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I Heart You: Hallmark Value Cards

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When we moved to Texas 7 years ago we had no nieces and nephews and our family was a lot smaller. Over the years our family has grown super-sized! We now have 12 nieces and nephews and still growing. We try to get together on weekends to have family dinners and that’s also when we celebrate birthdays and and holidays. I love giving cards to family members and friends.

Have you looked at the price of cards lately??? Some cards are between $5-$7 per card. I was in Walmart the other day and noticed the Hallmark Value Cards in the card isle. They were so cute and priced as low at .47 cents. I kind of went a little nuts because I found so many cute cards at such great prices!

Our Texas sized family:

I love each and every member of our family and want them all to feel special, but I don’t want to break the bank buying cards. With Hallmark #ValueCards you can Celebrate in a big way without spending a fortune!

I got all of these adorable cards for different occasions for under $14 bucks! They are so cute and I’m so excited to give these to someone special. I stock up on cards a few times a year knowing that eventually I’ll use them. I also like to decorate the envelopes with fun markers or glitter pens.

There is also a Hallmark Card Rewards Program, which rewards shoppers for purchasing Hallmark cards and can be collected anywhere (but especially at Walmart). Value cards are $.47 and $.97 cents. You can’t beat that price! For every 5 Hallmark cards you buy, you’ll earn a reward.

Our 13 year anniversary is coming up so I picked out a special card for my honey at Walmart. Time sure does fly!

A card is not just a piece of cardboard to me…it’s words of encouragement and emotions. I keep all my cards and look back on them to read what my relatives wrote who are no longer with us, or read what I wrote years ago. It makes me laugh & sometimes I wonder what I was thinking!

Cards can make you laugh, cry, smile, & reminisce about all the memories and thoughts you once had.

I love giving cards and I love receiving them as well. Cards hold so many special thoughts and are a great way to show someone how much they mean to you. Sometimes when you can’t find the exact words to say a card can do wonders to help.

Don’t let a day go by without letting someone know how much they mean to you! Life is too short not to 🙂

Make sure you check THIS out to sign up for Hallmark Rewards, and to see great content from other bloggers. Join in the #ValueCards conversation on Twitter!

Surprise! We’re Here!

Over the weekend we had an unexpected visit from my parents aka “Nana & Poppy”. They were on their way home from a week-long trip visiting my Aunt and Uncle in Alaska.

I was worried about my Dad because my Mom had texted the day they were leaving:

“Your Dad scared me to death right after I sent that last text. He was looking up and watching the seaplanes land in the water and fell over a curb. I looked behind me and he was rolling across the dock toward the drop into the sea. Thankfully he was just skinned up and didn’t break anything. He was terribly embarrassed. It shook us both up.”

Seriously? I can totally see my Dad rolling down the dock like a roly poly towards the ocean. Bless his heart. I’m sure they’ll laugh about it some day….but right now I think it’s just awful!

Anyway. Their luggage didn’t quite make it to DFW either. We had a great Saturday visiting and so glad we got to see them, even if it was just for a short while. It’s so hard living away from my family!!!! So, so, so dang hard!

P.S. Dad don’t kill me for telling everyone you tumbled…I LOVE YOU!

A Day in My Life with 5-Hour Energy®

This shop has been compensated by #CollectiveBias Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone.

Most days my life is a crazy mess. Like, seriously….we have a lot going on and sometimes it’s just hard to get through the day without dragging my heels. I have a tiny little secret that I carry around with me called 5-hour ENERGY® shots. They are so tiny you can carry them anywhere and they don’t need to me refrigerated either.

My day usually starts around 6 am and I’ll get up, shower, and then get ready for the day. In the midst of all this Terence is also getting ready for work and we are getting Connor showered, dressed, & ready for school.

The boys are usually ready before me because they don’t have to do hair and makeup. Connor eats his cereal and Terence makes a shake or coffee. Then I shuffle to get my things together and we are out the door by 7 am.

I drop Connor off at school and then head to work for the rest of the day.

Then…..I hit my afternoon sinking spell around 2-3 pm. UGH.

That’s when I reach for my tiny magic potion. Ha! Not really it’s a 5-hour ENERGY® shot.

5-hour ENERGY® shots are a dietary supplement that contains a blend of B-vitamins, amino acids, and essential nutrients. There’s zero sugar, carbs, or herbal stimulants. It’s only four calories. It contains the amount of caffeine comparable to a cup of leading premium coffee. It’s gives me that extra push I need in the afternoon to keep going.

D7K_1153-975x975

My day doesn’t end at 5pm. After I get off work I pick up Connor, we have swim lessons, then after that we go home and cook dinner. After all this we like to chill out on the sofa and watch some TV. Our days are long, but full of fun and excitement too! I want to be that Mom who can keep up with her 4-year-old. With 5-hour ENERGY® shots I feel energized and focused on what needs to be done.

