Breathe: 31 Moments with God {For Moms} + Giveaway

Have you, as a mom, ever felt like you were drowning? Trying to reach the surface of the water just to catch another breath? Moms are busy. We are tired. We are always wondering "Are we doing the right thing?" Some moms may not feel that way. Some may feel like things are going great, but there's still one thing missing. Do you know that one of the best things you can do for you AND your kids is carve out time for God every day? I know, I know. You don't have time.

Sorry, but I don't believe it. We make time for things that are important to us, right? Do you have 10 minutes? After the kids go to bed? While they are napping? Before they wake up in the morning? In the parking lot at the school? At their football practice? It doesn't even have to be the same time every day!

10 minutes. You and God. That's 20 minutes less than that workout you've been trying to squeeze in. It may not be easy, but it is possible. You may not get to it every day, but you can try.  You might get interrupted, but you can pick it up again.


Breathe: 31 Moments with God{For Moms} is a 31-Day devotional for moms just like you. Even if you feel like you have it all together, if you are a mother, you will be blessed by this devotional!

The author, Jaimie Bowman, is so in touch with a mother's heart that it feels like she's sitting right there with you. Being a new mom, I could feel a distance growing between me and God. It's so hard to balance it all, but this book brought us closer together again. I love the fact that each devotion is short, yet so thought-provoking! Sometimes I feel like my life is all over the place but this book enabled me to squeeze in a Scripture reading, prayer and personal thoughts all within minutes a day. And putting God back as a top priority has helped ground me again, which makes me a better mother and wife!

How can you carve out 10 minutes a day to spend with God? Answer in the comments and I will enter you in a giveaway to win a FREE paperback copy of Breathe: 31 Moments with God{For Moms}!! You have until noon Saturday February 8th, to enter. 
 

Disclaimer: I received a digital copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

Violet's Winter ONEderland Party

My daughter, Grace's sister, turned one a few days ago! We decided to go with a Winter ONEderland themed party. Turns out, South Louisiana got an unheard of 3" of snow the night before her party. How's that for party planning? Ok, ok, I didn't do it, but I was told by several people that we must have amazing connections. ;)

Here was the main party table:

 

We had "yellow snow" lemonade(watch out where the huskies go, and do not eat the yellow snow) Special shout-out to my sister for thinking up that one:

We made cones out of doilies and dowels and filled them with cotton candy(snow puffs). We had powdered donut holes(snowballs) and white chocolate covered pretzel sticks(icicles):

 

The cake and cupcakes were iced in pastel colors and covered in edible glitter, Vs for Violet, and Sixlet pearls:

The cake topper was made out of white chocolate and I made it by watching this tutorial.

We also had a Hot Cocoa Bar. This picture was taken before the final product. Sorry, time got away from me! We had almond joy bites, caramels, reese's cups, andes mints, crushed peppermint, whipped cream and sprinkling cocoa powder and cinnamon as options to dress it up the way you want!

We also had some savory treats like popcorn in snowflake paper cones(shown in the second table picture above), pigs in a blanket(brrr) and quartered PB&Js.

The party couldn't have gone any better. Great friends, visits from family and lots of kids running around having a good time. Pure love. Isn't that what life is all about? Violet sure approved!

 

Knowing Where You Stand + An Amazing {Mint-Chocolate Chip Ice Cream Recipe}

"The heart is not so easily changed, but the head can be persuaded." Disney's Frozen

             True, right? I look back on my teenage years, and I think, "Yowza! I really should have thought some things through before I made some of those choices." (Oh! You too!?) And how many times have we told our own children to "think before they act" or tell them about the dangers of society and the decisions WE want them to make? In my heart, I truly believe that if I had seriously thought about a few major things before they came up, you know, REALLY thought about them, AND decided how I felt about them, I would have felt confident enough to follow through with what I believed was right. 

               Teens have it hard and even though I know it's hard on boys too, I especially feel for the girls because there is SO much pressure on them to be perfect. School, physical appearance, sex, alcohol and drugs are just a few of them.

                I suggest you ask your girls questions like "How do you feel about pre-marital sex?" not "Please repeat how I feel about premarital sex and what The Bible says about it and tell me you're going to remain abstinent until marriage." All I want to know is that she's thought about it and that she knows how she feels about it. Because if she has an opinion and she truly believes it, it will be that much harder for someone else to convince her otherwise. 2 Corinthians 11:14 says "And no wonder, for even Satan himself disguises himself as an angel of light." Anyone can convince you to do anything, if you don't know how you feel about it! Her opinion will remain in her heart, yours might not. Teens are notorious for doing the opposite of what their parents tell them to do. Not saying I did that or anything. Nope, not me! 

                  That was just one example, but when Grace goes to a friend's house, or to a party or a function where there's lots of kids, I ask her "If there was alcohol there, what do you think you would do?" And I reiterate the importance of knowing how she feels about these things so that WHEN(not if) she is pressured into doing otherwise, she knows how she feels about it which will help her make her  decision!

           "I stood for nothing, so I fell for everything..." Katy Perry's Roar  (<--- THIS)

     
                  Well, since I did finally see Frozen and I loved it, I thought it only fitting that I give you a recipe for homemade ice cream! It's mint chocolate chip and it's DEEEEE-licious!

I use this recipe from AllRecipes.com except I added whole milk instead of 2% because it's more fattening creamy. 

                                             MINT CHOCOLATE CHIP ICE CREAM

You need an ice cream maker for this recipe. I got mine at Amazon.com.

Ingredients:
2 cups whole milk
2 cups heavy cream
1 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 teaspoon pure peppermint extract
green food coloring(I used 5 drops, but if you want it more radioactive looking, add more)
1 cup of your favorite chocolate(chips or chopped) I used chopped chocolate bark

1. In large bowl, combine milk, cream, sugar, salt and both extracts. Stir with whisk until sugar dissolves. Add the food coloring until it reaches your desired color. 

2. Turn on your ice cream maker and add the mixture according to the manufacturer's directions. Mine mixes for 20 minutes. While it's mixing, chop the chocolate. Once your ice cream is set, add your chocolate and mix until combined evenly. Transfer your ice cream into a container w/ lid and let it set in the freezer for 1-2 hours. Enjoy!