Crayola Deals for Back 2 School !

By    August 04, 2021 // No comments




 Hey Y'all!! It's back to school season and I am super excited to partner with Crayola to bring you BOGO items for all your back to School needs!! I LOVE Crayola, I've tried all the off brands over the years and absolutely nothing beats the color vibrancy or quality of  Crayola products! Click this link - Up to 50% Off Sales & Deals - to take advantage of all their awesome Back-2-School Deals!!

Riley Makes Macarons!!

By    February 11, 2021 // No comments
    Riley had loved baking for years!! She has made macarons several times and when she decided to make them for the superbowl party last week she agreed to film it for y'all! 

They were so yummy!! 

    I hope you enjoy the video and if you would like to try them, here is the recipe she used. Make sure to let us know if you try them and how they turned out! 
Much Love,
Ivy 


Click here for the Macaron Recipe that Riley used!


A whirlwind Week

By    January 30, 2021 // No comments

 

 This week has been such a whirlwind it's left me spinning, quite literally in fact. It seems as though I have developed vertigo recently and it put me down for a few days, on top of that I have had numerous meetings and events at work, church in the middle, a funeral, grocery shopping, filming, editing and uploading videos... whew! So much went on it has flown by in a flash.
    I am ever thankful and amazed, to and for, the Father and His provision, even with being down 2 days He has given me the strength and energy to get all the necessary things done. After I recovered, I actually felt even better than before I was down!   
    Perspective is a wonderful gift from God. You see, I had been feeling down, discouraged and tired previously; but when I wasn't able to do all my normal things it helped me realize I was taking what energy I did have for granted. When I felt better, I didn't want to waste that. Not knowing when the next bout of vertigo may come makes me want to make the most of the good days. God can speak to us in the littlest things of life, if we but listen to His still small voice, turn to His word for guidance and rejoice in all the gifts he bestows upon us.

"Thank God for this gift too wonderful for words!" 2 Corinthians 9:15 NLT





Sweet Miss Virginia

By    January 24, 2021 // No comments
   As I sit here with a blank page before me, preparing to write my article I have a million words swirling in my brain, trying to formulate thoughts into sentences my mind reels from all the events of this past week. Where do I start, what do I focus on, each event important to our lives, our history and our future. Perhaps I can touch on each in brief. 
   The trasition of power took place and the new administration is already making very impactful decisions effecting thousands immediately and millions inevitably. The hope for little girls grew; strengthening the dream that they can be anything when they grow up. At the very same time a person was put in a place of prominence, only degrading the same progress woman have made by still awarding a position to a man. These are a tiny fraction of what my brain is packed with right now and I don't care to go on because as sad as this commentary is there are far sadder national events that I'll defer to another time. 
    Yet, in the midst of all these major world events, here in our small part of the country, our Sweet Miss Virginia started her journey home. The speed at which she declined only shows that she was running towards her Jesus, she was ready to meet the man that saved her soul 80 years ago, the one she has faithfully served ever since. With all the talk this week of women being impactful, THIS is the woman we should admire, the one I want my daughter to look up to, whom we should strive to be in our lives. As women, we should desire to serve the Lord above all else, dedicating our lives to growing his kingdom, cultivating peace in our community and caring for people and children no matter how they look, act or smell on the outside. I have been blessed beyond measure that I've been able to hear the stories of the years of her service. Beyond hearing them, I'm blessed to be part of that story. I know there are hundreds if not thousands of souls won to the Lord due to the work of Virginia and Marjorie in the Mountain Community. THAT is what I want my legacy to be, to be known as a women of God. 
   The sadness of her loss is nearly overshadowed with the overwhelming joy that she has now already been greeted by her Jesus, has hugged his neck and is worshiping at his feet. 






Virginia Edna Boucher
July 24, 1926 ~ January 22, 2021

Cleaning out closets

By    January 16, 2021 // 6 comments

    Cleaning out a closet is a daunting, emotional and exhausting task!! As I embark on tackling the years old accumulation of clutter and clothing I know I have to pace myself or I'll be sleeping on the floor due to what should be hidden away thrown out in the open and laid all over my bed!

    As I dig through the piles, I'm finding lost treasures from years past, baby clothes from my babies that are no longer babies, shoes from high school, clothes that were my moms and dads and grandparents that I've hung onto, clothes from early marriage. My emotions are so torn, I want to keep it all and revisit it in another walk down memory lane in the future, but I'm also drowning in 'stuff' and some things have to go!! If I want to continue wearing clothes that I've outgrown and are no longer in fashion then I can keep them, if I'd rather grow up and move on to more sophisticated apparel, I need to move on.

    Our spiritual closets are identical to our physical ones. Cluttered and full of things we have outgrown. We try to squeeze ourselves into old lifestyles, old prayers and infantile learning, but we must put those things aside if we want to grow in the Lord. It can be very hard taking all this from our spiritual closets; the things we've kept hidden away, now laid bare for all to see but we must make room for the fullness of God's word, we must get rid of the old from our lives and feel the freedom that physical and spiritual decluttering bring.

"This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!" 2 Corinthians 5:17 NLT



I Updated My Blog!

By    January 12, 2021 // 2 comments

 I Updated My Blog!!

I LOVE the new Layout!! It's just so pretty!