They are so easy to put in your bag or keep in your desk too #ThisIsMySecret ! There are a lot of different flavors to choose from. My personal favorite is grape 🙂

The best part is there is no crashing and 5-hour ENERGY® shots are sugar-free.

Right now CVS has a great sale: Get One 50% off on the 6-pack of 5-hour ENERGY® shots.

Stay updated on the latest from 5-hour Energy® through Twitter and Facebook.

ENTER BELOW TO BE ELIGIBLE TO WIN A 6 MONTH SUPPLY OF 5-hour ENERGY® shots

*Please be aware that 5-hour ENERGY® shots is not for use by children.

RAFFLECOPTER GIVEAWAY

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Our Day at Sealife Grapevine with the Octonauts

We’ve been to Sea Life Grapevine a couple of times over the past few summers and it’s always so much fun! Connor has been learning about the ocean and sea life in school, so it was fun for him to see all of it in real life!

This summer Sea Life Grapevine has something really special for kids. The Octonauts are there to visit! Connor loves watching Octonauts and was super excited to meet these characters too! Now through July 20th the Octonauts will be at Sea Life Grapevine…so hurry and get your tickets to take your little ones to see them soon 🙂

My favorite spot is the sea tunnel where you are surrounded by an aquarium full of fish and even SHARKS! The floor is glass too so it looks like you are walking through the water.

Hi there turtle! I love the turtles!

SEA LIFE Grapevine Aquarium transports you into an amazing underwater world.

Prepare for astonishingly close views of everything from humble starfish and seahorses to graceful rays.
To get any closer you would have to get wet!
Amazing 360° Underwater Ocean Tunnel
30 Incredible Displays
More than 5,000 Sea Creatures
Challenge your fears with Shark Mission
Don’t forget to bring socks for your child if they are interested in playing in our Play Area!

Terence and Connor on the Octonauts ship.

Me and Connor in a bubble looking at all the fish.

Shark attack!!!!! Ahhhhhhh!!!!!!!!

At the very end we finally got to meet Kwazii! Connor was so excited and it was pretty cool!

If you are looking for something fun to do with your kiddos this summer that’s indoor and COOL inside!!! Ha ha! I highly recommend making memories at the Sea Life Grapevine Aquarium. We enjoy it more each and every time we visit!

Finish This Linkup: Week 27

WELCOME TO WEEK 27 OF FINISH THIS … your co-hosts are LISA (Coastlined), JEN (The Arizona Russums), BECKY (The Java Mama) and NICOLE (Three 31). The link up instructions are simple: answer the prompts in a post on your blog. Then, add the post to the collection list using the link below. Next week’s prompts are located at the bottom of this post.

I hope you liked our little contesty-poo last week! Wasn’t it smashing!!!

1. For July 4, I celebrated by …
We went to visit some good friends in Weatherford and shoot fireworks out in the sticks. Because you know that ain’t legal in the parts where I live…so we were so excited to go somewhere you can light fireworks and blow up stuff! Mmmmmkay? For more on our 4th of July adventure go HERE .

2. My go-to cosmetic product is …
I just wrote about some of my favorites HERE. But I absolutely cannot LIVE without Loreal Butterfly Effects mascara. That stuff is awesome. Also, a good concealer to hide my dark under eye baggage.

3. I am inspired by …
My family. Their encouragement means everything to me. You gotta have that support system. I love being creative. I’m inspired by Pinterest (I mean who isn’t these days???) Yeah I have like a bajillion things pinned I’ll never do, but WHO CARES! Everything is so pretty and sparkly on Pinterest Ahhhhhhhhh!!!!!

4. The best relationship advice I received was …
Gosh, I can’t remember. I’ve been married too long to recall advice while dating and nobody really has given me any in a while. Never go to bed angry, never leave the house when fighting, LOVE takes WORK-find out your partners love language that can do wonders in effecting how they feel. Dude’s help with the dishes, gals help with the yard. Remind each other how thankful you are for them!

5. When no one is around, I tend to …
Sleep. Eat Ben & Jerry’s. Actually I think I would be thinner if I was a single woman and only had to worry about my meals. Eh. Watch TV, blog, go out with friends. Take photos of random stuff.

P.S. Thank you for all your love and support from yesterday’s post. I wasn’t throwing a poor, pitiful me party. I was just being real and I don’t want people reading this blog to think my life is all sunshine and rainbows….because it isn’t. I love my husband and my son dearly and am SOOOOOO incredibly thankful for everything God has blessed us with!!!! (Every now and then it’s just good to get it out sometimes!)

Happy HUMP Day!

