The brainchild of Sweetcheeks, our first water balloon fight in honor of her birthday was a huge success. We definitely plan to do this one again. Next time we just want to fill all 200+ balloons ahead of time so we can blast everyone uninterrupted for more filling sessions.

As you can see, the mama did NOT get immunity for the good hair day I'd been having up to this point. Libbyline nailed me in the first round and that was it for the superb-looking coif I'd been sporting : ) Oh well, I want to be fully engaged and who really cares about my hair anyway!

I am slowly learning that playing with my children is the best way to build a relationship with them and letting go of my agenda is so freeing.

Bring on the balloons. This mama is ready!

Labels: celebrations, happies, summer fun

Ok, by now, y'all probably are completely bug-eyed at all the giveaways around this place . . . not to mention the HUNDREDS of free things spilling from here.

Yet, I, being the crazy and generous sort that I am . . . I have another offer for you.

Most of these giveaways we've all been speedily visiting and frantically entering with our names and pertinent information are items we can currently use and will receive very soon after the giveaway is over.

What I am offering you is a set of 24 handmade Christmas cards . . . again an assortment, because I detest making the same card over and over again. It just stunts my creativity and puts me in a box . . . creates one more need for therapy, and who has the money for that! I am giving this stuff away, remember!?!

I have no photo right now of any Christmas card, but I may post one before the end of the week : ) I know you may not be able to tell with this dark photo, but the card stock in this particular example is hunter green with an ivory fleck on the inside. There is also verse on the inside, but I couldn't get that photo to cooperate this morning.


Anyway, back to the giveaway. I will choose a winner from anyone who comments by 5 pm, Friday, July 27.

However, the clincher is . . . you will not receive the cards from me any time before September 1. If you're like me, you won't be filling out Christmas cards before Thanksgiving anyway, so this shouldn't put you in a bind to wait until Sept. to get these.

Now, to make this a little more fun than just putting . . . "Enter me, please!" . . . I would like for you to tell me your favorite Christmas song (religious or secular) and tell me why it is your favorite.

I'll get things started. I love, love, love Christmas music and listen to it every month of the year except January.

My all-time favorite is Silent Night. When I became a mommy the first time, I had such a small repertoire of songs to sing for my new baby that I resorted to singing Silent Night every night for the first year. It just continued with all of my babies until it became the most requested at our house, no matter what time of year.

My new fave is this song by Third Day. It touches my heart and reminds me of a desire God laid on my heart five years ago.

So, now it's your turn. Tell me your favorite Christmas Song and why it's your favorite!

Labels: blogging, carnival, Christmas, contest, giveaways, summer fun

So, by now, many of y'all have been tooling around the land 'o blog like leprechauns in search of a pot of gold.

I figured, after all the excitement generated today, I would just sweeten the pot, so to speak. As many of you know from this post, I recently got to meet some fantastic authors of some wonderful books. I received one in particular that might be of interest to any of you who love this author as much as I do.

I currently hold two signed copies of Karen Kingsbury's newest release, Sunrise.

I will be happy to give away one of them, considering I am still holding the other for my dearest friend.

Like with all the other giveaways this week, please enter your comments by . . . oh, let's say 5 pm Friday. I'll announce this winner with the others by Midnight Friday, the 27th.

Same rules apply as all the others. Please leave an email or a valid registered blogger id. This contest is open to all commenters, regardless of your nation of habitation currently.

Now, go on leprechauns . . . keep searching for that pot of gold. Have a great time. I know I will!

Update -- Oh, and here's another cool contest over at 5 Minutes for Mom. We love Horizons Milk and Dairy Products around here, and this is a fabulous giveaway . . . simply fabulous I tell you!

Labels: blogging, carnival, contest, giveaways, summer fun

Winner #1 is dallimomma
Winner #2 is Mandy
Still two more giveaways up for grabs here. I'll be closing comments at 5 pm Eastern Friday. Congratulations, Ladies!!!


I didn't even think I'd take part in this giveaway thingy, because I guess I just figured I wouldn't have anything to give away that anyone would want.

Yet, the Holy Spirit has hounded me all week long . . . which I thought was quite appropriate considering it is "The Dog Days of Summer" giveaway carnival.

So, welcome to Without Fear where I am fearlessly joining Shannon from Rocks in My Dryer and a host of others to give away something fun and exciting . . .

