to chip and snag our diapers on occasion.

When I saw a Commercial Chrome Accordion Drying Rack I knew it would be the perfect replacement for our drying rack. I easily ordered the size I thought would be best and waited for it to arrive. When I opened the box, I immediately realized that it was not the size I thought it was going to be, instead it was much smaller.

I emailed CSN Stores' customer service and received a response the same day. The customer service representative took the time to call the product manufacturer and discovered that the dimensions the manufacturer had given CSN Stores were incorrect. There was however, a larger size chrome drying rack that was a little more expensive. Our customer service representative ordered the larger Commercial Chrome Accordion Drying Rack and had it shipped to us at no additional charge!

We've been using the chrome drying rack for a few weeks now and LOVE it! This rack is 42" high, 14.5" deep and 29.4" long and is comparable in size to the wooden drying racks we already had. Also, like the wooden racks, this drying rack folds down to make it easy to store when not in use.

Unlike the wooden clothes drying rack that we had before this rack doesn't collapse on it's own every time I pick it up to carry it outside. We'll also not have to worry about paint chipping off or splinters snagging our cloth diapers or the delicate clothing that get dried on this rack. The rack also comes with a manufacturer's limited lifetime warranty. The overall structure is very stable and seems very well made. Needless to say our other clothes drying racks have not been taken out once since we received the new one.

If you're looking for an easy way to hang delicate items to dry this Commercial Chrome Accordion Drying Rack may be just the thing for you. Right now it has a listed sale price of $34.99.

Check out CSN Stores for more laundry solutions and for all of your household needs.

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Endless Gifts

Daily I'm surrounded by wonderful gifts from God, yet many times I choose to see the disappointments instead of the blessings.

Today I choose to be a cheerful recipient, a joy finder, a gift counter.

#201. We've had this precious little man with us for two years.

#202. Finally posting his full birth story.

#203. He now says, "I wuv you."

#204. He's a ball of energy all day long, but when he's tired or hurt he still wants to cuddle into my lap.

#205. That he has finally made it onto the curve on his weight chart.

#206. These eyes...the same as mine...connecting us somehow.

#207. Taking him to see a firetruck for his birthday.

#208. The way his face lit up when he saw the "woo-whoo."

#209. Jonathan's shyness melting away when the firefighter turned on the siren.

#210. How Emahry stuck her fingers in her ears because it was too loud, but he wanted it over and over again.

#211. A camera to capture these moments and help us remember. (Even if the autofocus doesn't focus on what we want it to.)

#212. Celebrating with Key Lime Pie in honor of Grand-daddy, who Jonathan is named after.

#213. Remembering that this little boy is a gift from God.

#214. Looking forward to helping him grow into a man of God.

What are you thankful for today?

Will Also be Contributed To: Gratituesday, intentional gratitude Works for Me!, Things I Love Thursday, Finer Things Friday

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Birth Story Bonanza

Do you like a good birth story? If so, then head over to my friend Kristin's blog. She's put up a linky for birth stories. While you're there, why not add your own birth story. I've linked up two of our three children's births. (The baby's birth story hasn't been posted yet.)

Enjoy reading!

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The Diaper Wagon Coupon Code

Check out The Diaper Wagon for all of your natural baby care needs. They offer FREE Shipping on ALL U.S. orders and Free Shipping to Canada on orders over $65.

Right now, through the end of October you can get 5% OFF of any order by using the coupon code "baby".

Have you ever ordered from The Diaper Wagon? Tell us about your experience.

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Announcing Our Green & Clean Blog Event

During the month of November we will be hosting a “Green & Clean” event right here on our blog.
Our family believes it is important to take care of the world around us by making environmentally friendly choices in how we live and what we purchase. We have been blessed with so many resources and should use them wisely to preserve the beautiful Earth we have been given. Our hope during this event is to raise awareness of companies that provide eco-friendly products.

Throughout November we will be featuring many of the natural products that we know and love. During this event we hope to post many reviews and giveaways for green and clean products for babies, children, and adults, as well as household goods.

