ICU

I can't sleep.

On Saturday morning, I got a call that my Dad was rushed to the hospital in California.

My heart dropped and tears started to run down my face. Those are the type of calls

that we never wish to get and when we do get them we feel as if our world is turned

upside down, we can't think straight and we don't know the next step to take. I don't 

know about you, but that is exactly how I feel.

I spoke with the nurse earlier today and she informed me that she is unable to disclose any information to anyone. She also told me that my Dad was unable to talk and probably wouldn't be able to for a few days because he is hooked up to so many tubes. I had a very strong feeling come to me like I needed to get out there as soon as possible. Tomorrow morning Josh and I are leaving at 5am to drive to California.  We don't know how long we will be there for and exactly what is going on and just how bad my Dad might be........................all we can do is just take it one day at a time.

This weekend has been consumed with a lot of tears, scripture reading and lots of prayer.

It is Him that I can turn to for strength. It is Him that can comfort my aching heart. It is Him that can help get me through anything. It is Him that has a plan. It is Him who's hands I am in. I trust Him. I love him more than anything and I know that He is with my family and I as we face this trial. 

I am so very thankful to everyone who is praying for my family and I. It really does mean the world

to us. We had some of our good friends from Mesa drive out here earlier tonight to suprise us with bags and bags of goodies to take with us on our trip tomorrow. I am so very thankful for good friends who care and for a loving Heavenly Father who is always there and always watching over us at all times. 

Verses that have been offering me peace and comfort (just to name a few):

The LORD is a shelter for the oppressed, a refuge in times of trouble.
Psalm 9:9

 Even when I walk through the darkest valley, I will not be afraid, 

for you are close beside me. Your rod and your staff protect and comfort me. 

 Psalm 23:4

 The LORD is close to the brokenhearted; he rescues those whose spirits are crushed.

Psalm 34:18 

  God is our refuge and strength, always ready to help in times of trouble. 

 Psalm 46:1

When you go through deep waters, I will be with you. When you go through rivers of 

difficulty, you will not drown. When you walk through the fire of oppression, 

you will not be burned up; the flames will not consume you.

Isaiah 43:2

 
Blessed are those who mourn, For they shall be comforted.

 Matthew 5:4  

 

-KIMBERLY-

SATURDAY MEET & MINGLE BLOG HOP

FASHION FRIDAY LINK UP

HAPPY FRIDAY my fellow blogging friends!

Today is a good day! I am wearing jeans at work (which NEVER happens)

When I go shopping, you can usually find me at SAVERS or Goodwill.
It's so amazing all the designer brands (in great condition) that I find for next 
to nothing. When I first started thrifting, it was a little nerve racking and overwhelming 
with racks and racks of clothes all mixed together, but now its like a giant treasure hunt for me to search and find little gems of clothing. This dress was one of those "gems" I found. One day when I was at SAVERS, I was having one of those shopping days where you just can't find 
anything. I was about ready to leave when I noticed the sleeves of this dress 
sticking out from the rack. I went over and picked it up and immediately fell
in love with it! I was able to pick this dress up for $6.99! Come to find out, this 
dress is from Nordstrom's and retails for $148! Woot Woot! Score!

I love the gathered fabric in the front, how form fitting it is and the fact that I can wear it
in the spring, summer, fall,  and the in the winter too! See how I wore it for the winter HERE

In all of these pictures, it was really nice outside until..........

The wind started to pick up and I couldn't get a single shot in!!

 

Then it started pouring! Just lovely.....

Dress: SAVERS // Earrings: Charlotte Russe // Necklace: Efoxcity // Shoes: TJ Maxx // Clutch: Thrifted


NOW FOR MY PICKS FROM LAST WEEKS FASHION FRIDAY LINK UP:

Casey from Our Simple Life

Lauren from Style of One's Own


Make sure you link up! I might just pick YOU to feature on my blog next Friday!!!

-KIMBERLY-

RIMMEL SCANDAL EYES CURVE ALERT MASCARA

My eyelashes are not that long and are pretty thin, so mascara is a huge deal to me and I am pretty choosy on what I use. I have bought so many mascaras in all price ranges. 