    I have been working really hard lately to grow my brand... as a matter of fact, I've been working really hard to fully understand what that even means! Ha!! Basically, my brand is all the content I put out that represents me! It has been super fun learning so many new things. As I stated in my bio, I have always enjoyed writing, it's something that, amazingly enough, comes very natural to me, I  cannot deny that it is God that blessed me with the ability. Anyhow, when looking into all that "Branding" entailed, it became fairly clear that working harder on my blog should be higher up on my list. 

    I enjoy YouTube tremendously and it has become a great hobby, but I would love if all of this could become more. I know it seems like a bit of a pipe dream; that an old girl from the sticks who's never done too much with her life, could become successful in such a modern field. But I truly believe the Lord has given these talents to me for a purpose and if I don't at least try, I won't have been too good a steward of the gifts he has given me; now would I?

    I ain't gonna lie, it's going to be HARD! It's already been hard. I wear so many different hats in my life that I am stretched very thin and am just flat out exhausted every day. I burn the candle at both ends most days and it has worn on me, especially of late. I am a wife and mother and those things themselves are full time jobs (major props to SAHMs, I know y'all are working your tails off!) I'm also a youth leader and the treasurer at our church. But on top of that I have a full time job (shout out to all the working Mommas out there; You. Are. Amazing!...) My job comes with heavy responsibilities, like hard stuff that, being fully transparent, makes me cry nearly every day at work. I'm not looking for pity, it's a good job and I love my coworkers, but man, it's hard, it tests every thing within me and with my biggest fear being failure, I leave there nearly every day completely down trodden because I feel that I have failed in so many ways. Ok, Ok.. Enough of that, that took a quick/unintentional turn ... I realize I have the power of the keyboard and could just erase it but it's pretty important to me to be real, and since that just flowed out, I'd better just leave it be... 

    As I was saying, it's gonna be hard to keep up with a blog and my YouTube channel, and try to post to social media outlets, and, and, and.. you get it... In spite of the difficulty; I want to try. I have to! Am I a glutton for punishment? Maybe! But I think it will be worth it. I'm a night owl and don't mind burning the midnight oil, it's getting up in the morning that gets hard, HA! 

    But- I will survive and I do believe I will thrive! For anyone reading this, thank you! Thank you in advance for your support and for subscribing to my brand and for 'Liking' 'Sharing' 'Commenting', all the new fangled words that go along with this business! But mostly, thank you for reading and watching and listening. 

    My tag line is : "From My Heart to Yours" and that doesn't come without reason, as I said above, I want to be real, I want to share what's on my heart so that maybe, just maybe, God can use my ramblings and goings on to touch you in some way, to know that you're not alone, that even when you feel lonely, not only can someone (I) relate, but that hopefully some how you will know that God is with you and that He is for you! He has created each of us for a purpose and part of mine is certainly this. 

    Ok, that's probably quite enough. If anyone has stuck with me this long, may God bless you sweetly! If you've made it to the end, leave me a sparkling heart emoji in the comments! 💖

Thank you for stopping by my blog today! 

Love Always,

Ivy

Cherish each day

By    January 09, 2021 // 1 comment

     Taking down Christmas decorations is always such a mix of emotion. On one hand, it's nice to have a clean slate and feel fresh and decluttered, on the other hand, it seems like they just went up and now they're leaving.

    If we switch our thinking we can allow it to be a very simple reminder to slow down, live in the moment and not take a moment for granted, cherish each day and the things that the Lord blesses you with in your life.

"And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. Keep putting into practice all you learned and received from me—everything you heard from me and saw me doing. Then the God of peace will be with you." Philippians 4:8‭-‬9 NLT



Happy New Year 2021

By    January 02, 2021 // No comments

    It's a new year! Having a new year means a fresh start, a clean slate, 365 new days to make a change or take a stand in our lives for Christ. In full reality, every single day is a day just like that, we can make a change at any time! We can become resolute without a new year's resolution, we must simply decide that as a child of God we want to live according to his plan for our lives and change whatever bad habit (or implement additional good habits) at any time and on any day or the year!

     I pray this year that each of us find ways to surrender to God's call on our lives, to stand firm on our resolve to follow him and better ourselves each day and that any declaration for change made on January first will also be observed on every other day of 2021, adding to those declarations throughout the year to be an ever steady example of Christ to the people in your lives.

"The faithful love of the Lord never ends! His mercies never cease. Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each morning." Lamentations 3:22‭-‬23

"Great is Thy faithfulness!" Morning by morning new mercies I see; All I have needed Thy hand hath provide. "Great is Thy faithfulness, " Lord, unto me! -Thomas Chisholm



Simply having a Wonderful Christmas Time!

By    December 26, 2020 // No comments

     We had such a wonderful Christmas week. I got to spend more time with my family at Christmas than ever before, I took 2 extra days off work and we had such a wonderful time baking and wrapping and talking and laughing, it was a huge gift to me since I've had to spend so much time working lately.

    My heart longs for moments like these daily and God made a way to fulfill my desire. We don't always see all the little gifts God gives to us, we most of the time, get hung up on the big things, but God works in all kinds of ways daily in our lives, both big and small. Take a moment today to sit peacefully and reflect on some of the small blessings that God has given you recently and Thank him for them.

"Delight yourself also in the Lord , And He shall give you the desires of your heart." Psalms 37:4 NKJV



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