US Family Guide provided me with this promotional offer information to
share with my readers. This is a sponsored post. Affiliate links may be
in this posting. Thanks for supporting my blog.
Quality, affordable gifts for girls ages 2 to 12. SmitCo LLC has several different locked diary sets for girls in Emoji, Diva and Mermaid themes, as well as scrapbook, nail and play dress up sets and party favors that can be used as stocking stuffers to provide hours of fun.
SmitCo products also include rose gold, gold or rhodium plated jewelry and sets, as well as very popular stretch sets for little girls - all packed in cute gift boxes.
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We trust you will find some or all gifts here for the princesses on your list! My readers get to save! Get 20% Off Entire Cart Of Gifts! Go to: http://amzn.to/2a3d3v8 and use coupon code N3CQD6AE on checkout
DISCLOSURE/DISCLAIMER: Because I am posting about the SmitCo LLC Offer I am getting a free product to review later. Thanks to USFamilyGuide.com
for providing me this promotion information and free product. My
thoughts are mine and my family's own opinion and have not been altered
by anyone else. I did not receive any other compensation for posting
this promo. Affiliate links may be in this posting. Thanks for
supporting my blog.
US Family Guide provided me with this promotional offer information to share with my readers. This is a sponsored post. Affiliate links may be in this posting. Thanks for supporting my blog.
Quality, affordable gifts for girls ages 2 to 12. SmitCo LLC has several different diaries with lock and keys and diary sets for girls in Emoji and Diva themes, as well as several different nail art sets to provide hours of fun.
A huge hit is the brand new Mermaid themed scrapbook kit as well as 3 unique princess dress up sets.
SmitCo products also include rose gold, gold or rhodium plated jewelry and sets, as well as very popular stretch sets for little girls - all packed in cute gift boxes.
BUY IT
We trust you will find some or all gifts here for the princesses on your list! My readers get to save! Get 20% Off Entire Cart Of Gifts! Go to: http://amzn.to/2a3d3v8 and use coupon code N3CQD6AE on checkout.
DISCLOSURE/DISCLAIMER: Because I am posting about the SmitCo LLC Offer I am getting a free product to review later. Thanks to USFamilyGuide.com for providing me this promotion information and free product. My thoughts are mine and my family's own opinion and have not been altered by anyone else. I did not receive any other compensation for posting this promo. Affiliate links may be in this posting. Thanks for supporting my blog.
Sony Home Video provided me with some of the materials I used in this Blog Post/Giveaway. The opinions I share are my own.
The Swan Princess: Princess Tomorrow, Pirate Today is out on DVD September 6 from Sony Home Entertainment!
In the brand new original animated film, Princess Alise is training to be the perfect royal but in her heart all she wants to do is sail the seven seas as a swashbuckling pirate! After setting sail, Princess Alise is shipwrecked and washes ashore on an island where she meets Lucas, a young boy who has been living there by his self. They have to work together to survive and get back to civilization!
Are You Fit to be a Princess or a Pirate Blog App:
Are you fit for a storybook fairy tale or a swashbuckling high seas adventure? Take the quiz to find out and unlock a GIF!
WIN IT Prize: A copy of The Swan Princess: Princess Tomorrow, Pirate Today on DVD!
Each household is only eligible to win The Swan Princess: Princess Tomorrow, Pirate Today! DVD via blog reviews and giveaways. Only one entrant per mailing address per giveaway. If you have won the same prize on another blog, you will not be eligible to win it again. Winner is subject to eligibility verification.
I run giveaways with Rafflecopter on my blog. Please click on this post link if you do not see the script for it below. Also, if there is anything that is wrong with it let me know by emailing me: finamoon AT gmail DOT com I will try my best at fixing it. Thanks for being awesome readers!
DISCLOSURE/DISCLAIMER: Because I am posting about the Are You Fit to be a Princess or a Pirate Blog App I am getting a The Swan Princess: Princess Tomorrow, Pirate Today DVD free for my readers as a giveaway. Thanks to PartnersHub/Tether Group and Sony Home Video for providing me this promotion information and free product. My thoughts are mine and my family's own opinion and have not been altered by anyone else. I did not receive any other compensation for posting this blog app and giveaway.
