Blessed Beyond Words

My Interview with Kerri Walsh {Thanks to @Pampers!}

Angie — Wed, 16 May 2012 12:00:25 +0000

One thing I love about my blog is that I get the opportunity to meet some fantastic people. Monday morning was definitely a highlight in my life, when I got the chance to sit down and interview Kerri Walsh – wife, mother of two, and 2-time Olympic Gold Medalist in beach volleyball.

Ok, ok. So we weren’t exactly sitting in the same room, but I did get to speak with her through the amazing power of technology – and my phone.

Kerri is amazing. She is so down to earth and just as sweet as the Tea the Southerners like to drink. I am still in awe at the fact that little old me got to talk one-on-one with her. {And I simply must mention just how jealous my daughter is. Kerri is someone that Ashley really looks up to, and after I had the opportunity to speak with Kerri, I think she’s an excellent role model for our daughters.}

I hope you’ll take a few moments and watch the video interview. {You won’t see me – just Kerri – but you’ll hear me ask all my questions and talk directly with her.}

She was so easy to talk to – I really could have talked all day!

What did you think of the interview? What questions would you have asked Kerri?

I am so thankful to Pampers for allowing me the chance to speak one-on-one with Kerri and ask her my questions. I had such a wonderful time, and I am just so honored to have been part of this.

Disclaimer: I have not been compensated for this post in any way. Pampers allowed me the opportunity to speak with Kerri Walsh. All photos in this post, as well as the video, are the copyright property of Pampers.

Looking for a Great Family Vacation? Go Central Jersey!

Angie — Mon, 14 May 2012 18:50:29 +0000

As a mom, I need vacation destinations that will make everyone in the family happy. Because we have such a wide range of ages, this can be quite difficult. So many places just don’t cater to families anymore. It seems the thing now is to keep kids quiet – or at home.

Recently, I had the opportunity to check out the website for Central Jersey. I was seriously impressed. There is so much to do! Theaters, parks, museums, restaurants, shopping, even a special playland just for kids. There are historical sites and tours that my husband {the history buff} would definitely have on our list of things to do. There is even an entire page dedicated to things to do with the kids! I love that they are so family-focused, and they don’t leave anyone out. My family would love to take a trip to Central Jersey and just go exploring. {And eat, and eat, and eat!} I just can’t get over how many options there are for families, couples, or anyone that visits their local area.

There are over 50 different hotels to choose from in Central Jersey, so there’s bound to be something that meets you needs – and your budget. Whether you are planning a romantic get-a-way with your significant other, or planning a family vacation, you’ll find exactly what you’re looking for in Central Jersey.

I encourage you to visit www.GoCentralJersey.com and start planning your next vacation. Also, check out GoCentralJersey on Facebook and stay up-to-date with all the latest happenings, events, and more!

With 6 kids, it’s hard to find vacation spots where I know everyone will be happy. I hope that someday my family and I can visit the Central Jersey area and spend some time.

Alexa Mania Monday – 05/14/12 Edition {Lower Your Alexa Rank}

Angie — Mon, 14 May 2012 09:00:41 +0000

We’re getting more and more people to join in the fun here on the Alexa Mania Blog Hop! Please make sure you’re visiting everyone on the list. People stop by all through the week, so I don’t want anyone to get left out. {The best day to check in is Saturday, so be sure to swing back by and check out the blogs of those you may have missed.}

My Alexa rank is making me bonkers lately. One day it will be low and the next day, it’ll jump up around 3,000. So annoying. But, I’m determined to get it where I want to get it, and I KNOW we can do that together.

What about you? Is your Alexa rank getting where you want it to be?

What if you don’t know what an Alexa rank is? Well, if you’re a blogger and you want to do product reviews and giveaways, or if you’d like to sell ad space, this is a number that you’ll need to know. PR reps like to know your Alexa rank, and the lower your number, the better!