Want to Promote your Products with a Review & Giveaway?
If you would like to be included in our reviews and giveaways please let us know. Companies that sponsor a review and giveaway will have a button link listed on our special “Green & Clean Blog Event” page for the entire months of October and November. On December 1, 2010 this page will be renamed “Green & Clean Gift Guide.” The sponsor companies will remain on this page for at least the entire month of December. If you choose to sponsor a giveaway along with our review your company will also be listed in our sidebar for the two week duration of your giveaway.

Review sponsors will receive publicity by having their products used by our family and then shared on our blog during this event. Giveaway sponsors will receive numerous visits from our readers as they browse through the sponsors’ website for additional entries into the giveaways. Readers will also be able to earn extra giveaway entries by joining mailing lists, following companies on Twitter, and sharing the giveaway link on Facebook or their own blogs.

We expect this blog event to be a great success and would love for you to join with us in promoting eco-friendly products and practices. We are very excited are already compiling the schedule for this event. If you would like more information about our blog please visit the About and Media Kit pages. The Media Kit contains our contact information.

Please, Help Spread the Word.
Please, consider helpingus spread the word about this event by telling your friends. We'd love if you'd share the following tweet on Twitter or place the following button on your blog. Remember we need your involvement in order to make this a success!

You can Tweet this: Green and Clean Blog Event @heart4home Promote your Products or Spread the Word http://tinyurl.com/green-clean-event PLEASE RT

Or grab our Green & Clean Event button







<center><a href="http://a-heart4home.blogspot.com" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://i443.photobucket.com/albums/qq160/aHeart4home/Blog/ScreenHunter_06Sep171149.jpg" /></a></center>Thanks for all of your help!

Endless Gifts

Daily I'm surrounded by wonderful gifts from God, yet many times I choose to see the disappointments instead of the blessings.

Today I choose to be a cheerful recipient, a joy finder, a gift counter.

#191. A visit from my brother and sister-in-law, who we only get to see a couple of times each year.

#192. The huge bag of freshly picked organic apples they brought us.

#193. Running out of small knives as we all crowded into the kitchen to slice apples.

#194. A crockpot filled to the brim with slowly simmering chunky applesauce.

#195. A lovely evening spent in the mountains playing in the creek.

#196. Tim grilling a delicious dinner.

#197. A sweet apple smelling house when we arrived home.

#198. Warm apple crisp with fresh whipped cream.

#199. Staying up late to visit.

#200. Kids who slept well all night.

Will Also be Contributed To: Gratituesday, intentional gratitude Works for Me!, Things I Love Thursday, Finer Things Friday

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Rumble! Zap! Pow! by Diane Stortz

This bright Bible storybook written by Diane Stortz and illustrated by Luke Daab portrays many of the adventurous stories of the Bible. These stories are meant to point readers to God’s mighty power.

This is a great read-a-loud book as the language is extremely action packed. The stories are also told in a comic book, or graphic novel layout which, I believe, allows the book to span a larger age level than many Bible storybooks.

Each story includes a “Mighty Thought," "Power Words," and an activity. The "Mighty Thought" is a simple statement that summarizes the Bible story. The Power Words section gives a short scripture that can be used as a memory verse. Each story also ends with an activity designed for active children.

I think this Bible storybook would be great for children who are not used to sitting still to read, for those to whom the stories from the Bible are new, or those who may believe the Bible is boring. I also think this would be a great Bible storybook for families whose children are several years apart. My sister-in-law has two sons, an active 3 year old and a 7 year old who reads well for his age. I'm planning on passing this book on to them because it's active enough for the 3 year old, but the comic book style and short stories make it appealling for the 7 year old to read as well.

This book was provided for review by Tyndale House Publishers. No other compensation was given. The opinion expressed are completely my own.

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Free Skillet Queso & Chips Appetizer at Chili's

Sign up for the Chili's Email Club and receive exclusive offers and print a coupon for a FREE order of Skillet Queso & Chips.

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Jonathan's Birth Story: Part 5 {The Final Installment}

Just joining in? Catch up by reading Part 1: What was I Thinking?, Part 2: Sorting Through Baby Clothes & Contractions, Part 3: Put the Petal to the Metal, and Part 4: I Can't Get Out.

