Guest Post, Helen's Habitat

I'm so happy to have another one of my blogging buddies helping out today!

Update: We made it to Tucson and in our new but empty house, 

our things come tomorrow but we'll still have lots of furniture shopping to do.

Lovelies, where's your favorite place to buy furniture? 

Helen from Helen's Habitat, which has great ideas and tips on coupons for saving a bundle!

(I really need to use coupons more!) 

Make sure you check her sweet blog out. 

The Joy In Play

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We were lucky to have my Mother-in-Law stay with us over Mother's Day weekend. She lives on the East Coast, so we don't see her as much as we would like. We were all invited to a wedding party on Saturday and since the couple was planning a trip to France, we tried to get French themed gifts. My Mother-in-Law got the best one-a French version of Monopoly! When we looked at the back I recognized a word for 'play' which in French is 'Jouer.' I then said, "My French is bad but I know that word. I think it's easy to remember because I see the word joy in it."

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Do you see the joy in play? I do-I have always loved games of all kinds. It started when I was a kid of course but what stands out to me now is this memory of my book of games. The book had a picture of some bipedal fish playing Kick the Can. I remember being totally confused but in awe of these fish getting together to play Kick the Can, Lol! I bet just thinking back to when you played Red Light, Green Light and Simon Says will bring a smile to your face!

Joy and play are gifts from God. When you become an adult and try to be mature and responsible, you may lose sight of how to enjoy these gifts. I want to encourage you as a single person, a wife or husband, a parent-wherever you are in life right now to really take inventory of how you are having joy in your life. Really take some time to consider if you are getting more joy out what the modern, mainstream culture is offering you or if you get more of your joy like a child through simplicity and play.

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What they say children get out of a family game night is developing skills in areas like communication and negotiation or building self confidence. They say children need that time to do something that isn't passive and that gives them time connect with their families. Aren't those things that we could use at any age? I encourage you to take one night a week to do a game night. Give yourself permission to get joy out of play. I mean if some fish are walkin' around playing games why can't you?!?! 

Matthew 18:2-3

" . . . And calling to him a child, he put him in the midst of them and said, "Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven."

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I love this! We have game nights all the time with my family and Kevin's family and many times just the two of us! In fact, we're planning some game nights with our new neighbors. Just out of curiosity, what your favorite game for family night? Mine is Ticket to Ride. I'd love to hear yours! 

Guest Post, Oh My Moomin

I'm thrilled to be having one of my blogging buddies, Anne from Oh My Moomin

share her thoughts on JOY with us!

When I volunteered to do a guest post for Lisa, the subject of her blog got me thinking...where do I find joy? Granted, there are certain occasions where joy is expected. The holiday season, the birth of a child, the wedding of a loved one...you know, the usual joy-filled occasions. But shouldn't we be looking for joy in the everyday? In the things that generally go unnoticed? In the things we often overlook? 

Here are a few things that bring me joy. I hope it brings you joy. And feel free to share where you find your daily dose of joy in the comments!

Joy is...

Source: blondeblueblog.com via Anne on Pinterest

Source: citified.blogspot.com via Anne on Pinterest

Source: browndresswithwhitedots.tumblr.com via Anne on Pinterest

Source: alovelybeing.com via Anne on Pinterest

Source: mrharristweed.tumblr.com via Anne on Pinterest

Source: tinywhitedaisies.tumblr.com via Anne on Pinterest

Thank you Anne! I hope you find JOY everyday! 
Don't forget to share your thoughts in the comments so we can all be inspired.
Happy Sunday! 

Guest Post, Life-N-Reflection

Hello lovelies!

While I'm away trying to get moved in to our house in Arizona,

I'm a having a few amazing bloggers visit to share their thoughts and ideas with us.
(Also, due to Blogger being down we'll have to have Joyful Moments next 
week after we're settled into our new house). 

Starting with Kristy from Life-N-Reflection.

I love her blog because it has so many neat photography ideas and tutorials.

And here she is with a sweet maternity shoot tutorial, yay!

Maternity photography is one of my favorites to be a part of. I ask clients to bring various items for sentimental props. I asked for a children's book for this shoot. She brought a quilt made by her great- grandmother and children's book her mother read to her as a baby.

Doesn't that melt your heart?!?!

Insider's tip:
Always bring a tarp to put under quilts and blankets to protect them.

To give your image a Fairy Tale Look, think Alice in Wonderland:
-Working in Photoshop add the Bon Voyage Texture on top of your image
-In the layers pallet, set the blending mode to screen or soft light (depending on your original color)
-Apply a layer mask to the texture and brush away texture from the skin and other details
(I use a soft round brush with a low hardness level, set between 35-45% opacity)
-Lower the opacity of the texture layer as need to reveal the image underneath


Thanks Kristy! 
Now head outside to create some of your own amazing pictures while the weather is nice!