Alexa rank is based on how many people visit your site and how many pages they look at. But, Alexa only counts the people that have the Alexa Toolbar installed. (For more details, visit the Alexa website and check out this page: About the Alexa Traffic Rankings

Here’s how the hop will work:

Install the Alexa Toolbar if you haven’t already. Don’t complete any more steps until you’ve done that first. Be sure to restart your browser if necessary.
Leave a Link to your blog in the linky below. Family Friendly blogs only, please, and link to your main page, not an individual blog post.
Browse around my site for as long as you’d like. If you leave a comment on any of my blog posts and tell me that you’re taking part in the Alexa Mania, I’ll be sure to return the visit to your blog and poke around. Also, if you review my site on Alexa, I’ll be sure to do the same for you as well. Just leave me a comment on this post and let me know that you left a review.
Visit as many blogs in the linky list as you can. Be sure to let them know that you’re visiting from the Alexa Mania Hop and leave a link to your blog so they can come to your blog and return the favor.
Please take the time to leave at least one review for one blog. It’s not hard – just go to the blog you’d like to review. Click on the Alexa toolbar icon, then click on the blog’s link in the window that pops up. Then, click on the “review” tab in the window that opens, and click on the “Write a Review” button. If you have the full toolbar for Firefox installed, just click on the graph icon in the toolbar. That will take you to the site info page for that blog. Then, click the review tab and then write a review.

If you could, help spread the word about Alexa Mania with a blog post, a tweet, on Facebook, or by sharing our button (below). The more people we get to participate, the lower each of our ranks can go!

Find & List GlVEAWAYS Here {5/13/12 – 5/19/12}

Angie — Sun, 13 May 2012 09:00:24 +0000

I hope you’ve been having a great week so far! I have been crazy busy, and I feel like I will never catch up on my blog. I’ll be picking winners for all my giveaways this week, so be checking the winners page to see if you are one of the lucky winners.

Ok, let’s get to the reason for this post! Add your link to this linky for more entries in your giveaways, scroll through the linky to find lots of fabulous giveaways to enter, or just discover new blogs that you’re sure to get hooked on.

Also be sure to come back to this post throughout the week and check to see the new giveaways added to the linky. People come by all week long, so you don’t want to miss your chance to get more entries in your giveaways. And you certainly don’t want to miss your chance to win some really awesome prizes!

Just in case you’re new here, here is an example of how to post links:

Name: {4/30} BobbleBots Moshi Monsters Starter Set
Link: http://blessedbeyondwords.com/bobblebots-moshi-monsters-ends-430/
Shows up like this: {4/30} BobbleBots Moshi Monsters Starter Set

Now it’s your turn! Leave your links here:

Spark Creativity Early with My First Crayola {Ends 5/26}

Angie — Sat, 12 May 2012 17:45:50 +0000

My kids love when they get to sit down and unleash their creativity on paper. My oldest sons, Zander and Jace, both love to write stories and draw pictures to go along with those stories. Lucy is starting to do a really good job of coloring inside the lines, and Parker is starting to make shapes that actually look like objects on paper. Even my 14 year old daughter loves to sit and color with kids when she babysits. And Gage, well, until this review came along, we had to keep the crayons away from Gage. He prefers to eat the crayons instead of actually use them on paper.

Thanks to My First Crayola, I don’t have to worry about that anymore. Crayola has come up with these awesome new products that allow my one year old to color like the big kids and I don’t have to worry about him eating the crayons or putting the markers in his mouth.

For this review, I received the following items:

My First Crayola™ Washable Crayons
My First Crayola™ Washable Markers
My First Crayola™ Washable Stampers
My First Crayola™ Washable Dry-Erase Activity Mat
My First Crayola™ Washable Triangular Dry-Erase Crayons
My First Crayola™ Washable Musical Rub-Art Station
My First Crayola™ Mess-Free Markers & Paper
My First Crayola™ Mess-Free Finger Painting
One specially marked box of original Cheerios® cereal

I have to say, this has to be one of our most favorite reviews that we have ever done. We all loved it! I’d like to take a minute and go through what I loved most about each of the products:

Washable Crayons, Markers, and Stampers – These are absolutely awesome! They are animal shapes, and they’re perfect for baby hands to grasp. Gage could sit for hours and color all over his paper – and his highchair. {Thank heavens they are washable!}
Washable Dry-Erase Activity Mat – Parker loves this! And, it’s completely portable, so he’ll take it with him every time we get in the car.
Washable Triangular Dry-Erase Crayons – These are awesome for teaching Parker the proper way to hold his crayons.
Washable Musical Rub-Art Station – Parker can’t get enough of this. He loves that it plays music when he presses on it, and how the picture “magically” appears.
Mess-Free Markers & Paper – Gage loves these! It came with a cow-shaped marker, and he loves scribbling all over the paper.
Mess-Free Finger Painting – So.Much.Fun! All my kids love that you can use clear paint and have designs appear like magic on the paper. I know it’s for the younger ones, but even my older kids love it.
Cheerios® – A staple in our house. And right now, Crayola & Cheerios have teamed up and are offering up to $5.00 off of My First Crayola products inside specially marked packages of Cheerios. This is a great way to get stocked up on My First Crayola items to get you through the summer.

I have been a mom for almost 15 years now, and I have never seen anything quite like the My First Crayola line. I absolutely love it, and I would recommend it to any parent with young children.

I also want to encourage you to connect with Crayola in the following ways:

The Crayola Website
Crayola on Facebook
Crayola on Twitter
The My First Crayola Commercial on YouTube

Want to try the My First Crayola line for yourself?

Myblogspark and Crayola are giving my readers the opportunity to win a My First Crayola prize pack. The prize pack includes:

My First Crayola™ Washable Crayons
My First Crayola™ Washable Markers
My First Crayola™ Washable Stampers
My First Crayola™ Washable Dry-Erase Activity Mat
One specially marked box of original Cheerios® cereal

To enter, use the Rafflecopter Gadget below:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclosure: The information, products, coupon, video and additional My First Crayola™ gift pack was provided by Crayola® and Cheerios through MyBlogSpark.

Parenting Issues: My Child Swallowed A Quarter

Angie — Fri, 11 May 2012 15:45:27 +0000

Kids are kids, and kids will do stupid things. Ok, honestly? Adults do stupid things too, but at least kids have an excuse: they really may not know any better.

Last night, we had one of those heart-stopping moments. I had put all the kids to bed, and I was sitting on the couch listening to music and trying to catch up on posts.

All of a sudden, Jace comes flying out of his room, hands around his throat, hacking like he had a hairball. I ran to him, asked him what happened, and waited for a minute to make sure he was really ok. He could breathe, and he could talk, so I knew there wasn’t any immediate danger… no need to panic, call 911 or perform CPR. He told me that he had swallowed a quarter. {Jace is 7. I still can’t figure out what on earth possessed this child to even put a quarter in his mouth. But I digress…}

Then he went into a full-fledged panic attack. He kept crying that his chest hurt, and that he was going to die. Jace is emotional, but this was a new side I had never seen to him. He was truly convinced he was not going to survive having swallowed this quarter.

Of course hubby was still at work, and Ashley was off with her best friend and my best friend at a Chorus concert. That left me and 5 kids home, and I had to figure out how to get one of those kids to the hospital. I called my friend and asked how soon she would be home. In less than 5 minutes, her husband was at my house so that I could take Jace to the ER.

It was a VERY good thing I took him in. {Note to parents: If you’re not sure you should take your child in or not, DO IT.}

They did an x-ray right away, and it revealed that the quarter had gotten stuck at the sphincter at the end of the esophagus. They gave us 2 options: 1. Give Jace a medicine {shot} to open up the sphincter, or 2. Jam a tube down his throat and force the quarter on through. Obviously, we opted for choice #1.

They gave him a shot in the rear, and we waited. And waited. About 45 minutes later, they brought the x-ray machine into the room and did two more x-rays to determine if the quarter had passed through the sphincter. We waited and waited some more. And then we waited even longer.

Finally, the doctor came in the room and showed us the second set of x-rays. You could see that the quarter had passed through the sphincter and was in the stomach. He assured us that it should be smooth sailing from here on out. {And I say that literally.} He did say that there was a slight chance it could get stuck again in the intestine, so if Jace has any pain, we have to take him back to the ER. I am hoping and praying that this is the end of it, and in the next 24 – 48 hours, the quarter is gone from his system.