We Interrupt This Tour to Bring You a Special Delivery

The nurse who had met us outside of the elevator continued to fill out paperwork as she directed Tim to push me into the triage room. At one point she asked how to spell my name, Tim said, "A-l-l-i-s-o-n," to which I retorted, "It's a "y", we've been married how long and you don't know how to spell my name?" I wasn't mad at all, I knew Tim was pretty stressed out by this point, but I think the nurse thought I was upset as she rewrote my name with the correct spelling :)

By this point they had moved me from the wheelchair onto the examination table and another nurse had entered to check my progress. As she put her gloves on I began feeling the urge to push and told her the baby was ready to come.

I'm not sure that she quite took me seriously, but one look told her I was right! She shouted to another nurse to grab a doctor. Within a few seconds a doctor who was giving a tour of the birth center entered the triage room, snapped on his gloves and moved to the foot of the table. Thankfully his tour participants didn't follow him in! The nurses also got a pair of gloves for Tim and I told the doctor that once the baby's head was out I wanted Tim to deliver the baby.

The doctor was a little surprised that I was still worried about who was catching the baby when I was obviously so far along, but Tim had caught Emahry and that was what I wanted for Jonathan as well.

While all this was going on the nurses were trying to figure out if they could move me to a delivery bed which could be broken down for delivery, but I told them there was no time and the examination table would be fine.

A few seconds later another contraction hit and I felt the urge to push. One push and Jonathan's head emerged. The doctor saw that the cord was around his neck and that the cord was too short to unwrap. He quickly clamped it and handed Tim scissors to cut the cord. Tim then moved into position to catch the baby.

My next contraction hit within a few seconds and with one final push Jonathan was born into his Daddy's arms at 3:54 PM, only 9 minutes after we had arrived in front of the hospital.


My first thought when I saw him and Tim gently handed him to me was that he was so tiny. We later found out that he was weighing in at only 4 pound 14 ounces. He was 18 1/5 inches long.

A few minutes later, we were wheeled into our room and our midwife arrived. Jonathan's breathing was a little fast, so the nurses began to monitor him. He also had some trouble keeping his body temperature up, no surprise since he has so little fat. He ended up needing an IV for fluids to help get his sugar levels up. He also had to be under a heating lamp for a few hours. Other than that, he was completely healthy, just very, very small.

After a few hours in the nursery, where either Tim or I was with him the entire time, he was brought back to our room to nurse and spend the night with us. His IV was removed around 3 AM and he was able to stay with us for the rest of our time in the hospital.

One thing that was amazing about having such a quick labor and delivering such a small baby was that I felt great. In fact, I was carrying and playing with Emahry a few hours after Jonathan's birth. I was even able to squat next to the toilet to hold Emahry on the potty when she came to visit the hospital later that evening!

Thankfully, like always, God knew exactly what I needed and how much I could handle. I'm so glad that Jonathan's birth was so "easy" (if easy can be used to describe labor) and that I recovered so quickly in order to be able to keep up with Emahry and our new beautiful baby boy!

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Getting Coupons for Things You Use

Since we try to eat as much organic food as our budget can handle it can be rather difficult to find coupons for food items that we actually buy.

The Thrifty Mama does a great job of finding coupons for healthy foods online. But since we are unable to print most intenet coupons this rarely does our family any good.

However, I finally took the advice of many couponers and emailed a couple companies whose products we frequently buy. That was about a week ago and today in our mailbox we found coupons from Earthbound Farm Organic and Organic Valley.

Earthbound Farm Organic

- 2 FREE items (up to $5.99 each)

- 3 $1 off any product

Plus in the literature they sent I found:

- 1 $0.75 off salad

- 1 $1 off any 2 products

Organic Valley

- 4 $1 off

Plus in the literature they sent I found:

- $1 off any 6 oz sliced or shredded cheese

- $1 off any 64 oz soy

- $1 off any 4-pack or 12-pack single serve milks

- $1 off any 6 oz stringles (string cheese)

- $1 off any omega-3 milk

- $1 off any 32 oz yogurt

- $1 off any 6 oz Organic Prairie Sliced Meat

Since my first batch of emails had such a wonderful outcome, I think I'll look for some other companies I can contact to tell how much I enjoy their products and ask for a few coupons.