I love to make cards. I've been stamping for years. I love to share my craftiness with others.

Yet, I rarely make two cards exactly the same. I'm just a rebel that way : )



So, my giveaway is two sets of 12 assorted all-occasion hand made cards. Here is another example of one you may receive:
I will randomly choose two winners -- the first winner will come from those who comment before midnight on Wednesday and the second winner will come from those who comment before midnight Thursday. I will announce those winners Friday morning at 9 am Eastern time!

Then I will choose two other winners from the entire week of commenters who respond by 5pm Eastern Friday. Those grand prize winners will be announced before 9pm Friday from all commenters throughout the week, and those two lucky people will win one of the two stamp sets pictured below:

So, you'll actually have four chances to win here at Without Fear this week! After each drawing, you will be re-entered if you didn't win in the first round. You will also have a chance to win, even if you don't make it here until Wednesday, Thursday or Friday. So join in, and we'll have a great week of giveaways!!

Thanks so much for joining me in the bloggy carnival. I'll be out and about commenting my share this week, too, so maybe we'll bump into each other along the way! Grab a cookie while you're here and browse some of my older posts.

If this is your first time at Without Fear, WELCOME!! I'm glad you're here. If you're an old friend, I'm glad you're back again. This is a haven for me, and I hope it will be the same for you.

You must provide a valid e-mail address, but you do not have to have a blog. All duplicate comments will be deleted. Oh! Before I forget, I am opening this giveaway to all commenters, so feel free to join in you international friends : )

***UPDATE: Ladies, please leave a way to contact you if you win. If you leave no email or site at which to contact you -- I cannot find you to give you a prize!!

Labels: blogging, carnival, giveaways, summer fun

***UPDATE-- I received this wonderful CD in the mail yesterday, talk about a quick pony -- and it is wonderful. I am listening to it right now, and it is definitely a "happy" in my day!

I love gifts.
I love music.
I love the gift of music.

Even better than the gift of music is the gift of FREE music! BooMama posted this link to receive a free CD from Monk & Neagle.

Their latest CD "The Twenty-First Time" is set to hit stores September 18th.
I've been listening to some of the songs from the album and have been really thrilled with what I've heard. I'm looking forward to receiving the CD in the mail in the next few weeks. A big thank you to Provident Music for sharing great Christian music with those of us in Bloggityville!

Go check out these guys! They are definitely worth a listen.

Labels: free, music, summer fun

What do you get when you take these:

(+) this {a mama in need of peace while fixing dinner}?










(=) You get this:

Any questions?


I'll give you the condensed version. I thought I was getting a great deal at a thrift store for Sweetcheeks. I thought she'd love learning to roller blade . . . someday . . . like today, maybe. We got home and chaos broke loose as often happens in a home with three children.

Sweetcheeks, living up to her nickname, sweetly asked if she could go try out her new roller blades while I made dinner. I, being the brilliantly-minded 40 yr. old mother that I am, told her she could for a few minutes.

Well, only a few minutes later Libbyline returned frantically announcing that Sweetcheeks was hurt badly and needed help.

Hours later, and armed with potential bills 10 or 20 times more than I paid for the roller blades, Sweetcheeks came home with a broken wrist, "hideous brace," and a newfound belief that Jesus looks out for even the things we don't like that come into our days. I have seen God's hand in so many ways throughout this whole situation, and I am once more assured of His care for me and my family.

God had the urgent care clinic be almost empty last night. He provided us with a sweet nurse and a precious older man from our church as the X-Ray technician. He looked visibly saddened to see Sweetcheeks in so much pain and know she'd broken her wrist even before we were sure.
He gave us a tender orthopedic doctor today and the most wonderful lady named Miss Mary to fit Sweetcheeks with her cast. God visibly walked with us through this entire experience, and I am here to give Him the glory -- dispelling any notion of coincidence. God was with us, and He orchestrated all that happened. I praise Him, for when I am weak; He is strong.

So, now we will be looking for creative ways to keep an 8- year-old girl in a cast busy throughout the rest of the summer. Any and all suggestions and recommendations will be seriously considered and reviewed.

Please be praying for Sweetcheeks if you think of it. She is still quite enamored by the cool, purple cast right now. I know that a couple days from now she may be singing a different tune. Pray for her to have a happy heart and for me to have an extra measure of patience, compassion, and understanding.

