In celebration of reaching 1,000+ Facebook fans on the Blessed Beyond Words page, I am offering up a super secret giveaway that ONLY fans can enter.

The rules are simple:

• You must be a fan of Blessed Beyond Words on Facebook

• You must be able to fill in the Secret Word in the Rafflecopter entry form

If you can do those two things, you can unlock lots more entries into the giveaway.

So what am I giving away?

The winner gets to choose: You can have a $50 Amazon Gift Card or you can get $50 in Paypal cash.

And since the prize will be sent by email, it will be open to ALL.

I am so thankful for my readers and my fans, and I want you to know how much I appreciate you!

What are you waiting for? Head on over to the Blessed Beyond Words Facebook page and find out what the secret word is!

Use the Rafflecopter gadget to enter:

Disclaimer: I am sponsoring this giveaway as a thank you to my readers.

I will admit it: I have a hat fetish. There is nothing more adorable than a baby boy sporting an adorable hat.

Recently, Taylor Joelle Designs contacted me and asked if I would review one of their cute little hats. Of course I jumped at the chance.

I selected the Owl Hat in Blue & Gray for my review, and I selected it in Gage’s size. As you can see from the picture, it is absolutely adorable. The quality, the craftsmanship, and the colors are remarkable. I just adore this hat.

Gage has had the opportunity to wear this hat out and about on several occasions. Every time, people will stop me just to tell me how cute he is and how adorable the hat is. I absolutely must agree on both accounts.

I decided to snap a few pictures of Gage in his new hat, and I ended up with so many cute ones that I couldn’t select just one to share with you… I had a bunch I want to share.

Take a look at some of the cute shots we got:

I am super impressed with everything about Taylor Joelle Designs, and will highly recommend them to anyone.

I hope you’ll take a few minutes and check out all the wonderful items Taylor Joelle Designs has to offer. It’s not just hats, either. They carry an entire line of children’s boutique products.

There are lots of ways you can connect with Taylor Joelle Designs:

• The Taylor Joelle Designs website.
• The Taylor Joelle Designs blog.
• Become a Fan of Taylor Joelle Designs on Facebook.
• Follow Taylor Joelle Designs on Twitter.
• Find Taylor Joelle Designs on Google+.
• Follow Taylor Joelle Designs on Pinterest.
• Watch Taylor Joelle Designs on YouTube.

The wonderful folks at Taylor Joelle Designs have graciously offered up a hat to one lucky reader here on Blessed Beyond Words. {Winner will receive their choice of in-stock hat.}

To enter, use the rafflecopter gadget below:

Disclaimer: I received the item mentioned above from Taylor Joelle Designs in order to facilitate my review. I have not been compensated for this post in any other way. Opinions expressed are 100% my own. Taylor Joelle Designs is sponsoring the giveaway.

I am SO excited about how many are joining into our Alexa Mania Blog Hop! The more people we get on board, the lower our Alexa ranks can go. 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.

I’m also excited that my Alexa rank is staying down. I’d like to see it drop a little more, but that will come with getting more people involved in our blog hop.

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!

February is flying by. I guess the good new is if the days keep flying by so fast, we’ll be having warmer weather soon! As I type this post, I am absolutely freezing! I’d love to have a few 70* days right about now.

Let’s get to the real reason for this post: the Giveaways! Right now is a great time to 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: {02/26} Shabby Apple Bali Ha’i Dress
Link: http://blessedbeyondwords.com/shabby-apple-bali-hai-dress-ends-226/
Shows up like this: {02/26} Shabby Apple Bali Ha’i Dress

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

If you’ve been a reader on my blog for any amount of time, you’ve probably come across pictures of my kids. My daughter Lucy, has very long, thin, curly hair, and it is an absolute nightmare to deal with in the winter. Because we’ve had so many cold, harsh days lately, we have dealt with tangles, static, and more bad hair days than I’d even like to count.

So, when I got the opportunity to review several products from Fairy Tales Hair Care, I jumped at the chance. Maybe this would be just what we needed to keep Lucy’s hair from being unruly and just plain hard to deal with.

Here are the products I received for my review:

• Conditioning Shampoo
• Detangling Conditioner
• Static Free Leave-in Detangling Spray

When the box arrived, Lucy was SO excited. She just knew the items had to be for her, because there was a castle on there. She asked if I had gotten her some new Princess shampoo.

She was so excited, in fact, that she couldn’t wait until that evening to get her bath. I gave in and allowed her to hop in the bathtub. I was almost as excited to try out the new products on her hair and see if they would make any difference.

The products smell absolutely amazing. I can’t quite describe the scent, but it’s sweet and not overly potent. Just perfect for a little girl’s hair.

When she got out of the tub, we sprayed her hair with the detangling spray. {It had the same yummy scent.} I couldn’t believe how easy it was to comb through her hair. Usually combing Lucy’s hair is a fight. There are tears, and millions of “Are you done yet”s. But not this time. In fact, when I had finished combing her hair, she asked, “Are you done already?!” Talk about a nice change!