If you live in DFW holler at me if you’re interest in photos!!! I love shooting people…not really….you know what I mean 😉

Now it’s your turn. Answer these prompts in a post on your own blog and join the link up! Come back next Wednesday for another round of Finish This where we’ll answer the prompts below!

Prompts for WEEK 28 (July 16) are:
The only thing standing between me and is
I don’t have to be perfect to be
I would improve by

Heart Flood

Sometimes it’s good just to sit down and write what is on your heart. Let your heart “flood”. I know a lot of you in real life and online. I’m so thankful for all sorts of friendships. When I moved to Texas almost 7 years ago it was so incredibly hard to start over and make new friends. It sounds cheesy, but the online community of friendships I’ve made have been a HUGE support system.

So, I know sharing my heart isn’t a big deal to you….but this blog is my journal and my outpouring of thoughts and randomness. It is what it is.

Right now I feel at such a crossroads in life. We don’t exactly know where we are moving in the future, but we do know that we don’t want Terence on the road 2 hours every day commuting anymore. Right now I feel like Terence and I are living zombie lives and waking up every day to the same endless routine. I know when he gets home he’s exhausted and so am I. Does anyone else feel that way?

I know there are changes coming and we want to find a permanent place to live before Connor goes to kindergarten. Whether or not we have any more children….well….that’s a HUGE gaping question mark/hole in my heart. I just don’t know.

How do you let go of your emotions and give everything over to God-emotionally, financially, spiritually, and just TRUST in Him? It’s hard to let go of that control and I think that is what T & I struggle with the most. Some days I would love to have another baby, yet others I’m perfectly content with one.

It’s not that we couldn’t do it financially. We can. We’d just have to give up a lot of things. So, am I willing to do that? Yes…but it would mean a big change for us. Terence and I are polar opposites. He’s a HUGE financial planner and I’m more a fly by the seat of your pants kind of gal!

Yes, we’d have to give up vacations, lattes, and little extra expenditures. It just depends. It’s hard to read blogs and NOT compare yourselves to others. That’s something I struggle with and try not to do. Everyone’s life has a different path. When I see people younger than me building their McMansions or buying expensive wardrobes and posting outfits every single day that I couldn’t afford over a 6 month span….I’m like “Whaaaaa????” How in the heck? Yeah I wonder. Are these people in a ginormous amount of credit card debt or did they win the lotto?

That’s the point when I just have to remove myself and focus on myself and my family. The worst thing you can do is envy others. What happened to being cheerleaders and being happy for someone else’s success? Honestly, you probably don’t know their whole story either and we shouldn’t be so quick to judge.

I’m proud my husband and I have worked so hard and are (for the most part) debt free besides our home. We carry no debt or student loan debt, but we’ve literally worked our asses off to get here.

So at what point in time to you feel comfortable??? When we got married almost 13 years ago we would always talk about “When we got to this point in life we’ll be able to do this and that!” Well, we are HERE. Beyond that point we dreamed of. So when do you start to feel content and secure? That is a peace that I don’t feel and I need to let go and let God fill that void.

So many decisions in this walk of life. Nobody said it would be easy. But let’s support each other and be cheerleaders for others & their successes. Life is not easy and so many people have it worse than you or I do. Yeah…some days just suck. But, beyond all that there is so much to be thankful for.

Right now I am asking if you have a moment and you think of us maybe you could say a little prayer for our future and that God would guide us in the right direction.

bombshell-probjh

Xo Becky

4th of July 2014

I hope you all had a great 4th of July! It’s getting SOOOO hot here in Texas and this chick just isn’t too keen on the hot weather and pit stains. Like, I could totally live up north and be content year around.

Ter-Bear came to see me at work Friday 🙂

I made a red, white, and blue cake. I hate to cook…but LOVE to bake! The cake was ginormous and I ended up throwing half of it out because it was sitting in the fridge all weekend.

The cake:

I ordered Connor a Batman costume because he’s been begging for one. I think this set was like $8 bucks on Amazon.

Connor also had a little 4th of July parade at school and it was so cute!

On Friday our sweet friends Bree & Nate invited us to their house in the country to shoot fireworks. That was so much fun! I think the boys had the best time!

My kid is the one with the perma-hands-over-ears in every picture. Super weenie.

So blessed to have another year to celebrate! Happy birthday America 🙂

Land of the free…Home of the brave.

Oh, and Connor got ALL his hair chopped off! I may be in a bit of shock right now, but it’s great for summer. I’m missing his little mop head though. Ha ha! But…it’s hair and it will grow back! It’s so funny because he keeps running to the mirrors in the house and looking at himself and rubbing his head like “who is this???”. Silly kid.

Copywright The Java Mama/Becky Branch 2014