Barb's land being bush-hogged by a neighbor

I know y'all probably thought I fell off the face of the earth!  But, I didn't.  I have just been busy, busy, busy.  Amazing things have started happening!  I know most of y'all know that Barb and her kids have been staying with my family since last summer.  If you've read her blog lately, you may knows some of this already.  But, we decided to sell her a small part of our land and let her pay for it when she can.  Barb had it surveyed and it ended up being almost 2 acres.

A stake marking Barb's property

She was also able to afford to have it deeded over to her.  I think she feels better knowing that she owns something again.  This week someone came to see if a septic tank could be put on it and it passed.

She has already started decorating her new homestead

Now, I can't tell you the most amazing things right now, I think I should let Barb tell when she's ready.  But let me just say that I have the best, most wonderful family, and church family in the world.  They are making things happen.  We have all been doing as much as possible to help things along and it has kept us so busy!

Barb showing her dog Zoe their new piece of land

Barb hasn't found a job down here yet (we have the highest unemployment rate in the state), but she is sure trying hard!  She had an interview this week, so pray for good things to come of it!  Also, many thanks to those of you who have prayed for my family and Barb's family.  God is certainly answering prayers in a big way! Thank You Lord for your blessings!

*****Edited to add-Barb didn't get the job, so please pray for another one to come along*****

I received a few TheraBreath products to try recently.  TheraBreath is a unique oral care system created by Dr. Harold Katz in order to help those who suffer from halitosis or bad breath.  These products have been used by over 1 million people since 1994. 
The first product I tried were the TheraBreath Fresh Breath Lozenges.  They are different in that they work in 3 stages to ensure a fresh, moist, and healthy mouth.  I really liked these lozenges.  They taste almost like a regular mint, but they also seemed to make my mouth feel kind of bubbly. Maybe that was just the extra moisture, I'm not sure.  This sells for $13.00 for 100 lozenges.
Next, I tried TheraBreath Fresh Breath Toothpaste.  This toothpaste was different than regular toothpaste in that it was clear.  Not sparkly, red, or green, but clear.  It contains Oil of Peppermint and Aloe Vera, but no Sodium Lauryl Sulfate.  That is supposed to be one of the causes of mouth or canker sores.  Also, on their site, it says if you brush twice a day with this it will stop bad breath, guaranteed!  I liked the toothpaste pretty good, but it only had a slight minty taste.  This is $10.50.
The Oral Rinse was definitely different from normal mouthwashes.  It had no minty taste, in fact, it hardly had a taste at all.  Maybe a little like baking soda or peroxide.  But, not much at all.  It felt a little strange rinsing with it at first, but after a couple times, I got used to it.  Another plus is that there was no burning sensation like most mouthwashes leave.  This is $10.50 per bottle.

Giveaway

TheraBreath is giving away one TheraBreath Fresh Breath Oral Rinse and one TheraBreath Fresh Breath Toothpaste to one of my readers.  To enter do one or more of the following.  Please leave a separate comment for each entry.

• Like TheraBreath on Facebook and leave a comment here letting me know you did
• Follow @TheraBreath on Twitter and leave a comment here letting me know you did
• Like Southern Blessings on Facebook and leave a comment here letting me know you did
• Follow @NancysBlessings on Twitter and leave a comment letting me know you did

Giveaway is open to US residents only. Giveaway will close Wednesday night April 13th at midnight. Good luck!

I received TheraBreath products in association with MamaBzz in exchange for a review.  All opinions are my own.

Trying to learn how to get good close-ups with my new camera

Foraging for bugs

A few of you asked about my guineas I posted a picture of the other day.  Their names are Heckyll and Jeckyll.  Both are boys and they're not chickens or turkeys, lol!  They are fowl, though.  My son says they are relatives of the dinosaur since the have hard helmets on their heads.

Helmet head

They spend most of the day foraging for food.  They require very little purchased food.  They hunt for bugs all day long.  Guineas are great at keeping the flea/tick population under control. They are different from chickens in that they won't tear up a garden.  They will go in to look for and eat bugs, but not to destroy it.  Guineas are also good at flying.  They'll fly in trees to get away from predators. 