Have you ever contacted a company and asked for coupons? If so, did they send them to you?

Visit Life as Mom for more Frugal Friday posts.

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Summer Clearance Steal

The kids and I found these swimming trunks on clearance for $7 and wanted to get them as a Christmas gift for Tim's younger brother who loves hunting, has a pool, and lives near the beach. So, when Tim ventured to Walmart this past weekend to pick up a few grocery items, I asked him to check the clearance section to see if the trunks were marked down any further.

Well, Tim found the last pair in a clearance rack that was marked as $5. However, when he went to pay for them the ended up being only 4 CENTS! (You read that right FOUR CENTS.) I have already informed Tim that he may need to start doing more of the shopping after a steal like this.

Have you found any great deals recently? Leave a comment and tell us about them.

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Jonathan's Birth Story: Part 4

Feeling lost? Catch up by reading Part 1: What was I Thinking?, Part 2: Sorting Through Baby Clothes & Contractions, and Part 3: Put the Petal to the Metal.

I Can't Get Out
At 3:45 PM, Tim pulled our van in front of the hospital's main doors. At precisely the same moment, Jonathan's head began to crown! Tim scrambled to get someone to bring a wheelchair and handed the keys over to the valet attendant.

Tim wheeled the chair to my door and told me to get in. I looked at the chair and said, "I can't get out of the van." Tim looked at me in amazement and told me matter of factly that we didn't come this far to have the baby in the parking lot. I looked back at him and said that if I stood up the baby would be born right there.

Somehow, Tim and one of the hospital worker were able to lift me into the wheelchair and Tim pushed me straight through the doors, flew by the receptionist and told her we were heading to the birthing center.

Tim careened the wheelchair into the elevator and hit the button for the fifth floor. To my utter amazement, he then preceded to hold the elevator door for an elderly man who was approaching. When the man entered the elevator, out of habit and good manners, Tim asked him what floor he needed. The man must have been shocked when he calmly said three and I shouted, "Not three, FIVE!"


Thankfully, Tim was rushed back to the emergency nature of our situation and did not press buttons for any additional floors. When we got to the fifth floor, a nurse met us outside of the birthing center, I guess the receptionist down stairs had alerted them that we were coming. She had a clipboard with paperwork and began asking Tim questions as she opened the door and he wheeled me inside.


Finish it up... We're Interrupting this Tour to Bring You a Special Delivery

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Jonathan's Birth Story: Part 3

Did you miss the beginning? Read Part 1: What was I Thinking? and Part 2: Sorting Through Baby Clothes & Contractions.

Put the Petal to the Metal

When Tim walked through the front door, my mom told him I was in labor. Tim didn't understand at first and thought my mom was joking. Then he heard me, from the tub, say that I was in labor and he would need to get things together to go to the birthing center. At that he knew no one was joking. He ran into the bathroom to see how I was doing. I told him I was fine, but a little nervous for the baby to be coming this early. I was 36 weeks and 5 days, so I was not quite to full term and didn't know if this would cause complications for the baby.

Tim prayed with me and then hurried to get things together as I shouted reminders of what to pack and told my mom where she could find the things she and my dad would need for Emahry.

At 3:00 PM, Tim and I headed out the door leaving Emahry with my mom. We stopped by a friend's house to pick up their extra cellphone, but couldn't find it and at 3:11 PM we began our hour drive to the birthing center.

My contractions were now much stronger and I was thankful that I had taken a birthing class when I was pregnant with Emahry that taught breathing exercises to deal with the pain of labor. The deep, slow breaths that had sustained me throughout my long labor with Emahry were nowhere to be found. Instead "hee, hee, whoo's" emerged from my fully reclined passenger seat. I also felt a strange comfort in tapping my feet along with my breathing.