Department store mascara (MAC) to a tube of $1.00 mascara from the Dollar Tree.  I have come to realize that price has nothing to do with the quality. The mascara I usually use that I love is Maybelline Great Lash Mascara. It makes my eyes look bigger and my lashes longer with adding more definition to them. Even though I love great lash mascara, I am always willing to try something new. A few weeks ago I decided to buy the new Scandal eyes mascara by Rimmel at Walgreens. Have you tried this mascara yet?

Rimmel Scandal Eyes Curve Alert Mascara is supposed to lift and plump every single lash with it’s gravity defying curved brush. I have to tell you that this mascara has the THICKEST and BIGGEST brush I have ever seen! Now you would think that if the brush was bigger, it would coat your lashes a lot more and a lot faster right? Wrong! When applying just one coat, it coats too much and makes your lashes look really clumpy. PLUS, the brush is so thick and big that when you are applying it, its hard not to get any around your eyes. So I thought...okay maybe I have too much on the brush? Wrong again! I wiped the extra mascara on the tube and tried applying some mascara to the other eye. Same problem...clumpy! I then had to get a q-tip with a little water to wipe the little marks of mascara around my eyes.  I think that the size of the brush is my biggest objection against this product. Maybe if it was smaller it would apply  a lot better. 

Normally I would finish this mascara because of my frugal

 nature...but I think I might just (as Kerri would say...) "pitch it"

Looks like I am going to stick with Maybelline Great lash for now.

Have you tried Rimmel's Scandal Eyes Curve Alert mascara? Are you a fan?

What mascara do you use that you love?

BE SURE TO CHECK BACK TOMORROW AND
 LINK UP FOR THE FASHION FRIDAY LINK UP!

-KIMBERLY-

I purchased this product for review purposes.

IS IT OKAY FOR MARRIED PEOPLE TO HAVE FRIENDS OF THE OPPOSITE SEX?

My relationship with my wonderful husband began at my previous job. I moved to Arizona from Oregon in August 2009. I spent the majority of my time searching and applying for jobs. I had an interview at a custom web design company in Scottsdale for an office manager position. As I was waiting in the conference room, in walked a tall (6'6") handsome guy with a gorgeous smile. At that point I could feel my palms start to sweat and my stomach turn. I left the interview hoping and praying that if it was God's will I would get that job. Just a few days later, I got a call and I got the job! Guess who I would be working with and trained by?!??! Yup! You guessed it! Oh yeah! Dream come true baby! We spent all day every day working and training together....which then lead to hanging out as friends outside of work...which then lead to dating.....which then lead to falling head over heels in love with other.....which then lead to marriage!! We have now been married for 3 blissful years and I am loving every bit of it! Josh is everything I prayed about and so much more!

So lets talk about friends of the opposite sex. I know all throughout high school and in college, I had a ton of guy friends..sometimes even more guy friends that I did girlfriends.

But what about now that I am married? Is that still considered to be okay? 

It's a very tricky question. Friends of the opposite sex can sometimes cause issues in relationships—from small bouts of jealousy to devastating cases of infidelity—but does that mean that once you’re in a committed relationship, you have to swear off all other friendships with those whose gender competes with that of your significant other?

When Josh and I started dating, we both agreed it was okay still talking to people who had been our closest friends for years. But to be honest, as our relationship got more serious, eventually engaged and then married, those friendships diminished somewhat. Not because we consciously chose to dial down the friendship in favor of the other person but because we now had a new best friend and closest confidant in each other instead. 

Some people have rules to never be alone with anyone of the opposite sex who is not your spouse...ever. Shortly after Josh and I got married, we both agreed that we wanted to have a joint Facebook account and share an email address. It has nothing to do with not trusting one another, but has everything to do with temptation. 

What happens when a female coworker wants to treat you to lunch as a thank you for some work you did on a big project at the last minute? What if a guy you know on Facebook messages you for some advice about a situation because he knows you've had a similar experience to what he's struggling with? Or a high school crush ("we liked each other when we were 15, 20 years ago—how could that be a threat?!?") looks you up and wants to reconnect? 

No one of course goes out looking for an affair, but if you open yourself up to precarious situations, you can end up like the frog in a cold pot of water that ends up getting cooked because the temperature is raised just one degree each hour—such a slight progression that you might never see it coming.