Keeping watch during the snow this winter

They do make high pitched sounds.  You can tell if they are males or females by the call they make.  Females make a two syllable sound similar to "buckwheat", while males can only make a one syllable sound.  They will sound their "alarm" if they feel they are being threatened, or if someone new comes in the yard.  They always try and stand by my bedroom window and holler if they think I'm asleep!  Bad boys!

Dust/Sun bathing

If you've read my blog awhile, you may remember that I started out with 12 guineas.  At first they roosted outside at night, that's how 10 of them ended up being killed by coyotes.  These last two have gotten smart and stay in the chicken coop at night.  Thank Goodness, cause I love my boys!

The winner of my Chez Ami giveaway is comment #10 - Crystal!  Thanks to everyone who entered! 

Special thanks go to Chez Ami for sponsoring the giveaway!

I love all the books I have read by Mary Lu Tyndall, and her newest is no exception.  Surrender the Night is an exciting, Christian romance. It is book 2 in her Surrender to Destiny series.  The books can be read as a trilogy, or on their own.



Set in the War of 1812 in Baltimore, the hero, British second lieutenant, Alex, saves farm girl Rose from a brutal rape at the hands of his superior.  Alex is injured while defending Rose.  Will Rose nurse him back to health, or turn him in for being an enemy of the country?

I was drawn right into Surrender the Night, starting with the first few pages.  The characters are wonderfully written, with such depth and spirit that you can't help but fall in love right along with them.  I find it amazing how Ms. Tyndall combines real events from history with a love story that is all her own.

Chapter one can be read here. You can buy Surrender the Night from Amazon for only $7.18 right now!  That is an awesome deal!  Prices do change quickly, so check before you buy.

I received this book by being in Mary Lu's Motley Crew, in exchange for a review.

Today, I have a lot to be thankful for! Yesterday, our field caught on fire, and with the wind, it quickly spread. My hubby's arm was burned and his hair and eyebrows were singed. I am thankful that the fire did not spread to Barb's shed. I am thankful it didn't spread to the tree line, or our neighbor's home. I am thankful for neighbors, and volunteer firefighters who came to help. I am thankful my husband wasn't hurt worse than just his arm. Thank you Lord for taking care of us! If you want to see pictures, or read about what happened, Barb posted about it here on her blog.


We Lift Our Hearts In Thanks Today

We lift our hearts in thanks today
For all the gifts of life;
And first, for peace that turns away
The enemies of strife;

And next, the beauty of the earth,
Its flowers and lovely things,
The spring’s great miracle of birth,
With sound of songs and wings;

Then, harvests of its teeming soil
In orchard, croft and field;
But more, the service and the toil
Of those who helped them yield;

And most, the gifts of hope and love,
Of wisdom, truth and right,
The gifts that shine like stars above
To chart the world by night.

As we receive, so let us give,
With ready, generous hand,
Rich fruitage from the lives we live
To bless our home and land.

I learned SO many tips and tricks from the blogging conference I went to, that I haven't even had time to process it all!  Some of it is easy to do, some a little more complicated.  It will take time to figure it all out.   You may have noticed some of the changes I started making on my blog here.  I didn't want to wait until I figured out everything to tell you some of the things I learned.

Blogging Tips from the NC Mom Bloggers Beach Conference:

1.  Claim your blog in Google Webmasters, can also be claimed in Bing and Yahoo.
2.  People aren't always who they seem to be online, set boundaries that you are comfortable with.
3.  You have to be able to grab a reader's attention within 30 seconds of coming to your blog.
4.  Short and sweet is better than long and boring, slice word count in half.
5.  Use bold font and sub-paragraphs, draws attention if used sparingly.
6.  People love lists, incorporate them if possible.
7.  When pitching a business to work with them, believe in yourself and your idea.
8.  Different companies look for different things in bloggers, if 1 says no, the next might say yes.
9.  Remember that most of us are mothers, and our families should be put first.
10.  People don't use RSS readers as much to find content, engage your readers via Twitter or Facebook, etc.
11.  If you are serious about blogging, buy your own domain name, instead of being a dot blogspot, be a .com or a .net.

These are just some of the things I learned that might help you.  If any of you have any questions, I'd be happy to try and answer them!