Cedar Fort Publishing & Media has provided me with a complimentary copy of this
book. Affiliate links
may be in this posting. Thanks for supporting my blog.
I realize that not all of my readers are of my faith (LDS/Mormon), but
regardless of that a lot of you are of Christian faith, the same as me. Yes, the LDS/Mormon church believes in Christ and we base our teachings on Him.
This is the reason my church's full name is The Church of JESUS CHRIST of Latter Day Saints. We, as Christians believe in Jesus Christ and that we are all sons and
daughters of God. This realization is given to us in Biblical truths and
scripture. We are shown in the Bible that we are both literal spirit
children of our Heavenly Father because he created us & also sons
and daughters of God because of having faith in Him and being born again
through the atonement of Christ. In the book A Princess Story: The
Real-Life Fairy Tale Found in the Gospel of Jesus Christ by Jaci
Wightman we are enlightened even further of this concept.
A Princess Story: The Real-Life Fairy Tale Found in the Gospel of Jesus Christ by Jaci Wightman is a wonderful book for girls that shows them their divine potential. It sets the foundation for helping them recognize the princess within and parallels the fairytale princess stories that we have all grown up hearing, with God's plan for us. I love that this book has many scriptural references from both the Bible
and Book of Mormon, teachings from the leaders of the Church, and "Additional Study" at the end of most chapters to back
up these important concepts. I believe that this book is perfect for older Primary aged girls, Young Women (aged 12-17), mothers of daughters in the LDS Church, LDS Church leaders, and all young women who want to learn of their full potential as a daughter of God.
As an LDS woman that has grown up in the Church I remember being taught from the young age of 3 years old that we were children of God. One of my favorite songs that I was taught at that tender age was "I am a Child of God". It has always been a blessing to know my place here on Earth and I am thankful that my two daughters also know that they are daughters of God. I love A Princess Story and all its insights and I am also excited to share this book with my daughters as well when the time is right.
BUY IT
DISCLOSURE/DISCLAIMER: I received this book for free to facilitate this review from Cedar Fort Publishing & Media. My thoughts are mine and my
family's own opinion and have not been altered by anyone else. I did not
receive any other compensation for doing this review. Affiliate links
may be in this posting. Thanks for supporting my blog.
My girls coloring their PretendWear dresses with the paint daubers.
My daughters love to pretend all sorts of things and they love craft projects, especially when the craft involves coloring. PretendWear Color 'n Wash are costumes that your kids can color with the washable paint daubers that they come with. These costumes are made of dupont soft structure™ material that won't fray and are a child's one-size-fits-all so kids of all sizes from age 3-8 can wear these. The coloring book type designs on the outfits are outlined in permanent black ink so they won't wash out and so they can be colored, worn, washed, and colored over and over again. They are machine washable or can be washed by hand. These costumes come in all kinds of styles to choose from for both boys and girls. On the PretendWear Website you can find princesses, mermaids, fairies, pirates, superheros, butterflies, etc. They come in whole costumes like: dresses and jumpsuits to partials like: skirts, aprons, and capes.
PretendWear Ribbon Princess and Deluxe Fairy Princess. The backs of the dresses are colorable too!
My daughters got to test out the Ribbon Princess and Deluxe Fairy Princess dresses. These wearable dresses both are very customizable, re-designable, and so adorable! Teela picked the Ribbon Princess and Zari picked the Deluxe Fairy Princess to paint/color. We also received large paint daubers in yellow, pink, purple, and green to use to color the dresses with. The dresses both say on the website that they usually come with 3 paint daubers each. You can also get other washable: daubers, markers, glitter paint, etc. on their website to decorate the costumes with. Both Teela and Zari had so much fun making their dresses colorful. After they had painted one side of the dresses they patiently waited while it dried. It didn't take very long before the front was dry, but my girls wanted to wear them right away. So, before they colored the backside of the dresses I got some cute pictures of them modeling them for me. My favorite dress is the fairy princess because I love the petal sleeves and leaf skirt! They both turned out so nice. My girls are going to have endless fun with these!
BUY IT PretendWear Color 'n Wash costumes can be purchased on their website for $14.95-$24.95. You can also get capes for your child's stuffed animals for $6.95 that can also be colored and washed. The paint daubers are $2.49 each.
