I've been Nominated...

I am so excited to announce that Ana from The Lost Apron has nominated me for the Liebster Blog Award. This award is granted to those whom have 200 followers or less and was created as a way to recognize and appreciate other fellow bloggers. The word liebster comes from Germany and is translated as, "dearest." I am so honored that anyone would take time out to read my posts and this award truly means so much to me. Now for the rules...

1.) Post 11 random things about yourself.

2.) Answer the questions that the nominator posted for you.

3.) Create 11 questions for the bloggers you nominate.

4.) Choose 11 blogs that you love (with 200 followers or less) and link them to your post.

5.) No tag back. (However, please leave me a comment so that I know you are aware that you have been chosen.)

11 Random Things About Myself:



1.) I have been married to my wonderful husband, Jeff, for five years. He is my best friend and there is no one else I'd rather be on this journey with.

2.) I looovvveee Christmastime! The music, the lights, the smells....everything. My mom always made Christmas a very special time for our family so I guess it just stuck with me. Not to mention, I come from a long line of aunts and great aunts that are also Christmas crazy!

3.) I love coffee. I can drink it anytime of the day and seem to consume much more in the cold winter months. I am especially fond of the seasonal flavors such as pumpkin spice, peppermint mocha, and gingerbread.

4.) I have one older brother whom I love deeply. He is four years older than me and has always been there for me in thick and thin. We have created memories together that will last a lifetime.

5.) I love music! I once saw a quote that said, "Music is what feeling sounds like." I would have to say that I fully agree. Christian is by far my favorite type of music, but I also enjoy alternative such as Coldplay and Ben Howard.

6.) I have one dog named Starbuck. He is a 4 year old boxer and Jeff and I both love him dearly and have so much fun with him.

7.) I love crafting and baking. I am actually getting ready to attempt making a burlap tree skirt. Just in time for Christmas!

8.) My family and I take a trip to Gatlinburg, TN each year. Talk about quality family time and making memories...we have a blast!

9.) I have a heart for adoption and hope to one day adopt a child of our own.

10.) My Dad and I share the same birthday.

11.) I love candles! My favorite are Slatkin and Co.

Nominator Questions:

1.)What is your favorite holiday tradition that your family does?

Oh my goodness... we have so many! It's really hard to pick one. Something we have done for as long as I can remember is our annual cookie day. My Great-Grandma was from Germany and she passed this cookie recipe down to her daughters, which was then given to their daughters, etc. They are called Lep cookies and they are oh so yummy. Usually my Great-Aunt Norma bakes the cookies and my mom, my aunts, my cousins, and I decorate them. We make a day out of it, starting at around 9am, and ending at 5-6pm. By the end of the day, we probably have a total of 300-400 cookies! Here are a couple of pics from last years event...

2.)What is your favorite type of exercise?

Running! I love to run and ran track in school for 5 years.

3.) Where are you longing to travel to?

My first instinct would be to say Turks and Caicos. I love the beach and would love to travel there someday. However, I do have to say that if someone offered me a trip to anywhere in the world, I would have to choose The Holy Land. I can only imagine how incredible it must be to know that you are standing exactly where Christ was.

4.) What is your pet peeve?

Okay, this may sound really strange or random to some people, but my pet peeve is when people are eating and they pick food out their teeth, look at the food on their finger, and then EAT it!!! This grosses me out SO BAD!

5.) Why did you decide to blog?

Besides the obvious fact that I simply love to write, I began this blog as a way to share my testimony, my love for God, my heart for marriage, craft ideas, recipes, and more. God has done immeasurably more for me than I could have ever imagined and I am forever grateful to Him for all of the many blessings that He has given me. I hope and pray that visitors of this blog would be challenged in their relationship with our sweet Savior, encouraged, and most of all, shown the beautiful love and heartbeat that God has for us all.

6.) What is a special skill that you have?

This is the part where I wish I could say that I have some kind of musical talent...but that's not the case! I have always been a little more on the athletic/outdoors side and believe it or not I really enjoy target practicing. My husband also says I'm a pretty good shot!

7.) What is your favorite pastime?

I love going to the coffee shop with my husband. We have some really great talks over coffee and I simply love the quality time that comes from it.

8.) What is the one thing you do differently than your mom?

I make my own laundry detergent. Not that I think my mom is opposed to making homemade detergent- it's just something that she doesn't do.

9.)  What is one of your time wasters?

This one's easy...Pinterest!

10.) What was your favorite comment on your blog about?

My favorite comment came from one of my Sunday Worship Song posts. It was one of those times when I felt God confirmed what He was doing through this blog and that maybe, just maybe, with His help, I was making a difference. She writes, "So glad I found this blog.... I recently had to file disability retirement from my first grade teaching position.... my immune system has become very weak due to the Infusion Treatments that I have taken over the years and am currently on for severe Rheumatoid Arthritis. I have not been able to go to church and have been watching sermons on tv with my husband, this is a great avenue for worship with women ... thank you for following God's prompting in your life and creating such a blog. God bless and be with you and yours."

11.) What have you made (created) that you are most proud of?

Our Chicken Coop!This was definitely a team project with my husband (he did 90% of the work), and considering we didn't really have a plan or layout from the beginning, I think it turned out quite nicely. We only worked on it during weekends, so it took us about a month to complete. Isn't it cute?! We put our blood (literally..I stepped on a nail in the process), sweat, and tears into this project and were so pleased with the outcome.

Whew! That was a lot of information! If you made it through all of that, thank you :)

Questions for the Nominees:

1.) What is your favorite Bible verse?

2.) Besides Jesus, what Bible character would you love to meet?

3.) Why did you decide to start a blog?

4.) Where is your dream vacation?

5.) Do you prefer salty or sweet snacks?

6.) What would you consider to be a hobby of yours?

7.) Do you have any pets?

8.) What is your favorite genre of music?

9.) What book are you currently reading?

10.) What is your favorite Christmas song/tradition?

11.) Have you ever been on a missions trip?

Now for the Nominees...

Crazy Joy

The General Specific

Heart Reflected

Passionate and Creative Homemaking

Rich Faith Rising (I know she has more than 200 followers, but her blog is great and I think she deserves the award!)

What Joy Is Mine

Woman to Woman

Mary @ Woman to Woman

Women walking in the Spirit of Christ

fanta4two

Adventures of D and V (She also has more than 200 followers...but again, she has a really great blog!)

Thank you all for participating! I look forward to getting to know you better!