I was introduced to the wonderful Chez Ami line of clothing for children at the conference I recently attended. They were one of the awesome sponsors! Chez Ami is a family owned, North Carolina based company whose collections were once only sold in specialty stores. 

With all the warm weather recently, I have been dreaming of summer, sun, and swimming. To help you get ready for summer, Chez Ami is giving away a swimsuit to one of my lucky readers! You can choose from a one or two piece for girls, or trunk, or board shorts for boys.  I'm sure you will love their quality, fun designs as much as I do!

To enter: You can do just the first, or all four!  Please leave a separate comment for each entry.

• Vist Chez Ami and tell me which item you would like to win from their spring collection 1 entry
• Like Chez Ami on Facebook 1 entry
• Like Southern Blessings on Facebook. 1 entry
• Tweet the following- "Swimsuit #giveaway from @Chez_Ami and @NancysBlessings-http://bit.ly/ggpvQz"   (Can be done once per day) 1 entry (per tweet)

Giveaway is open to US residents only.  Giveaway will close Thursday night March 17th at midnight.  Good Luck!  Thanks so much to Chez Ami for sponsoring this giveaway!

I'm sure you've heard me mention a million few times how much I love Disney World. That is why I was so happy to review The Key to the Kingdom by Jeff Dixon.

The Key to the Kingdom makes Disney World seem so much more mysterious.  I eagerly followed along on Hawkes adventure as he followed clues that led him through the parks.  It is so cool because I can picture a lot of the places mentioned in the book.  However, I learned so many more interesting things I didn't know, that I will look for on my next trip.

I think anyone who loves mysteries or Disney, would love this book!  It was fun to read, I even think my teenager will like it.

You can buy it at Deep River Books or here.  You can find The Key to the Kingdom online at
http://twitter.com/deepriverbooks and
http://www.facebook.com/KeytotheKingdombook.

I received this book from  Bring It On Communications! in association with MamaBzz.com in exchange for a review.

Guess what I got this week? A new camera! I got the Canon SX30IS.  My hubby had been wanting to get a nice camera to take pictures of the kids with, and the Canon camera is the one we decided on.  Our old one was a cheap one that was hard to focus and couldn't take action shots.  With kids you need to be able to take fast moving pictures sometimes.


Poor kid, needs a haircut!  Looks like a bunch of cows ganged up and licked his head, lol!


These are a few pictures my husband and I took with it.


We have a lot to learn since this one has a lot of settings and  modes.  So, hopefully with time we can take better pics!


I can already tell a difference in the clarity of the images with the Canon camera vs. our old one.


Anyone have any tips for taking good pics with a fancy camera?

A picture from the day we checked out

Day 3 of the conference was full of useful information.  We had sessions on building relationships online with Chele Chesnut and Heather Underwood.  One of the things we learned was to know who we are and stand behind what we believe in.  Too bad I didn't have my camera with me!


The next session was by Molly Gold and it was Organizational Tools for Bloggers.  I'll be honest and say that this class was WAY over my head!  I am the type of person who loves to fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants!  Barb, on the other hand, loved this session!  Molly is her new hero!  I did learn about setting boundaries during this session.


Growing Your Visibility Online by Cord Silverstein was great!  I learned a lot of valuable things from his presentation.  He's from the marketing end, so I learned things from the other end of the spectrum.


The last session of the conference was by Erin Lane who works with Scandinavian Child.  I was lucky enough to win a Yucky Stuff Bag from them!  Which is awesome since Hunter gets carsick A LOT!  Erin's talk was on The Art Of The Pitch, or how to approach businesses when you want to work with them. 


After all those intense sessions, some of the ladies decided to have a pool party that night.  I was all for that, lol!  I was the first (bravest) to put on a bathing suit, however, after that lots of the other ladies put theirs on too, and swam and got in the hot tub.


Some didn't have a swimsuit and still ended up in the pool, lol!


It was a nice way to end the conference!  I am going to do a post on some of the things I learned that can help you grow your blog, too!

The winner of my Roundabout Cupcake Sleeve giveaway as chosen by random.org is comment #9 Christine!  Congratulations Christine!

Sorry for not posting this sooner!  I got so busy at the conference and yesterday I felt like I had jet lag and had to catch up on some sleep. Don't know why I felt so tired we were only about a 3 hour drive from there?