Thankfully, Tim doesn't mind speeding and got us into the birthing-center town in record time, 25 minutes later. At 3:36, just as we drove pass the midwives' office my water broke. Ah, what relief! Even in the middle of labor I remember thinking how glad I was that we had placed a waterproof crib mat and a stack of towels on the seat.

Read On... Part 4: I Can't Get Out!

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Jonathan's Birth Story: Part 2

Just tuning in? Read Part 1: What was I Thinking?

Sorting Through Baby Clothes & Contractions

On the morning of September 23, 2008, I woke up around 4:30 AM to nurse Emahry and lay her back down for a few more hours of sleep. As she nursed, the contractions I had felt throughout my pregnancy seemed stronger than usual, but since they weren't painful I easily dismissed them as the Braxton Hicks variety and went about my normal routine. A couple of hours later, we all got up, Tim left for school, and Emahry and I got about our day.

Around 10 AM, my mom came over to help me sort through a few bins of boy's clothes that Tim's sister had past down to us. By this time I was having contractions every 10 to 30 minutes. However, they still weren't painful so I wasn't too concerned. I decided to lay down on the couch while my mom lifted up each article of clothing and I told her which bin to place it in.

By noon, I realized that the contractions, although still not painful, were not going away and called our midwives' office to schedule a appointment. Since Tim had no cellphone and I had no way of reaching him, I made the appointment for 3:15 that afternoon because I knew Tim wouldn't be home until 2 PM and it would take us an hour to drive to the midwives' office.

While my mom scurried around the house cleaning and taking care of Emahry I decided to try getting into the tub to slow my contractions, since this is what happened every time I got into the tub during my labor with Emahry. At first Emahry even got into the tub with me, but she soon tired of simply soaking and got out to play.

At 1:15 I finally realized that I was probably in true labor (duh!) and even though I wasn't in much pain and thought my labor would be very long like it was the first time around I asked my mom to call Tim's school and have them try to track him down. They weren't able to find him, but thankfully he arrived home at exactly 2 PM.

Read On... Put the Petal to the Metal

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Jonathan's Birth Story: Part 1

Since, Jonathan will be turning two at the end of this month this birth story is shamefully overdue. But, my friend Kristin's latest birth story has inspired me to finally post it and it's better late than never!

What was I Thinking?

On Friday, Semptember 19, 2008, Tim and I drove an hour to go to my 36 week appointment with Carol, my midwife. We had also recently found a couch and loveseat set on Craigslist about another 30 minutes from our midwives' office so we had made arrangements to pick up the set after my appointment.

During our appointment my midwife assured us that everything looked great and and we were also able to finally get a tour of the hospital-housed birthing center. After our tour we drove to pick up our new living room furniture. The lady that sold it to us helped Tim load it into the truck and we began the drive back home.

On our way home, we called my mom who was watching Emahry and asked her to meet us at our house to unload the new furniture. She was already there by the time we arrived. However, the large size of the couch and loveseat when combined with our small front door proved moving the furniture in more difficult then we had believed it would be. Finally, I helped my mom hold up one end while Tim wriggled the front end into the house.

Don't ask me why I thought I could lift and help move a couch and loveseat when I was 36 weeks pregnant. If you do, I'll blame it on hormones and call it a day.

Read On... Part 2: Sorting through Baby Clothes and Contractions

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Chili's Gift Card Winner!

Congratulations, Danielle a.k.a Yellie, you've won our Chili's $50 Gift Card Giveaway! Look for an email from us later today. We're working on laundry right now, so I probably won't get it to you until nap time :)

Thanks to everyone who entered and remember to sign up to receive a coupon for a FREE Chili's Chips & Queso Appetizer! Our whole family LOVED it.

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Vista Print Free T-Shirt Offer

You can order one of 36 FREE t-shirt designs from Vista Print. You only have to pay shipping and processing fees.

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ERGObaby Carrier Review

With three children ages 3 years, 2 years, and 7 months, baby-wearing is one of the ways I help keep my sanity, especially when we're out of the house. Baby-wearing has also become very popular for good reasons. Not only does it free up your hands to deal with chores, errands, or other children, but it is great on your back.