DISCLOSURE/DISCLAIMER: I received this product for free to
facilitate this review. My
thoughts are mine and my family's own opinion and have not been altered
by anyone else. I did not receive any other compensation for doing this
review.
I received this product free to facilitate this review and an opportunity to giveaway a book.
Disney Princess: A Magical Pop-Up World is a fabulous pop-up book starring the timeless characters of Disney Princess animated films. Intricately engineered by Matthew Reinhart, the pages and beautifully rendered illustrations of this book are visually stunning and packed with pop-ups, transformative scenes, and many other surprises.
The inside of the Seven Dwarfs' Cabin pops into view when the page is opened.
I love the fabulous and fun book, Disney Princess: A Magical Pop-Up World. The fascinating interactive illustrations and pop-ups really bring the fairytale lands, buildings, and characters leaping to life. This gorgeous volume has a large pop-up centered on all 5 pages with 2-4 smaller foldouts, pulltabs, and popups hidden on some of the corners of each spread. This book is breathtakingly detailed and exquisitely vibrant. While my daughters who are 5 and 7 loved looking at the pages I had to work its mechanics myself so that nothing would rip, tear, or bend/fold the wrong way. I am keeping this on one of my top shelves and getting it down only when they can be supervised with it. Definitely a perfect collectors item and treasure for any who hold Disney dear to their hearts. Disney Princess: A Magical Pop-Up World by Matthew Reinhart is a wonderful gift idea.
Unfold scenes within scenes, like this one from Sleeping Beauty.
Rapunzel's Tower rises out of the page and one of the many pulltab pop-ups hidden in the corners.
Book Trailer
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Friends & Family discount of 35% off all Insight Editions titles on the Insight Editions website at www.insighteditions.com. Simply use the code IEFRIENDS at check out.
WIN IT Prize: Disney Princess: A Magical Pop-Up World Book
I run giveaways with Rafflecopter on my blog. Please click on this post link if you do not see the script for it below. Also, if there is anything that is wrong with it let me know by emailing me: finamoon AT gmail DOT com I will try my best at fixing it. Thanks for being awesome readers!
DISCLOSURE/DISCLAIMER: I received this product for free to facilitate this review and an opportunity to give a book away. My thoughts are mine and my family's own opinion and have not been altered by anyone else. I did not receive any other compensation for doing this review.
We received this product free to facilitate this review. This post contains affiliate links which means I may receive a commission if you click a link and make a purchase. Thank you for supporting my blog!
The Disney Frozen Hairstyles Inspired by Anna and Elsa book is great for anyone who loves the movie Frozen and wants to take the experience one step further. This book has 28 fabulous hairstyles to create.
Disney Frozen Hairstyles is split into four sections: Braidschool, Twists & Braids, Updos & Buns, and Waves & Ponytails. The Braidschool section goes through the basic braids that one needs to be familiar with first before moving onto the more advanced hairstyles. There are a variety of hairstyles in this book that are wonderful for active girls as well as for special occasions such as parties, proms, and weddings.
Excerpted with permission of the publisher, Edda USA, from Disney Frozen Hairstyles: Inspired by Anna and Elsa. Copyright (c) 2014 Disney
Enterprises, Inc. Rights reserved. This book is available at all bookstores and online booksellers.
It has full color photos and step-by-step instructions to help you along the way. I love the gorgeous photographs of the young girls with the beautiful hairstyles. These real life photos show you exactly what it should look like on a real girl. Every hairstyle is accompanied with a full color photo for every step and one for the end result. This makes the book very easy to follow along.
Excerpted with permission of the publisher, Edda USA, from Disney Frozen Hairstyles: Inspired by Anna and Elsa. Copyright (c) 2014 Disney
Enterprises, Inc. Rights reserved. This book is available at all bookstores and online booksellers.
My girls, Zari and Teela were excited when they saw the book. They love it when I take the time to make them look fancy. My mother had made them each a Frozen cape to go with their new hairdo as well. I did Zari's hair with the "Anna's Braids" instructions and for Teela's I did a more advanced "Elsa's Icy Braid". I am not the best braider in the world, because I don't have much practice really, but I think the DIY instructions and photos helped me tremendously. The hairstyles made Zari and Teela both look enchanting and very princess-like. They had a blast getting all pretty and dressed up for my photos. It will be a lot of fun to try the other hairstyles and experiment to also make our own with this inspired book.
