New Advent Calendar

For Christian believers, Christmas is one of the greatest events of the year. Centuries ago, the importance of this event caused many Christians to feel that it was not enough to merely to mark off only one day on the calendar for celebrating this incredible event so believers started marking the days on their doors with chalk starting on the first of December. Then in Germany in the late 19th century a mother of a young son invented the first advent calender.

Today there are so many options and takes on this idea. I personally love to use a calender that lets me include a small gift for my children. It adds to the excitement of the holiday and gives me another opportunity each day in December to talk about the importance of the December 25. I have been searching the net and here are a few calenders that I would like to make for our home.

I think that I could make this one by myself and it would look really cute in my kitchen.

This one would let me use up some of my old scrapbook paper.

I wish that I knitted because I love this one!

I already own a large jar so this may be the calendar I go with.

Got Acne? Try Rooibos.

credits: http://www.scrapbook.com/galleries/326267/view/3478705/-1/1.html

I have a teenage son, and like a lot of teenagers (and adults) he has acne. His acne wasn't severe, but it definitely was very noticeable. I could tell that he was self conscious about it and so we decided to try a popular acne treatment that is advertised on TV. He tried it for 2 months and although it helped a little....it really wasn't worth the cost.  SO... I started searching the web, and found somewhere that Rooibos (ROY-Boss) tea can help clear up acne. I'm a huge believer in natural/alternative healing and treatments, but even I was a little skeptical. I figured what did we have to lose so I headed to the store and bought the tea you see in the picture below. 

Well the taste of the tea took a little getting used to for my son. He is not an herbal tea drinker! I didn't mind it. The tea has a kind of a nutty slightly bitter taste. It does go down smoothly though and doesn't leave any unpleasant aftertaste. He hung in there though and has now been drinking the tea for a little over a month. The difference in his complexion is AMAZING! His acne is nearly gone and all that remains are a few darker areas on his skin where the pimples used to be. Honestly this tea works wonders. I even tried it myself. About once a month I get a small break out and so when I felt the beginning of a breakout I decided to drink a cup of tea that morning and one that night. Well....I am happy to say that my breakout never occurred. I'll post some before and after pics of my son as soon as I get a new photo of him. Just so you can appreciate how amazing this tea works!

Rooibos tea is is full of antioxidants and is also said to:

Act as an antioxidant and increase SOD levels
Suppress fasting glucose levels
Act as a bronchodilator and antispasmodic
Help provide cardiovascular protection through ACE inhibition
Improve glucose uptake and insulin secretion after a meal
Aid in liver tissue regeneration
Lower blood pressure
Help prevent DNA damage
Inhibit lipid peroxidation and brain aging

*Alternative medicine herbs have been around since the beginning of human life and hold a strong and extensive history. It's about embracing the union that occurs when ancient wisdom and modern science meet.There are plenty of studies to support the use of herbs and supplements for a variety of medical conditions. The University of Maryland, one of the leading pioneers in the study of complementary alternative medicine, notes that, "used correctly, many herbs are considered safer than conventional medications." You can find them on PubMed. Here is a link to some more info on the healing benefits of Rooiboss: http://www.raysahelian.com/rooibos.html.
Here is another link: http://inhumanexperiment.blogspot.com/2010/04/many-health-benefits-of-rooibos-tea.html

Wishing you a restful day

that brings a peaceful heart,

a contented soul that leads

to a genuine happiness, and

countless quiet moments of

Thanksgiving.

Enjoy Your Holiday

Clean and Simple Challenge

Hi everyone, I am very happy to announce that I'm the new host for the Clean and Simple Challenge over at Scrapbook.com. I just wanted to take a minute, and encourage all of you to join me for this fun challenge. At the end of the month, there will be voting and the winner will recive a small RAK.  I personally love scrapbook pages that are not overly fussy. I believe that a minimal design often makes your  photo the true focal point of your LO.

If you want to submit a page, the rules are very easy.
1. Make a new LO as of November 1, 2011 and submit it over at Sb.com
2. LO must have clean lines and be simple in nature.
3. Paper or digi is ok.
4.You don´t have to sign up, you can enter a LO anytime during the month, but let me know if you want to    play along.
5. LO's need to be posted by November 30, 2011
6. If you receive love, please leave love.
7. Please allow public embedding.

VOTING-Once I close the challenge, participants can PM me their top 3 votes. Please tell me the number of the LO's you are voting for and which number your LO is. You don´t need to vote for yourself, you get an extra vote just for voting.