It is painfully obvious that marriage today is being greatly devalued and the divorce rate is higher than it's even been. Satan knows that God created marriage.. and designed both marriage and the family for our benefit. Satan knows the value of the family, how it is the fabric of a good solid society, the foundation of vibrant growing assemblies, and the future of God’s work on earth. If Satan can be successful in tearing down the structure and substance of the family unit, then he will be successful in damaging what is near and dear to God’s heart. We need to do everything we can to strengthen, protect and center our marriages and families on Christ to withstand the fiery darts from the adversary.


So what works for you and your spouse? What precautions and boundaries have you set in place? How much guarding is necessary, and how much is just getting paranoid? I would love to hear from you! Please comment below!

-KIMBERLY-

 I do not boast in my own strength, nor in my own wisdom; but behold, my joy is full, yea, my heart is brim with joy, and I will rejoice in my God. Yea, I know that I am nothing; as to my strength I am weak; therefore I will  not boast of myself, but I will  of my God, for in his strength I can do all things.
-Alma 26-11:12

THESE HANDS

These hands are shaped like my Heavenly Father's.

Divine hands, made

To work and build,

To serve and bless.

Clean hands, free

Of mark or stain

From wrong doing.

These hands are shaped like my Heavenly Father's.

Let them never do

The things a child of God

Should never do;

Or touch the things

A child of God 

Should never touch.

These hands are shaped like my Heavenly Father's.

Thou in whose image I was made,

Help me to discern

That which is right

In thy sight.

Give me strength.

And the will.

Heavenly Father, help me to control these hands.

-KIMBERLY-

And now, my sons, remember, remember that it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your foundation; that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his mighty storm shall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo, because of the rock upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall.
-Helaman 5:12

UNITED DANCE CREW

 Just a few weeks ago, my Husband and I worked at a graduation event. 

The mom was so sweet and really went all out planning and making sure
the event was organized and perfect for her son. She also surprised him 
with these amazing dancers from United Dance Crew from Coolidge, Arizona.

Led and directed by Anthony and Adam Cordova, United Dance Crew was born in the urban community of Coolidge, Arizona. As a dynamic Christ-centered dance ministry with the central purpose of exalting Jesus Christ through each members gift and desire to dance. United features dancers from multiple hip-hop backgrounds including: popping, krumping, and break dancing, each bringing a unique dynamic to the harmonious choreographies from the mind of Anthony Cordova; employing both secular and Christian-based compositions. United, fueled by their mission statement, “Alone we can reach a few but United, we can reach a nation” was started in 2009 with the purpose of reaching out to members within their own community by identifying with the youth of Coolidge through dance, but has developed into much more. United Dance Crew now travels throughout Arizona performing at churches, outreaches, banquets, community events, school assemblies, and even most recently in 2010, the Arizona State Fair, always staying true to the central purpose for why they dance: to shed the light, hope, truth, and love found only in Jesus Christ, through the grace of God.

“For if we have been UNITED with him in a death like his, 

we shall certainly be UNITED with him in a resurrection like his.”

-Romans 6:5

            Hope you have a great Monday!

-Kimberly-

SUNDAY.

(from left to right)

1. Sunday best

2. Church

3. Hymns

4. My Primary class I teach every Sunday. These kids are amazing and know so much!

5. There is sunshine in my soul today

6. What?!? You have a treat for me?!?

7. Belgian waffles with fruit

8. Church movies and a chick flick with the Hubs

9. Sunday naps are the BEST!

10. Practice...practice...practice...

Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and your plans will succeed.
-Proverbs 16:3

Hope you are having a great Sunday!

-Kimberly-

I LIKE IT ALOT

I don't know if you have heard and I didn't until I found out HERE

The First Presidency and the Apostles have their own Facebook pages now!!

Want to "like" them and follow their posts? Click on the links below!

Thomas S. Monson

Boyd K. Packer

D. Todd Christofferson

Jeffrey R. Holland

David A. Bednar

Russell M. Nelson 

M. Russell Ballard 

Quentin L. Cook 

Dallin H. Oaks 

Neil L. Andersen 

Robert D. Hales 

Richard G. Scott 

L. Tom Perry 

Dieter F. Uchtdorf 

Henry B. Eyring 

SATURDAY MEET AND MINGLE BLOG HOP

FASHION FRIDAY LINK UP

Happy Friday friends! I hope you all have had a wonderful productive week!