Teela with "Elsa's Icy Braid".
The Disney Frozen Hairstyles Inspired by Anna and Elsa book would be a
great holiday gift for anyone that loves the Frozen movie. Fans of the
royal sisters will delight in this book while learning to create these fantastic Frozen looks.
Zari with "Anna's Braids".
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DISCLOSURE/DISCLAIMER: I received products for free to facilitate my review. My thoughts are mine and my family's own opinion and have not been altered by anyone else. I did not receive any other compensation for doing this review. This post contains affiliate links which means I may receive a commission if you click a link and make a purchase. Thank you for supporting my blog!
I received this costume for free to facilitate this review.
I admit that I still haven't seen the movie Snow White and the Huntsman. It is on my list of ones I want to see eventually. However, when I saw the Snow White and the Huntsman Armor Costume at Costume Discounters I had to have it. For one thing the costume is modest, great for autumn weather, and very fierce looking. I love that it comes with everything minus the sword and shield. The costume is fairly complete and comes with: tunic, chest piece, shoulder piece, gauntlets, shin guards, and pants w/ attached skirt and boot tops.
Snow White and the Huntsman Armor Costume with homemade sword and shield.
My son, Jaedan, made this shield and sword in Boyscouts. It looked the part so I had to borrow it for the photo shoot. When I suited up I felt like I was prepared to overthrow the evil queen and go to battle :)
Snow White and the Huntsman Armor Costume: closeup of the tunic top.
I love that the tunic top looks like protective chainmaille from afar. The gauntlets and chest and shoulder pieces are made of a soft foam material that has a shiny silver covering. I loved how the costume looked on me, but I probably should have picked the tween size because of my petite build instead of the adult woman size because it was a bit baggy in places around the pants. It is not that flattering from the back, either. Also, the Velcro likes to attach to the fabric and pull it. Still it is a great costume for a Renaissance fair or Halloween!
DISCLOSURE/DISCLAIMER: I received product for free to facilitate
my review. My thoughts are mine and my family's own opinion and have not
been altered by anyone else. I did not receive any other compensation
for doing this review.
My 2002 collection of My Little Ponies, plus some other items.
I have always been a fan of My Little Pony (MLP). When I was very little I received my very first MLP toy and I remember watching the episodes and movies on TV with my sisters. Later when I married my husband he let me collect some of the ponies off of eBay. I had quite the collection while I lived in Ohio, but had to sell some of them because money was getting tight so I opted to keep all of the ones with sea or ocean related cutie marks. I still have those and two I purchased that were made custom for me with dolphins on them. I also have a few cute plushies I couldn't part with.
We all absolutely love the new series Friendship is Magic (FIM). The writing is incredible and the show has great moral endings. The writers even tuck in easter eggs into the shows that only fans like myself would get: like similar A-Team themed music or references to Doctor Who and Terminator...even Discord, one of the bad guys in MLP FIM, is modeled after Q in Star Trek: The Next Generation (John de Lancie is both the voice actor for Discord and the actor of Q).
The fans span generations: from little kids to grown adults. We call ourselves Bronies or Pegasisters. The fan base is amazing and so supporting. It has given many charitable contributions over the years spanning the fandom. There are also tons of us that do MLP themed artwork and music. It is astounding how much great stuff comes out of the fans.
My whole family just went to Everfree Northwest in Seattle, Washington on Friday. Everfree NW is a My Little Pony Convention for fans of MLP. As with most TV/Movie/Comic based conventions, people can and do dress up as their favorite character(s).