While the waiting was ridiculous, I am so glad I took him in. We could have had serious complications when he went to eat something if the quarter hadn’t gotten through the sphincter.

Kids are kids, and kids put all sorts of stuff in their mouth. I am quite certain that after tonight’s episode, Jace will be much more careful about where he puts his money. And from now on, I will be making sure any loose change is in the piggy bank – and not where someone could get to it!

Have you had a child swallow money? What was your experience?

Being Missions-Minded

Angie — Fri, 11 May 2012 02:25:49 +0000

Last night we had a missionary to the Philippines speak at our church. Now, this is nothing new. From birth, I have been in churches where Missions play an important role, and Missionaries often speak or host entire services. I have attended Mission Conferences and I have even been on a missions trip to Mexico. I’ve always enjoyed learning about missions, but last night, everything changed.

The missionary played an 8 minute presentation about his ministry – how he was saved, when he was called, and what he’s doing in the Philippines now, etc. Then, he preached a message. An incredibly powerful message that told us we should pray to God, praise God, and to preach the Word of God – even in difficult times. Really, a great message.

Then, he went on to tell us why he was in the States and what had happened since he arrived in the States a few days ago. He and his wife flew into Detroit, and they were treated like criminals. The authorities didn’t believe he was in the states to help raise funds for their mission, and instead of approving their Visa for 6 months, they were only given 7 weeks. They went from having half a year to raise $40,000 to just seven weeks. They need the money to purchase a building for their church, because the building they had been using was bought out by a man who wants nothing to do with the gospel and has kicked them out.

As he spoke, tears poured down my face. Then, a gentleman in our church stood up and pledged that he would give $100. Without thinking – or consulting my husband, I raised my hand that we would do the same. Hand after hand went up, until they got to $800. The missionary had been requesting that churches or individuals pledge $1,000 to help them reach their goal, and we were $200 short.

Time seemed to stand still. I wanted so badly for someone to pledge that last $200. The tears flowed harder, and at that moment, I wanted to pledge the last $200 – even though I knew we couldn’t realistically do it. The preacher requested that we take some of the extra money in our missions fund to help them reach $1,000. {I’m pretty sure that I heard my husband give a sigh of relief. He knew exactly what I had been thinking.}

I had forgotten the checkbook at home, so I grabbed Gene’s keys and flew out the door. I drove home, grabbed the checkbook, and then drove back to the church. While I was driving, for one moment, I felt that I would have given up all that I had to help that family. I would have sold all my worldly possessions for the hope that someone else might here the Gospel. In that one moment, I finally understood what “Missions” is all about.

I am so thankful for the way I grew up. I know it took 33 years, and moving across the country to finally “get it,” but I do get it. And now I want to be sure that my kids really get it. That they understand exactly what missionaries do, and that it’s not easy. I also want to do a better job of supporting our missionaries.

Are you a missionary-minded family? What tools do you use to teach your children about missions? I’d love some ideas!

The DietBet Challenge is ON! My Official Weigh-in.

Angie — Tue, 08 May 2012 13:44:49 +0000

I’m a little behind posting this. Things have been kind of crazy around here.

On Saturday, I started a new DietBet weight loss challenge. This time, I competing against 6 ladies. At the end of the challenge, we will see who the winner{s?} is{are?}, and prizes will be awarded.

I am really excited about this challenge, for lots of reasons: First, I do better when I’m competing. It keeps me from eating things I know I shouldn’t, and it motivates me to exercise and push myself just a little harder. Secondly, I am already doing so well at reaching my goals, and I think this is the “push” I need to keep going.

I am also really excited about sharing this experience with some very special people in my life! Last time I did the DietBet challenge, I didn’t really know the girls I was competing against. This time, however, I know most of these girls on a personal level. I’ve known one girl since we were about 3 years old. We went to school together – from preschool all the way through 5th grade. {I moved to Chicago the summer between my 5th and 6th grade year.} We got back in contact in 2002 completely by accident… I ran into her mom at the little cake shop that made our wedding cake. It turned out her daughter was getting married about a month before I was. We were able to go to each others’ weddings. We lost touch again, and through the power of Facebook, we got back in touch. We’ve both struggled with our weight, so we’ve been cheering each other on for a few months now.

