Friday's Fortune ~ $1 Yankee Candles! & August Family Pictures

Ah! Life has been crazy but good with school starting and it's about to get even crazier! Jack will be traveling again with work so I'll be a single parent a bit. It always makes me more appreciative of our time together when he is gone. It's so much easier now that the girls are older though.

One has to be thankful for a job and those airmiles! Every two years, we travel to Texas for a medical conference and those airmiles allows us to do it. For that, I'm extremely thankful!!

On to the Friday Fortune! Yankee Candle has their tarts and votives on sale for $1 (for a limited time only)! That's half the price and with Fall in the air, I can't wait to start burning my candles. You can shop online or at a local store. Check out their website at http://www.yankeecandle.com/cgi-bin/ycbvp/freestyle.jsp?category=%2fRetail%2fTarts+%26%2338%3b+Samplers+%26%2336%3b1+Each&cm_mmc=TartsSamps-_-092209-_-Link-_-tartsSamps3. You will need the promo code of TS910A1. Click on the following link to print the coupon if you'd like to shop at a local store. http://www.yankeecandle.com/yc/html/retail/Email_HTML/webCoupon_TS910A1.html

This is my favorite time of year! By no means is it the temperature I enjoy but I just love the fall scents and colors. Chai Tea, Caramel Macchiato, spiced apple cider simmering on the stovetop, the crunch of leaves under foot on a brisk walk. Then comes Christmas! Snow falling, Peppermint mochas, candy canes, hot cocoa. Mmmmmm! Life is good! Doesn't it just get you in the mood for the season. My two most favorite scents from Yankee are Christmas Cookie & Spiced Pumpkin.

Following are some of our pictures from August. I hope this finds all of you well. Enjoy the beautiful colors around you as the leaves change and float to the ground. Take a walk with your family and kick up some leaves. I'm sure next month my girls will be piling the leaves up so they can romp in them! God bless!

Veggie Tales Has a New DVD Coming Out! + Free Downloads!

If your kids are a fan of Veggie Tales, I bet that I can't say the name "Veggie Tales" without the theme song bursting into your head. "Ve-ggie Ta-aa-ales! Ve-ggie Ta-aa-ales! Ve-ggie Ta-aa-ales! Veggie Tales!" My girls are getting too big for them now but I love their teaching they have in their video's and other products. I know the school year is just starting but I wanted to let you know that Veggie Tales has a new DVD coming out this October for the holiday season. I realize it is just the beginning of September and I'm talking about the holiday season. Why? You have to see this clip below... It will tug on your heart and get you in the holiday spirit!



The new DVD is entitled Veggie Tales: Saint Nicholas - A Story of of Joyful Giving. In preparation for the October 3rd release, Big Idea (the company behind Veggie Tales) has released a video. Entitled "Give This Christmas Away," the lyrics really speak to the ideas of giving this Christmas season. The song is performed by Christian artists, Matthew West and Amy Grant. It's a beautiful song and the video is full of your child's favorite Veggie Tale characters as well as other children receiving blessings of gifts from others. The lyrics are beautiful:



What if December looked different this year?

What if we all just give Christmas away?

If there's love in your heart, don't let it stay there.

Give this Christmas away.

And your life will be changed by the gift you receive when you give this Christmas away.

The children featured in the video are receiving gifts as a part of Operation Chrismas Child. My girls love filling a box for a child and sending it. We like to say a little prayer for the children that are receiving our Christmas boxes. If you're interested in teaching your children about giving as the holidays roll around this year, check out the site.

To make matters sweeter, Big Idea has also made another video available for free to download. Entitled "I Can Love (Because God Loves Me)," it is packed with messages that your child will be blessed to learn. After you enter your registration information, click the format that you would like to download. On the next window, click "save as" instead of run. It will be saved on your computer to listen to and your child can listen to it as many times as they like.

The question may remain: who wants to listen to Christmas music in September? My sister-in-law would if her hubbie would let her! Far from Jingle Bells though, these songs have a beautiful meaning that you will be pleased to hear your children sing. Why do we give at Christmas? Do we give to be happy? Or do we give because we are happy? Do we love each other to be happy, or do we love because we are happy?

I'm sure you've heard it said that Christmas is about more than just gifts - and it's true! Christmas is about the ultimate gift freely given to us by a loving God. Because we have that gift, our hearts can overflow with gratitude, happiness, joy, love...and as a result we can give because God gave to us. We can love because God loves.

Saint Nicholas - A Story of Joyful Giving presents this idea to kids in a way that's easily understood. So, watch the video clip below of "Give This Christmas Away" and download your own copy of "I Can Love (Because God Loves Me)."

For those of you wondering why I plug Veggie Tales so much, mainly because I love what they teach with their products and enjoy those cute little Veggies! Secondly, for the last several years, I have been a Veggie Tales Ambassador. I do not profit from this at all. It's just an opportunity to help them get the word out about their product. Have a blessed day!

P.S. My apologies! For some reason, the link to this video is not working lately. I'm hoping it's up and running again soon. Try going to http://www.bigidea.com/ to watch the video clip if it's not working.