I love to dress up, cosplay (costume play), and roleplay. I threw together a makeshift costume at the last minute because I didn't have the money to buy anything for it. My costume was representing one of my favorite characters, Fluttershy. Fluttershy is a Pegasus pony that is yellow with pink mane and tail and has three pink and blue butterflies on her flank as her cutie mark. I had a splash of pink hair attached to a barrette to go in my hair with a pink flower clip. My mother had given me a yellow t-shirt that had a butterfly in sequins on the front for my birthday and I thought that it was a great Fluttershy butterfly shirt. I dawned some white fairy wings too. I also had some jeans that had three white embroidered butterflies down the side so I chose those to wear. While at Everfree NW I decided I also wanted to make a pair of ears. There was an arts and crafts room that was set up to make your own ears, horns and wings plus you could color pages out of a coloring book of ponies or make your own art out of felt, construction paper, string and cardboard. I made some pony ears out of the cardboard and construction paper supplied.
We listened to fan made MLP themed music while drove to Seattle. When we arrived we parked in the Hilton Hotel Parking garage. We saw some Bronies there that had taped their car so that it could be drawn on with sharpies with pony themed artwork and then found our way to registration. The lines were really long, but apparently if you have kids you get to go straight to the front of all lines (foals: fillies and colts, are treated really well because hey, the show wouldn't be here without them). So we got first priority and that was really nice. Everypony that was anypony was there.
After registration we headed to the vendor room. On our way there we picked up free Derpy trading cards from the Enterplay table. The vendor room was so packed we were having trouble seeing everything and there were Brony traffic jams everywhere. We wove our way around the tables trying to take it all in. There was a lot to see. We showed off our newest item from Pony Feathers to some of the venders that were there...wooden wing shaped headphone cups. I loved ChaoticBrony's jewelry, Equestria Rags'Celestia, Luna, and Cadence Plushies, Firefly's Farm and her awesome Princess Luna/Nightmare Moon and Princess Celestia leather corset she had up for sale. I ended up buying three Patchwerk mini prints: Princesses of Night and Day and Call Upon the Sea Ponies. There were so many other things that I saw too that I loved. Maybe next year we can have more money to purchase some other things. The kids received free MLP stickers, fake tattoos from different vendor tables and apples from the Sweet Apple Acres table (Zari got a small gift bag full of apple candies and an Angel Bunny eraser instead of a free apple). They also got their pictures taken with different plushies that they were selling.
Next we went to the Opening Ceremonies. Opening the ceremonies was the Convention Chairman (Royal Coat), DustyKatt, and Mic the Microphone. They crowned Royal Coat this year as prince and he received a sash and a crown. They also announced "Dear Princess", where you could write letters to any of the princesses, not just Celestia and I guess they would be reading them off later. They had some of the features guests come on stage as well to say a few words. They also did a skit where the Mane 6 and Spike found 3 kids (foals) to become members of "The Royal Court" and be changed into Alicorns (Princess/Prince ponies with both a horn and wings). These foals had already been chosen previously by receiving a special invitation from Princess Twilight Sparkle in their registration bags to join her to learn the magic of friendship themselves. We also sang Winter Wrap Up and Smile at the opening ceremonies.
We then found lunch at 7Eleven and brought it back to eat at tables in the hotel foyer. In the hall of the hotel they had a small concessions stand that sold refreshments including..".mmmmmm muffins!" and I bet the lady that worked there heard that phrase every time a brony passed. Later we went back to the vendor room to have another look at stuff and I had to scout out a new badge for Zari with registration because she lost her first one. We headed to the Art Display and that was disappointing. We thought we would see tons of artwork on display for attendants to look at, but there was hardly any. We were used to seeing a lot because we had previously been to AnthroCon and they have a fabulous display there. Jaedan decided to enter his picture he drew of his pony character, Wolf. Across the hall was the arts and crafts room, so we headed over there and the boys made themselves ears, tails, horns and wings. The girls colored pictures from coloring books. Somepony had made an Art Castle out of boxes, cardboard, and artwork and Jaedan posed with his drawing and handmade ears.
I took a bunch of pictures of people dressed up. I got Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Apple Jack, Twilight Sparkle, Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, Nightmare Moon, Princess Cadence and Shining Armor, Cider Brothers (Flim and Flam), Vinyl Scratch/DJ Pon-3, Photo Finish and the Cutie Mark Crusaders. I saw all kinds of great costumes! I wanted to get more, but I didn't have time to. There were some pictures of cosplay I didn't get the chance to take. I saw some great costumes of Rarity, Spike, Rainbow Dash, Discord, Zecora, Derpy, Doctor Hooves, Granny Smith, Big McIntosh (Big Mac), Cheerilee, Trixie, Queen Chrysalis, Spitfire, The Wonderbolts, Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle, Apple Bloom, Snowflake, etc. that I wanted to, but never got pictures of.