I was so excited when we received our ERGObaby carrier. As soon as I put it on I thought how comfortable it was. ERGObaby carriers support the baby's spine and promotes the healthiest position for baby's hips while they are in the carrier.

The ERGObaby carriers can be worn in the front, back, and hip. The front position is best for newborns to 6 months. There is even an infant insert that helps position baby more comfortably and can be easily placed inside the carrier and rearranged simply. This insert is highly recommended in order to keep babies under 4 months positioned safely in the carrier.

The ERGObaby carrier can also be worn on the back. This is the position mostly used for 6 months and up, as long as the baby can hold their head up on their own. A built in hood supports a sleeping baby's head and makes your activity easier.

ERGObaby carriers can also be used to hold older children on your hip. I have yet to try this position,but expect to use it more as Eliya gets older.

I love using the ERGObaby carrier for walks and errands with Eliya. This carrie is definitely the most comfortabl carrier I've used with babies over 15 pounds!

A Few of My Favorite Features:

~The side straps that rest on your shoulders and the waist strap are both very padded. There are two buckles- one that rests on your waist/hips and one that crosses your chest/back, securing baby safely.

~The color selection of the carriers is amazing- you can get whatever makes you happy!

~I love how simple it is to adjust the sizing on the carrier. It so easy to change the sizing for carrying on the front or back and makes it easy to trade off the baby wearing with your husband.

~I also love the built in hood- when not in use, there is a convenient pocket for it to
slide into.

~There is also a zippered pouch on the front, which is great for keys, cellphone and other necessities!

ERGObaby also makes several accessories to go with the carrier, such as a backpack, cargo pack, changing pad, they even make a mini version for children to carry around baby dolls!

View all of the great ERGObaby designs on their website.

The only downfall of this carrier is the price. The Original & Sport ERGObaby carriers run for $105. While the Organic and Performance ERGObaby carriers cost between $120 and $148. The fact that the price is the only negative makes me think that it ma be worth the cost. However, you can also keep an eye on the ERGObaby Auctions page to snatch up a gently used carrier for around $80.

Are you a babywearer? What it your favorite carrier?

A special thanks to Hannah from ERGObaby who made this review possible. While we received the ERGObaby carrier at no cost,the opinions expressed are wholly our own.

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Dancing Silouettes

"Let them praise his name with dancing and make music to him with tambourine and harp."
Psalm 149:2-4

View more photos from this late summer evening here.

Visit other Wordless Wednesday posts at 5 Minutes for Mom.

There are also lots of other linkies listed there.

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What Late Summer Evenings Are Made Of

Daily I'm surrounded by wonderful gifts from God, yet many times I choose to see the disappointments instead of the blessings.

Today I choose to be a cheerful recipient, a joy finder, a gift counter.

#183. Smiling Siblings #184. Dancing Silouettes#185. Sagging Shorts
#186. Pink Dresses, Bows, and Whistles
#187. Tree Sitting
#188. Sheet Lounging
#189. Acorn Collecting
#190. Being With the One You Love

We hope you're enjoying beautiful days, too!

Will Also be Contributed To: Gratituesday, intentional gratitude Works for Me!, Things I Love Thursday, Finer Things Friday

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Right @ Home: Sign Up for High Value Coupons & Freebies

Are you a member of Right @ Home? If not, you really should go sign up to become a member. Each month, they release a number of high-value printable coupons – many which will never be in the newspaper inserts.

Also, they give away boxes of free stuff every month to the first 4,000 to 10,000 people who sign up for these freebies. As a member, you'll be notified as soon as the giveaways open.

So, if you like free stuff and high-value coupons, go sign up for Right @ Home.

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Free Colgate Kids Toothbrush & Over $8 in Colgate Coupons

Help your kids develop healthy bedtime habits by tracking their washing, brushing and reading daily and earn points from recording your progress to get a free Colgate® Kids toothbrush!

Also, make sure you sign up for Colgate SmileTalk and gain access to over $8 in Colgate coupons!

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Welcome to A Heart for Home! If this is your first time here you may want

to subscribe to receive free updates through e-mail or our RSS feed.

Thanks for visiting and we hope you'll be back often!~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~