The Twist- This month the twist is to use a very large title on your LO. When posting your LO, please be sure to let me know you have "twisted" your layout.You will receive 1 extra vote!

If you want to join me here is the link to the challenge: http://www.scrapbook.com/forums/showtopic.php?tid/1566345/


Here are a couple of example LO's
   

Credits for my LO's can be found at my gallery here: http://www.scrapbook.com/myplace/index.php?mod=galleries&u=326267&type=2&page=1

Hope to see  you there.

The Bridge....

Today I decided to participate in a Weekly Blogging Challenge over at SB.com. The whole point of the challenge is to inspire us to write. Well, I really need some help in that area because I am much more of a visual person and have always had trouble putting my feelings into words. We were given 3 choices to use as inspiration and here is the one I chose.  An awesome, almost mystical photo of a bridge.

So here goes...  This photo inspires me because when I look at it I think of my faith. At heart, I am an optimist (or maybe it's just that I am not a quitter.)  I don't know, but like this photo I always belive that there is a light at the end of the tunnel. Something good will come from heartache. So even when things are darkest and I find myself wanting to quit,  I can't. Something in my heart whispers "keep trying...you will get there". It took years, but I have finally come to terms with the fact that there are times I may never really understand the "WHYS". That's ok...I don't need to.  I have faith that it will all turn out for the best. 

One of my favorite songs is from Josh Wilson and it's called Before the Morning.  I listen to it everytime I am down.  Here are the lyrics.

Do you wonder why you have to

Feel the things that hurt you?

If there's a God who loves you

Where is He now?

Or maybe there are things you can't see

And all those things are happening

To bring a better ending

Someday, somehow you'll see, you'll see

Would you dare, would you dare to believe

That you still have a reason to sing?

'Cause the pain that you've been feeling

It can't compare to the joy that's coming

So hold on, you gotta wait for the light

Press on and just fight the good fight

'Cause the pain that you've been feeling

It's just the dark before the morning

My friend, you know how this all ends

And you know where you're going

You just don't know how you'll get there

So say a prayer

And hold on

'Cause there's good for those who love God

But life is not a snapshot

It might take a little time, but you'll see the bigger picture

Here is the link to the video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=New8i_eX3x8&ob=av2n

Bright Fun Freebie

I have been searching the web for some fantastic fall/halloween scrap kits and came across an AWESOME freebie. It's not fallish or Halloween themed, but it was so cute that I had to share it with you. Dani Alencar from Just Because Studio is the featured designer this month at 5stardigitalscrapbooking and she is sharing this kit.  You can check it out here: http://www.5stardigitalscrapbooking.com/featured/?p=2505

I also wanted to share a really cute Halloween kit that I came across. It is from bettylynnsdesigns and will be perfect for all my trick-or-treating LO's. You can find it here:

 http://www.digitalscrapbookingstudio.com/gallery/ndc-2011-3a-round-4/p83995-spooky-treat.html

Holly River State Park.

This year we took our second trip to beautiful Holly River State Park, in West Virginia. I am not much for camping but this park is amazing. Holly River State Park is located in central W. Va. and is the second largest in the state park system.  It has a total of 8,101 peaceful wooded acres that are located on mountains as tall as 2,800 feet. In case you are looking for more to do, the West Virginia Wildlife Center – WVDNR Wildlife, and  Elk River Public Hunting and Fishing Area are both located closely so you can visit them too during your trip. 

Both times that we have visited we haved stayed  in the cabins. There are 10 cabins availabe for rental during the months of April-November.  They all have bathrooms with showers, open fireplaces, beds with the linens provided, and fully equipped kitchens. The kitchens are so handy and making cooking dinner very easy.  They are very nice, clean, and well kept up.  Cabin number 10 is the largest and most modern, but the other 9 are situated among the lush forest of large trees and offer a more natural setting. The campground features 88 sites with electric hookups. There are 4 bathhouses with toilet facilites for the available for the campers.

cabin # 8

There are many hinking trails ranging in length from .5 miles to 10 miles long. My favorite quick trail is the Nature's Rock Garden.  The trail is right next to the cabins and only takes about 30 minutes to walk- even with my young children.

My daughter loves climbing on the many huge rocks on the trail.

In the Potato Knob section of the park, there are many interesting things to see. We enjoy spending time at the large waterfall called the Upper Falls. 

It was a short hike from there to another stunning place called the shute. Here the creek rushes through a narrow rock fissure and plunges into the water below.