I have 4 words for today: Three hours of sleep

Do you ever have those nights where you just can't sleep?!? They are the worst!

Tossing, turning and you just can't get comfortable or relax for anything? Well.....

Last night was one of those nights. I wouldn't mind so much, but today is going to be one LONG day! I have been up since 5:40am, have to work at my FT job until 4pm and then drive straight to Mesa to work a  Glamour on Wheels birthday party from 5:30-8pm. So I probably won't be home until around 9:30pm. Phew! I said a prayer on the way to work today asking God to give me the strength and energy that I need to get through this day. I know He will follow through!!! I will be like the energizer bunny getting everything done!!!

Even though I am exhausted, I am never too tired to blog or talk about fashion!
This has to be one of my favorite skirts by far. I thrifted this Ann Taylor skirt for just $3.99 at SAVERS. Gosh I love that place! Not only do I love the fit and the quality of this skirt...and of course the price, but I love how bold and colorful the print is. I have been playing it safe and just pairing this skirt with a black top and black heels, but I think I would like to venture out and see how this skirt would look with some colored heels.  

Sunnies: Jessica Simpson // Earrings: F21 // Shirt: H&M //
Skirt: Ann Taylor (Thrifted for $3.99) // Bracelets: TJ Maxx

My Mom bought me these two bracelets. I love the orange colored and how sparkly and shiny they are!
They were the perfect match for this skirt and really brought the orange of the flowers in the skirt out.



Here are my picks from last weeks Fashion Friday Link Up:

Marsa from The DayLee Journal

Kerri from Kerrin Chance Blog

Make sure you link up! I might just pick YOU to feature on my blog next Friday!!!


What are your plans for the weekend? Anything fun and exciting?


I am also linking up today with Britt from The Magnolia Pair for Friday's Love List #4

Here are some things I am loving right now:

1. This blog post. AMAZING!

2. My new favorite blog: Love Taza

3. Date night with my wonderful Husband

4. This video. What a beautiful story!

OLD WORLD GOURMET REVIEW

 Happy Thursday my lovely friends!

I finally got my first food review! Woot! Woot!

I was contacted a few weeks ago and was asked if I wanted to do a review for

Old World Gourmet. Old World Gourmet is an upscale food and beverage company with unique, innovative products. Founded in September 2001 by DeAnna Sullivan, the Georgia-based company continuously invents new recipes that take ordinary flavors to extraordinary sensations. One of its most popular products, the Vino-Licious line of frozen wine mixers, is the first of its kind and makes any bottle of wine a delicious adult slushie.
OWG also offers gourmet snacks like the Original Cracker Smack that adds flavor to any sleeve of crackers, and unique mixes that turn a bottle of beer or wine into a hearty loaf of bread. OWG products are sold online and in fine gift retailers across the country. 

I was able to pick two samples to review and try out. Since I don't drink at all, I decided to choose the Cracker Smack Seasoning Mix and the Raging Raspberry Lemonade . When I got my samples in the mail, the first thing I noticed and I was impressed with was the quality and creativeness of the packaging of the products. I also love the cost of their products, the Cracker Mix is $5.00 + shipping and the the Lemonade is $4.00 + shipping. 

These products were easy to make and the directions were simply to follow along.

The lemonade was very sweet and had a great taste to it. I am not a big fan of anything that is spicy..I am talking not even a little bit of spice. My husband on the other hand LOVES spicy and hot stuff. If he could put spicy sauce on everything...believe me he would!

He ate a few of the crackers and really loved the taste and the kick of spice that they had. 

 

2 qt. pitcher. I couldn't find my cute glass one from 

Ross, so this will have to do. Gotta love the Dollar Tree!

 Anchor shirt: Skip N' Whistle // Heart PJ's: Old Navy

 YUMMY!! So refreshing and tasty! This is so perfect for the summertime!

We have a GIANT box of saltine crackers from Costco that look like this. (We bought them in the clearance section at Costco for only $4.99 and they don't expire until next year) They are individually packaged so I had to Google how many crackers are in a sleeve. What's your guess? How many do you think?..................................... 40 crackers. 

You learn something new everyday!

Visit Old World Gourmet

Website //  Facebook  //  Twitter

Readers................... Use coupon code SHIP50 and get FREE
 shipping when you spend $50 or more at  Old World Gourmet