Since it was earlier in the day, Lucy asked if I would straighten her hair. I figured that would be the ultimate test of the products. Would her hair look thin and stringy and filled with static, or would these products actually make her hair look better?

I’m delighted to tell you that they worked – beautifully! You can see in the picture just how long Lucy’s hair is – and there’s hardly a “fly-away” hair to be found anywhere. Her hair feels healthier, looks shinier, and is absolutely gorgeous. We both love it!

I would highly recommend Fairy Tales Hair Care Products to any mom with a little girl. I am super impressed by how well they tamed my Lucy’s crazy hair, and will continue to use these products on her hair.

To learn more about Fairy Tales Hair Care Products, you can connect with them in the following ways:

• The Fairy Tales Hair Care website

• Become a Fan of Fairy Tales Hair Care on Facebook

• Follow Fairy Tales Hair Care on Twitter

I also wanted to let you know about a contest Fairy Tales Hair Care is running on their Facebook page. It’s the “OH NO, I HAVE LICE” Photo Contest. Parents are encouraged to snap and post a quick picture of their child{ren} showing their best reaction to finding out she/he has lice. The funniest photo will win a Rosemary Repel 5 pack AND a $50 Visa Gift Card! Plus, all entries will receive a 20% off coupon code. All you have to do is like Fairy Tales Hair Care on Facebook and post your picture! It’s so easy! You need to hurry, though, because the contest ends February 29th. Don’t miss your chance to enter to win!

Disclaimer: I received the products mentioned above from the Fairy Tales Hair Care company in order to facilitate my review. Opinions expressed are 100% my own. I was in no other way compensated for this post.

There have been many times I have been reading through the comments on my blog, and I’ll think to myself, “Man, I wish I could like this comment. It’s great!”

Well, now we have that option! You’ll notice a little button in each comment box with a thumbs up sign. Click on that, and you’ve officially “liked” the comment. They don’t go to Facebook or anything… I’m still working on finding just the right plug in for that option, but I figure it’s a good start.

I hope this adds a little more fun to your visits here at Blessed Beyond Words.

{And, just so you know, I do read through all the comments I get on my blog. I don’t always get the chance to respond, but I want you to know that what you say is extremely important to me, even if I don’t get a minute to tell you that.}

If you have any other features you’d like to see here on the blog, let me know!

Since Gage’s first birthday is coming up next month, I’ve been using every spare moment to scour Pinterest for some birthday party ideas.

I’m not going over the top. I never have with any of the kids on their first birthday.

Why?

Because they’re just not that into it. They couldn’t care less about the presents, the decorations, or any of the hoo-ha. {Is that a word?} BUT, next year, when Gage turns 2, I’ll be singing a different song. I always tend to go a little overboard for the second birthday. Not sure why, but 2 has been my favorite birthday for each of my kids.

Anyway, I’m having a small party at my house on Gage’s birthday. Only family and our closest friends will be invited. I worked out the menu this week with hubby, and I’m talking with my dear friend Melissa of Melissa’s Custom Cakes & Goodies about the cake. All I’m going to say is that it’s going to be adorable. And definitely not over the top.

I’m doing a Monkey theme for his party. {Of course! Would anyone expect anything else?} And the colors will be Navy Blue and browns. It’s going to be awesome.

As I was scouring Pinterest, though, I came across some of the coolest cakes. Each of the kids {aside from Gage} have picked out their birthday cakes for this year. {So, get your ovens ready, Melissa. Come July, I’ll have 1 – 2 cake orders per month for you until October.}

I started a new board on Pinterest called “Birthday Party Ideas for the Kids.” You can follow it if you’re looking for ideas. I’m certain I’ll be pinning a million more things to it over the next few weeks.

I also wanted to share some of my favorite pins from that board:

Got any more monkey-themed party ideas for me? Whether you’ve pinned them, posted them on your blog, or just happened across them on the world wide web, I’d love it if you’d share them with me!

You are all probably somewhat aware that I have an obsessing with being organized. With such a large family, I have to be.

Recently, I was introduced to clipix. I am completely hooked.

I am always finding things online that I want to be able to come back to quickly and easily. I’ll bookmark something, but I have over 6,000 bookmarks on my desktop computer. There’s nothing quick or easy about finding anything I’ve saved.

That’s why I love Clipix so much. Now, I can Clip something to a clipboard, and I can find it fast. No more hunting for hours on end, swearing that I saved that page as a bookmark somewhere.

There are tons of uses for Clipix: gluten free recipes, vacation ideas, stuff you want your hubby to buy you…. the list goes on and on. I’ve just started using it, but I can already tell that I’m going to love it. I plan to start by clipping articles on blogs that I want to come back and read. {There are a lot of those!}

Clipix also offers an iPhone app, so you can always have your clipboards at your fingertips. You can even take pictures of things you see while out and about and clip them onto your clipboards.

There’s no limit to the number of clipboards you can have, either. Clip as much as you what, as often as you want. And then decide who you want to see them. You can make your clipboards completely private, or share them with the world.

It’s so easy! Look, I’ve just started clipping, and I’m having a blast:

Check out the clipix YouTube video to learn more:

To encourage you to start clipping things, I’ve added a Clipix button to the bottom and side of each post. It only takes a minute to sign up for Clipix, and I hope you’ll join me.

Promoted Post

It’s no secret, I love chocolate. And, since yesterday was Valentine’s Day, I had an excuse to make some sweets for all my sweeties.

Thanks to Pinterest, I happened across this recipe. It sounded amazing, and I decided I would change things up a bit and make the recipe my own.

Here’s my version:

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cake

 Cake Ingredients:
1 Box Chocolate Cake Mix. {I used Devil’s Food Cake}
2 Pints Mayfield Peanut Butter Fudge Ice Cream
2 Tablespoons Milk

Topping Ingredients:
1 16 ounce Can of Hershey’s Chocolate Syrup
1/4 cup Reese’s peanut butter

Directions:
Preheat oven to temperature recommended on the cake mix box. Mix together the cake mix, the ice cream, and the milk. Stir until moist. {My batter was quite thick and lumpy.} Spread into a greased and floured 9×13 pan {or any size pan you prefer}, and bake according to the directions on the cake mix box. {Remember – you don’t need the oil, egg, or anything else. Just the ingredients listed above.}

When the cake is finished baking, and a toothpick comes out clean, allow the cake to cool for 20 minutes. Pour the entire can of Hershey’s syrup over the top of the cake. Melt the peanut butter in the microwave, and drizzle it over the top of the cake. With a knife, swirl the peanut butter and chocolate topping together.

This was a HUGE hit with my kids and my husband last night, and it was so easy!

I think I’ve found my new dessert to take to church dinners.

Several days have passed since we found out about the death of yet another celebrity. You all know who I’m talking about. Her name and face are plastered all over Facebook, twitter, newspapers, magazines, and tv stations. The “tragic” death of someone before their time.

It sickens me.

Who was she? She was a singer. Sure, she had a beautiful voice, but so do many other women I know. None of them have ever won a Grammy or set foot on a stage before millions of people. But every Sunday morning, they sing their heart out to the Lord. And it’s more beautiful than any celebrity I’ve ever heard.

She was not a role model for children by any stretch of the imagination. Become famous, get hooked on drugs, and spend your life in and out of rehab while the world watches your every move. I don’t know about you, but I want more for my children.

But her death seems to be all anyone can talk about.

I can’t help but think of people I know that have passed away recently… some far before their time.

Ms. Nancy was one of the sweetest women you could ever meet. Her pizza became an addiction. And you couldn’t walk into her restaurant without spending at least 20 minutes talking to her about the latest happenings. Then, Ms. Nancy got cancer. Her whole world changed – and so did the lives of each of her children. When she passed away, there was no televised funeral, no tweets sent out, no memorials plastered all over Facebook. But the world lost an amazing woman that day.

Ms. Jenny is another example. She had a heart of gold. We watched as cancer slowly ate away at her. Her concern was never for herself, but for those she would leave behind. She was a special woman, and she loved Jesus with all her heart.

Wayne was Ms. Jenny’s son. He was about my age. He had been confined to a wheelchair for years. After losing his mom, the grief was too much to bare, and it wasn’t long before he passed away as well. The two are reunited in heaven now, but there was certainly no media coverage when we lost either of them.

Ms. Liz got up one July morning, went into the bathroom, and collapsed. Moments later, she passed away in her husband’s arms. No explanation, no reason, nothing. Ms. Liz took care of so much at our church. The Christmas plays were always special because she made sure the focus of the Christmas play was on giving people the gospel. She was truly an inspiration, and someone I would want my children to look up to.

And what about the soldiers that die every day defending our country and our freedom? If it happened to be a local soldier, there may be a quick blurb in the newspaper, or a 2 minute segment on the evening news. There aren’t millions of tweets, Facebook status updates, or paparazzi surrounding the families of the fallen.

Wake up, America. With the loss of yet another celebrity, it screams volumes about where our priorities lie. Instead of focusing on those that are truly important – those in the Service, and those sold out for God, we focus on those that don’t really matter. We just want the juicy details: Did she die because of an overdose?

I will have no part in it. You will not see me post a status update anywhere saying that “I will always love you, Whitney.” What did she ever do for me? Not a darn thing. But, I will always love Ms. Nancy, Ms. Jenny, and Ms. Liz. They will forever hold a piece of my heart. They were women of God who put others first. They were gracious, loving, and kind. They were the kind of women that should be admired and put up on a pedestal – although not one of them would allow you to do so. They would rather God get the glory.

That’s the kind of person I want to be.