Thanks y'all!

Labels: kids, summer fun

Sixteen more pounds of delicious strawberries! We went again this morning and scored in 30 minutes. I've already had a strawberry, banana, guava smoothie at lunch and a grilled chicken and strawberry salad with baby spinach for dinner. Yum.

Now, I need to go grocery shopping, because tho' they are tasty -- a family cannot live on strawberries alone. This from my dear DP who dislikes this fruit that fills my every other thought at this time of year. Our cupboards are far from bare, but I'm lacking in just about every grocery department.

Talk at 'cha again soon. I'll be the one with the deep red fingertips and red juice running down my chin.

Labels: fruit, summer fun

That's the title of this painting, too. Lazy Days.

I personally love days in which we have no strict schedule, yet we hover around a loose framework that keeps this mama from going insane.

Today has been one of those days.

We scrapped our original intent to restock our stash of strawberries after calling and finding out the patch isn't open again until tomorrow. Waiting on Mother Nature is probably a good thing in this instance.

So, then we lazed around for awhile, doing the things around the house that keep the dust bunnies from attacking and headed on over to the library.

A couple hours later we emerged victorious, loaded down with yummy reads for just about everyone. Can you tell I'm a self-professed bibliophile? Yes, I am one of those people who deeply inhale and borderline swoon at the entrance of a library, Barnes and Noble, Borders, McKay's, or any other establishment that houses multiple shelves of books.

I have always loved books. I remember summers as a child, reading page after page -- fulfilling and exceeding the commitments I made to the summer reading program in my own small town library. We kept track of pages then, and I usually hung in the neighborhood of 2000-3000 pages per summer -- even in fourth or fifth grade.

Libbyline has inherited my love of the written word. She took out a stack of books today, came home and headed for "siesta" -- a prescribed rest/quiet time I instituted in our home three or four years ago when my youngest outgrew napping. She emerged 2 1/2 hours later, victoriously proclaiming her completion of THREE books!! She devoured three 107 page books during siesta!

I love to do the very same thing when I have the chance. I rarely have opportunity anymore to read without interruption or without caring for my family around me. Yet, I have done so, and with great relish in the past six weeks or so. Here are a few of the books I've "devoured" recently: (I'm sure you'll quickly see a pattern here)

Divine by Karen Kingsbury
Redemption by Karen Kingsbury
Remember by Karen Kingsbury
Return by Karen Kingsbury
Rejoice by Karen Kingsbury
Reunion by Karen Kingsbury
Fame by Karen Kingsbury
Forgiven by Karen Kingsbury
The Angel Inside by Chris Widener
This Isn't the Life I Signed Up For . . . But I'm Finding Hope and Healing by Donna Partow
Emotional Phases of a Woman's Life by Jean Lush (re-reading pertinent parts)
Get Out of That Pit by Beth Moore (finishing up this week)
Last, but not least . . . God's Word (hiding it in my heart and that of my family).

Like I said when I returned to blogging, most of the books I've read this spring were NOT on my list of scheduled reads for Katrina's Spring Reading Thing. I know I'm even forgetting some others that I read along the way, in addition to the multiple issues of Southern Living, Creating Keepsakes, Better Homes and Gardens, and other assorted periodicals that I've perused this spring.

In addition to all that, I also took a little time to read Paula Deen's biography -- parts of it out loud to my family on one of our jaunts to Knoxville/Maryville so DP could attend graduate classes. I edited a great deal along the way due to the racy nature of Miss Paula's recounting of her life, but the woman is doggone funny!! She tickles my funny bone in a way few do anymore. Her silly sense of humor and relish for food and life itself make me chuckle just thinking about it right now. The recipes she includes in the book are worth the read in and of itself.

So, that's a bit of what keeps me occupied when I'm not chained to my washer or preparing yet another gourmet meal (my kids had frozen corn dogs tonight, I had a handful of dry roasted peanuts, and DP had to scrounge through the fridge for whatever he could find at 9:30 pm).

I would have reviewed all the Kingsbury books for you, but the fact that I read and will continue to read everything she's written is testimony enough; you can read official reviews at her site.

Guess where I'm headed? Off to read another book! I got my own stack out at the library today, too.

Labels: reading, summer fun