I am so happy to announce our first giveaway in months, and it is an EXCITING one, just in time for Christmas!

***This post and giveaway are sponsored by Picturesongold.com. All opinions are my own.***

Let me tell you all about what you could win in this giveaway from PicturesonGold.com.

This is a $140.00 value sterling silver locket with your chosen photos laser engraved into the locket. That is my favorite part about it. You do not have to go hunting through your house for some tiny pictures. This is the problem with me and all those “personalized Christmas ornaments.” Who has time to go hunting for photos?

With this jewelry, you upload the photos you want in your locket straight from your phone or computer. I customized mine using the photos on my phone, and it took all of five minutes. Most of those minutes were spent just deciding which pictures to use.

First, you get to pick your locket shape and cover.

They have circle, heart, oval, dog tag, and square lockets. You can also order all sorts of pendants or bracelets, but this giveaway is for a locket. There are so many choices!

Choose whether you want gold or silver. I chose sterling silver.

Then you choose what you want engraved on the front. I am a sucker for a monogram, so I went with that on both my necklace and my mom’s.

Isn’t the monogram so pretty??

I ordered mine back in 2017, and I wrote about it here. This year I designed one for my mom, and it will be her Christmas present this year.

Personalized gifts are such a significant thing to give to your family and friends. I am a total sucker for a #1 Mom necklace or jewelry with my kids’ birthstones. This locket goes even above and beyond that with photos that feel like a hug each time you wear it and open it up and look at their smiling faces.

Choosing which photos to put inside is always the hardest decision for me. I was designing mine for my mom. Who do I choose?? She has so many of us to love!! I chose group photos to try to include as many family members as I could.

The photos in the locket turned out well, but it was hard to get a good picture of the engraved pictures. The one on the left side of the locket is of mom, dad, my brother and his wife, and my husband and me, along with our two-month old first baby. That was an extra merry Christmas, with the addition of the first little grandchild.

The picture on the right has all five of mom and dad’s grandchildren, all together for last Christmas. Plus, it was a good picture of everyone, which is always an amazing accomplishment in itself.

This locket holds up extremely well.

I still have mine that I ordered in 2017. In fact, I am wearing it right now, and it is still in perfect condition, though I did change out the chain this year for a shorter one.

Be sure to enter the giveaway, so you can win one of these beauties for yourself or to give as a gift this Christmas!

***Rules to Enter***

-Must be 18 to enter and win

-Must be U.S. resident

Don’t wait for the giveaway though. Check out all the ways you can make photo-engraved jewelry for your family this Christmas here: PicturesOnGold.com. Here is a discount code just for my readers: FESTIVE10

The post The New Perfect Christmas Gift Giveaway 2020 appeared first on Stories of Our Boys.

***I was not paid to write this review. All opinions are my own.***

Living  in the South has ignited a passion in me for all things monogrammed, engraved, and personalized, so when I came across this locket that you can personalize online in 5 minutes with words AND photos, and order it right to your doorstep, I HAD to try it. Thankfully, I was able to get my hands on a free blogger sample. (Thank you picturesongold.com!)

Making the Locket on PicturesOnGold.com

I was a little nervous about making it. Usually places like this want an exact size of photo, or I goof up and order 3 instead of 1…..like I did with those Third Love bras…but that’s another story…

Y’all! It was SO EASY, and there were OPTIONS– like Subway!! Silver or gold? What should be on the front? Which font? Choose your left inside. Words or photo? Choose the right inside. Choose what’s on the back. How long of a chain? Which type of shipping?

Want to see what I picked?

All 4 boys on the left, Alan and me on the right

What made me the happiest of all was that the upload time was quick, and they automatically shrink it to fit the locket. Then I was able to slide the photo around on there to center and enlarge the photos the way I wanted.

For the front I chose engraved initials:

Love!

It goes with everything. I was so excited when it arrived in the mail only a few days later, but you choose your own shipping option.

What sold me was that when the locket came, it was ready to wear. I did NOT have to go searching the house for tiny photos to fit in it. They are permanently “photoengraved” in.

Reader’s Discount!!!

After the Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales are over, you can use this code, just for my readers: BLOG10  That will give you 10% off your locket order. I cannot guarantee that the code will work in conjunction with other discounts.

Just go here to see all the personalized gifts they sell.

And now for the giveaway!!! Whoo-whoo!!!!

Prize is a locket like mine from PicturesOnGold.com for you to personalize online.

***Open to US residents only.***

Log in using Facebook or your email address. Then select one or 2 or all of the entering options to complete your giveaway entry! Best of luck! Winner will be announced in a week!

Happy Thanksgiving!

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The post Beautiful Personalized Gifts for Christmas with Giveaway! appeared first on Stories of Our Boys.

Top Pre-Teen Boy Picks: Ages ~8-12

#1. Popular Video Games this Christmas:

Our sons don’t have any of these yet, and all three are on my oldest’s list. His nonna has already claimed the basketball one, and I took care of the Skylanders, thanks to this incredible deal that Amazon is running right now on it. (That’s a link that’ll take you to it. So yes, this whole page is chock full of affiliate links.)

#2. Cards, cards, and more cards!!!

Both of my oldest two boys (ages 9 and 11) are crazy about these. Here’s a link to some card holders too because their collections get massive quickly.

#3. Books my boys have asked for:

The latest Wimpy Kid book is HALF OFF on Amazon this week! I’m sure we’ll be completing our collection…

Epic Big Nate: This one is NOT on sale, and it’s $32. Youch. It’s an overview of Peirce’s career progression with Big Nate. I’m not sure that it has any cartoons in it that haven’t already been read, so we will be holding out on this one, but if you have a die-hard fan, like our son Joshua, it would still be a hit.

The Big Book of Who is $12.50, and has enough pictures to be a major hit for kids who love basketball and love memorizing sports stats.

This one is only $9, and it’s an excellent story of a boy overcoming adversity through hard work to become an NBA star. 

#4. Sports Team Apparel

This is the first year that sports team apparel has made both Joshua and Caleb’s lists. Clothes! They actually want clothes! Joshua wants (yet another) ball cap, and Caleb wants a Bryce Harper jersey. And our sports teams are all over the place because we move so much, but that’s okay. Here are the ones my boys want. Of course, the Braves and Georgia Bulldogs are more popular where I live. What team do your neighborhood kids root for?

#5. Well, actually, who DOESN’T want a drone this year???

This one is the Star Wars remote control Tie Fighter Drone, per Caleb’s specifications!

#6. A New Bat (or sports equipment in general)

#7. Lego

Lego sets are still a safe bet for some boys, but not others. Caleb still loves them. They weren’t at the top of the list this year. However, they do get excited about the Legos that you can do robotics with, the kind that have moving parts.

The very affordable Star Wars build able figures are still a hit.

And then there’s these, for the mechanically inclined:

Buyer beware: It’s $200. This is just a pipe dream for most of our kids. Ha!

But they do make these:  

These are only $30, and you can add these motors to Lego creations that they already have or make to go with it. 

#8. A Mega Nerf Gun

We refuse to buy any more of them because our boys have way too many, and yet it still turned up on Caleb’s Christmas list, yet again. Caleb has this one, and it is pretty amazing:

Toys we’ve graduated from:

–Hotwheels (sad, I know)

–Super Hero Toys

–costumes

This age group is mostly past the above toys. My younger boys love them, though!

I hope at least one of these ideas will be helpful for you. Please always feel free to share with me what types of articles you’d like to see on the blog or the newsletter.

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

The post 2016 Christmas Gift Guide for Tween Boys, Ages 8-12 appeared first on Stories of Our Boys.

I recently read a post by Tamara over at tamaracamerablog.com, titled “In My Wheelhouse.”

Tamara Like Camera. Check out her blog!

She talks about her realm of expertise, the things that she can do, and do well.

She inspired me. What is in MY wheelhouse?

Tamara is really into the photography AND writing aspect of blogging. Actually, she’s also a genius at the social networking part of it too.

I enjoy the writing, and you know I love me some pictures. But photography? Taking wedding photos for other people? Let me go run and hide now because that is so NOT in my wheelhouse.

I get nervous when tourists hand me their cameras. What if I just ruin it?? One time Alan’s Aunt Ellen let me take a video of her family at Christmas, and while I did not provide a quality video, I DID provide side-splitting laughter for anyone who watched that film. There’s something hilarious about watching someone film people’s FEET while saying, “Oh, yeah, I got you in here. Looks good!”

I can’t believe I haven’t had anymore video or photography offers…

Today I dropped a couple of balls and goofed on a project I was working on, and I was asking myself, “What is wrong with me? Why can’t I get anything right? No one is going to trust me with anything.”

I’ve gotta cut out that sort of thinking.

Let’s all STOP for a second.

Tune out the voices of negativity and destructive self-talk, and ASK yourself:

What is in your wheelhouse?

What are you GOOD at? What do you enjoy? Then focus on that activity for as long as you can. Find a way to devote time to THAT, even if it means finding child care for a little while.

I love this verse:

6 We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your[a] faith; 7 if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach; 8 if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead,[b] do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully.    Romans 12:6-8

I’m taking a few minutes to think about what IS in my wheelhouse. What DO I enjoy doing? What am I good at? What do I do that helps others?

Well, of course, I made a list. It feels like bragging, but I promise it’s not. It’s turning negative thoughts into positive ones.

deep in thought

-I write. I write with honesty and humility. I’m not into fiction. It’s fun to read, but I’m more into writing about humor, spirituality, and ideas.

My yummy not-so-buttermilk biscuits

-I cook, and I LOVE it. I can make chicken and dumplins that’ll make you want to slap yo Mama.(No, autocorrect. It is DUMPLINS.)

My husband actually has to ask me to please not cook so much because the refrigerator is so full. That’s why I had time to blog today. Leftovers have been requested!! I know. I have the best husband ever.

-I’m funny.

I used to hate being called funny, way back when I was in high school. Boys were always teasing me and telling me how funny I was, and I was 16, so I really just wanted to be PRETTY! But I’m older and wiser now. Beauty is fleeting, so I’m good with funny. I’m also so thankful to be out of high school.

Art is in Joshua’s wheelhouse. (not so much mine!)

-I do like teaching. I’m stressed all the time because I’m a poor time manager who doesn’t plan or delegate well, but I truly enjoy reading to the boys, teaching them about cells, and planning little activities for them. I can’t tell you how happy I felt today, writing out the 6 times table, for the boys to cut up and practice with.

How ADORABLE!

-Babies. Babies are now in my wheelhouse. Before I had Joshua, I knew NOTHING about babies. Now I adore them. Babies mellow a person.

-Oh, according to KLOUT, this thing you will never have to worry about if you are not a blogger, I am an “expert at being a mom.”

I laughed so hard at that. Please note: Not. true.

-Bible study. I have this book. It’s my verse book. I have it sub-divided into subject categories. When I come across a verse that’s relevant to a topic that I think may come in handy, I file it into my book.

This shows a few of my tabs.

My Homemade Big Book of Verses: Those post-it notes on the cover are the verses I’m loving right now. Ephesians is so wonderful. I’ve spent weeks on it.

I have no formal Bible training, other than going to church and listening to sermons multiple times/week for the past 30 years. I’ve never attended any Christian schools. However, I have read it on my own since I was 11, and I read Bible study guides. I’ve read the Bible through several times, but I still have so much to learn.

The Bible has to be taken as a whole. You can’t take one verse from the Bible and build your theology on that. Believe it or not, everything is NOT black and white. It’s not about a list of rules. God is so much greater than that.

Jesus told the Pharisees:

…2But when the Pharisees saw this, they said to Him, “Look, Your disciples do what is not lawful to do on a Sabbath.” 3But He said to them, “Have you not read what David did when he became hungry, he and his companions, 4how he entered the house of God, and they ate the consecrated bread, which was not lawful for him to eat nor for those with him, but for the priests alone?…  Matthew 12:2-4

The Bible says to not work on the Sabbath, but Jesus healed people on the Sabbath.

God wants us to combine our knowledge of good and evil with common sense, mercy, and decency.

I wish the world could grasp the way that Jesus changed the story.

One day, I’d really love to spend WAY more time writing about Biblical things. It’s an intimidating thing to do, though, because I know what a crummy sinner I am. If I write about Jesus all the time, the whole world will hold me accountable to back that up with the way I live. Scary, isn’t it?

I’ll do my best. It’s in my wheelhouse to write about the things of God. I hope that you will all give me grace as I grow, but please know that I will never be perfect. People just aren’t.

But God gives more grace.

I’m thankful that grace is in God’s wheelhouse.

What is in yours?

The post What makes you thrive? What is in your wheelhouse? appeared first on Stories of Our Boys.

Alan took them to town on Saturday and let them pick out my gifts.  His store of choice:  Five and Below.  Sounds like a recipe for disaster, doesn’t it?  After all, little boys aren’t necessarily known for their great gift giving skills. Plus it wasn’t necessary.  They had already made me cards and gifts at school that I was perfectly happy with.

I was kind of afraid I’d end up with pink boas and fuzzy pink bunny slippers, like my friend Lucile has mentioned getting from her little boys.

But just look at what they picked out!

What you can’t tell from the picture is that the sunglasses are covered in lips, but I do think they make me look younger. : ) The pink thing in my other hand is a little packet of lip covered tissues.

As we were walking out the door to go to church, Joshua held up the hat and asked, “Mom, aren’t you going to wear the hat I got you?”

So of course, I wore the hat to Sunday school.  ; ) Kind of awesome that it matched my outfit, huh? Some of the guys in our Sunday school class insisted that I put it on so they could all see, and they agreed that I looked like I was ready for the Kentucky Derby.  Ha!  Not too shabby!

I bet you can’t guess what we had for lunch.  If you didn’t guess “Papa John’s”, then you haven’t spent much time with my husband.

However, let the record show that Alan made us all his delicious french toast for breakfast. It’s a good thing.  That did help soften the blow of being woken up at 5:30 am (by Caleb) to receive my gifts.  I don’t know what Alan does, but his french toast is amazing!! (Maybe I’ll make him share his secret on a future blog post!)

As soon as we got home from church, Caleb had me out there playing badminton with him.

That has turned out to be a seriously popular gift with every little boy in this house. They LOVE it.  Once Caleb got tired of playing, Dan took a turn. Then Joshua came out there to try, and suddenly I had to really be on my toes. He kept actually hitting it back to me!!  Hand-eye coordination changes drastically somewhere between ages 6 and 8 because Joshua was not always as athletic as he is now.

They have been playing Badminton every day since.

The boys didn’t even complain too much when I made them all pose for pictures with me.

Unfortunately, we’ve had to resort to drastic measures to get Joshua to smile for photos.  I got this idea from my friend, Jennifer, on Facebook.  It involves using the cleanest words that we can think of that little boys find hilarious.

Side note:  When I was a kid, I always wanted to have my mom’s high, pretty, chiseled cheek bones, rather than my chubby round face.  It never happened, but look!  Joshua has them!!

Thank you so much, boys!  It really was the “Funnest Mother’s Day ever”!!!  Yes, ‘funnest’ SHOULD be a word.  These boys are just too much preciousness, as is their daddy. This was just heavenly.

Psalm 127:4-5

“Like arrows in the hands of a warrior are sons born in one’s youth.

Blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them. They will not be put to shame when they contend with their enemies in the gate.”

“Lo, children are a heritage of the LORD: and the fruit of the womb is his reward.”    Psalm 127:3

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