I’m also competing against a friend from a church I went to in Ohio, a friend I go to church with now, my best friend’s mom, and 2 other fabulous ladies I’ve just recently had the chance to meet. I am STOKED! Although, this may not be such a good thing. I may get so busy cheering them on that I might just forget and eat a box of donuts or something. I’m sure they wouldn’t mind that at all.

Ok, ok. Time to get to the hardest part of this post. The video of my official weigh in. It’s a little different than my official weigh-in in January when I tipped the scales at 213 pounds. I’ve definitely lost some weight since then… but getting on a scale in front of anyone just isn’t easy.

And before you watch this video, let me just tell you that I had just finished playing 3 hours of volleyball. So, my hair is in a ponytail, and I’m pretty sure I sweated all my makeup off. But, that’s the real me… scary, I know.

Ok, here’s the video:

Crazy. 183.8. That’s down almost exactly 30 pounds since January, which is great, but I know I can do better. I really think this challenge will speed things up again. At least I’m hoping that’s what it does.

Now, here are my “Before” pictures for this challenge. {Be sure to check out my Before & After pictures from the last challenge. It made such a difference, I’m hoping to do it again!}

Yep, I still have a loooooong way to go. But I know I can do it!

I hope you’ll stick with us for the next 4 weeks. You can follow our DietBet Challenge by clicking here: DietBet Challenge – May 2012. Be sure to leave me some love on my profile page. I’m going to need it!

Also, I am still looking for a few more sponsors for the challenge. If you have a business and want lots of exposure, contact me today!

Let the games begin!

Alexa Mania Monday – 05/07/12 Edition {Lower Your Alexa Rank}

Angie — Mon, 07 May 2012 09:00:31 +0000

What about you? Is your Alexa rank getting where you want it to be?

Here’s how the hop will work:

Install the Alexa Toolbar if you haven’t already. Don’t complete any more steps until you’ve done that first. Be sure to restart your browser if necessary.
Leave a Link to your blog in the linky below. Family Friendly blogs only, please, and link to your main page, not an individual blog post.
Browse around my site for as long as you’d like. If you leave a comment on any of my blog posts and tell me that you’re taking part in the Alexa Mania, I’ll be sure to return the visit to your blog and poke around. Also, if you review my site on Alexa, I’ll be sure to do the same for you as well. Just leave me a comment on this post and let me know that you left a review.
Visit as many blogs in the linky list as you can. Be sure to let them know that you’re visiting from the Alexa Mania Hop and leave a link to your blog so they can come to your blog and return the favor.
Please take the time to leave at least one review for one blog. It’s not hard – just go to the blog you’d like to review. Click on the Alexa toolbar icon, then click on the blog’s link in the window that pops up. Then, click on the “review” tab in the window that opens, and click on the “Write a Review” button. If you have the full toolbar for Firefox installed, just click on the graph icon in the toolbar. That will take you to the site info page for that blog. Then, click the review tab and then write a review.

Find & List GlVEAWAYS Here {5/6/12 – 5/12/12}

Angie — Sun, 06 May 2012 11:25:02 +0000

I am so, so sorry that this post is going up late. Normally, I write up the post on Saturday and have it go live on Sunday. But, this week, I worked all day Friday and Saturday, and then went last night to play volleyball with friends from church. I was so exhausted, I came home and went right to bed, totally spacing on the fact that I didn’t put up this post. Sigh. I’ve got to get used to working again. I hope you’ll bear with me during the transition period.

Just in case you’re new here, here is an example of how to post links:

Name: {4/30} BobbleBots Moshi Monsters Starter Set
Link: http://blessedbeyondwords.com/bobblebots-moshi-monsters-ends-430/
Shows up like this: {4/30} BobbleBots Moshi Monsters Starter Set

Now it’s your turn! Leave your links here: