It's Moving Day!

It was only a few short months ago when our family physically moved across the state of South Dakota. Today I am moving again, this time it is my blog that is moving.

I am excited to transition to this new platform with a new design and all new category pages. The old Girlfriends Get Real content will all be located in the new Faith Page. In addition I am adding Family, Food, @Home, Kids and the Bookshelf.

If you would like to check out my new site, you can find it at http://GirlfriendsGetReal.com.

Over One Hundred Gifts

I have only been keeping my gratitude journal for a few short months and I am already over 100 this week. Isn't it amazing how blessed we feel when we slow our lives down enough to notice all of the little things. God leaves His fingerprints everywhere in our lives. Stop, look around, He is there.

#101 Grandma time for Nadia. It is so fun to see her everyday ask "Can we go to Grandma's House?"

#102 Having coffee with my sister at school when I substitute teach.

#103 Spending the day at an auction with my sister. Been so long since we spent quality time like that together.

#104 My beautiful 10 year old Birthday girl.

#105 Watching "Letters to God" again and crying just as hard the second time.

#106 Sand Paper and Paint turn $5 trash into family treasure.

#107 Daughters that take care of mommy when daddy is gone and mommy is too sick to take care of them.

#108 Grandparent's Day (Mine are all gone, but my girls sure do have special ones :-)

#109 My Daddy's Homemade French Fries. Yummy!

#110 A husband that knows how to wash clothes and actually does, often.

For Time and Eternity

I was very intrigued when I first read the back of Allison Pittman's new book For Time and Eternity. I found in the first few chapters that I was emotionally invested to the main character Camilla. My mind was yelling at her to not leave her home. As she was becoming enthralled by her new love and believing lies.

My heart was hurting for the life that she was leading. I was aching for her to learn the truth of her childhood. This book gave me insight to the Mormon religion. This is the first book that I have read by Allison Pittman and I look forward to her next book in her new Sister Wife Series.

Here is more info on the book:
When Camilla Deardon hears their songs coming on a breeze, they sound just like the songs in her own church. This is all she knows of the Mormons camping near her family's farm. Mama and Papa warned her to stay away, but she doesn't understand their fear, especially after meeting a young Mormon man named Nathan Fox. So handsome. So charming. His eyes hold the very image of this Zion he talks about, and his step seems a promise to take her there.

Though Camilla knows she should obey her parents, she can't refuse her heart. But Nathan's promises can never prepare her for what she will face in Utah. She's been willing to share her husband's faith, but can she share her marriage with another woman?

About the Author:
Allison Pittman is the author of Stealing Home, the Crossroads of Grace series, and her nonfiction debut, Saturdays With Stella. A former high-school English teacher, she serves as director of the theater arts group at her church. She is also the co-president of a dynamic Christian writers group in the San Antonio, Texas area, where she makes her home with her husband and their three boys.

Would you like to learn more about Alison or about her next project? You can visit her website at: http://www.allisonpittman.com/

Thank you Glass Road PR for the opportunity to review this book.

Ten Years Ago Today

Ten years ago today I became a Mother.


I was a young mom without a clue. I spent hours holding her because I didn't know any better. We walked to the library almost everyday for the first four months of her life. Then I would rock her in my arms while I read. Now she reads to me.

When she was born we didn't ever go to church. Last night she recited all of the books of the Bible to me and then explained why she thought Jesus came to earth for the sick and not for the healthy.

A lot has changed in ten years. Praise God that He wasn't finished with me the day I became a mother. I thank God that He still isn't finished with me.

I pray everyday that she will know to teach her children about Jesus from the day she becomes a mother, not years later. I pray that she already understands how much God loves her.

Happy Birthday Taylor. What a blessing you are to me.

Family Bible Time

Four of us grabbed our Bibles and headed to Taylor's room. Each of us found our way to the book of Mark. We went around the room and each read from Chapter 1.

We studied. We shared. We learned.

Taylor led us to two other scriptures that she wanted to share with us. Chad and I looked at each other in amazement. We were not just the ones doing the teaching. We were all learning together.

We each picked out one verse to write down in our Scripture Journals. We each shared why we picked the verse that we did. Madelyn our little prayer warrior chose the verse on Jesus healing the sick. Taylor chose a verse about Jesus baptizing us with the Holy Spirit. Then she proceeded to explain that this verse is talking about salvation.

We read exactly the same passage, but it spoke to each one of us differently.

My heart is full of joy tonight. We have been wondering if the girls are starting to develop their own faith. I think that this time together as a family answered that question.

Madelyn asked, "Can we do this again tomorrow?"

Friendships are Golden

I have a song stuck in my head from one of my daughter's Pooh books,
"Make New Friends, but Keep the Old. One is Silver and the Other Gold."

Four years ago my husband's career took us on a new adventure. We were excited and scared out of our minds.

We were moving farther away from family. We were moving to a place that we didn't really desire to move to. We were moving to a place that we knew no one.

Before we made the move we had a list of "must haves". Things that had to fall into place or we were not going to go. Of course, it seemed like none of those things worked out according to our plans. However, the move just felt right, we felt like God really wanted us to go.

It did not take long after the move for us to see God's hand at work. He provided us with amazing friends. He opened our eyes to the beauty of this new place. Our hearts were touched forever by this stop on our journey of life.



Three months ago we moved again. Over the past year we felt like it was time for us to go. Our hearts were heavy for our families. We decided that it was time to move home. We were very excited about this next step on our journey.

The move has been positive for all of us. We have made more memories with our families in three months than we had made in the last four years.

But a piece of us is missing. When we made that move four years ago, God provided us with wonderful friends. Friends that we laughed with and cried with. Friends that shared every part of our lives with us for four years. Friends that loved us unconditionally. Friends that became family.

This weekend we were able to spend time with some of these friends. It was so hard to leave them on Sunday.

On our trip home we started to talk about how God has provided for us over the past few years. At a time that we felt so alone, God provided us with friends that will forever hold a very special place in our hearts.

Today I am unwrapping the amazing gift of friendship. God knows what we need exactly when we need it. He provides for us always. We just have to have our eyes open enough to see the amazing gifts that He places before us.

What gifts are you unwrapping today? Join Emily at Chatting At the Sky and share your gifts.

Home Sweet Home

Last week was a week of discovering and a week of listening. Sometimes you just need to force yourself to slow down and breathe in life. I am celebrating more blessings this week with the Gratitude Community over at A Holy Experience. It has been an amazing experience for me to really slow down enough to notice God in every moment.

#92 Spending a week listening to Him.

#93 A weekend road trip with my family.

#94 Dressing up with my girls.

#95 Celebrating a new marriage with a beautiful couple.

#96 Smiles and Hugs from friends that we miss dearly.

#97 Surviving my first day of Substitute Teaching

#98 Arriving home after a weekend away.

#99 Labor Day Holiday with Daddy home from work all day.

#100 Cool Days that make me want to pull out my jeans and sweatshirts.