Last we went to Ponystock and they had some great musicians presenting. Among them were: Michelle Creber (she does both Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle singing voice), Living Tombstone, Odyssey, Alex S., Mic the Microphone, AcousticBrony, etc. I sat outside in the hall with the girls because it was really loud and also because we had a slight mishap. Teela had ingested a penny she had found and got a stomach ache from it. She said she put it in her mouth because she didn't have any pockets and then ended up swallowing it after she had eaten her dinner. From what I heard of the concerts Ponystock was awesome! Michelle Creber took center stage and rocked the house most the night. On Saturday I also watched Ponystock from home on the the live feed Everfree NW had and all the musicians were awesome! Saturday's performances went on longer than Friday's and I ended up staying up well past 3am to watch them all.
Before we left on Friday for home we doodled on the car that the Bronies had taped and then exited the parking garage with pony music blasting. We wished we could have stayed for all three days, but we needed to get home to our dog, Prince. I did get the chance to see the Costume Contest, Meet the Voice Actors, Whose Line is it Anypony?, Charity Auction, and Ponystock on Saturday...along with a little bit of Guys of MLP with Peter New (Big Mac) and Andrew Francis (Shining Armor) on Sunday at home from the Live Feed. I will enjoy watching more of the panels once Everfree Radio uploads them to YouTube later. I also believe that they really need a larger venue next year or at least larger rooms to host things in. All in all it was a very good experience and we are definitely going to try and make it again next year.
DISCLOSURE/DISCLAIMER: No compensation was received for this post. This post is a personal post written by me.
I cannot believe that fall is around the corner and I have been in search for the perfect costumes for Halloween and other occasions. My daughter Teela wanted to get a renaissance costume to wear for renaissance faires that happen this time of year also. I was offered an opportunity to review a vampire costume and lo and behold there was a great renaissance costume in their selection. You can find all kinds of neat Wholesale vampire Halloween Costumes at the Wholesale Halloween Costumes website. They also have a wide selection of other cool costumes as well.
We got the Gothic Princess Kids Costume to review. When I received the costume and tried it on Teela, however; it was too big for her and she had a bunch of growing room even though it says it is a size small which is apparently a size 4-6. She is normally in size 5 clothes so I thought it might fit her. It goes way past her feet though and I was afraid she would trip on it. So I will save it for next year for her. She did look super cute
You always see really neat costuming in vamp movies. The costume we got for Teela is unique in that it is not too lacy or frilly and isn't all pastels. It is a neat darker color of purple and burgundy. It has awesome sleeves that hang down and comes with a cute headdress with drape. Although the headdress loves to slide down past her eyes. The burgundy red part of the dress is velvety material and the bodice is cinched up with a drawstring. All in all a very cute costume I just wish it fit her better right now.
DISCLOSURE/DISCLAIMER: I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. My thoughts are mine and my family's own opinion and have not been altered by anyone else. I did not receive any other compensation for posting this review.
We went to the Canterbury Renaissance Faire on July 21, 2012. It is held in Silverton, Oregon on July 14th-15th, 21st-22nd, 2012. This was their 4th annual faire. Silverton is by Salem, Oregon and about 2 hours from where I live in Rainier, Oregon. It is only an hour from Portland, Oregon.
The Canterbury Renaissance Faire is wonderful because it is nestled in shady trees so it doesn't get too hot while your looking at other peoples' wares. We spent our day from 2pm til 5pm there.
I was wearing my pair of Elf Ear Wraps, my braided hair wreath and a semi renaissance looking shirt. I was looking for a cape or cloak, but never really ran across any while I was there this year. I was also looking for a lace up corset bustier. None really caught my fancy.
While we were there my youngest daughter, Zari, picked up a wooden sword. She looked so darling in her butterfly dress holding a sword we had to buy it for her. She is apparently growing into her name (Zari meaning princess goddess and her middle name Katana meaning slender or samurai sword). See the bottom left picture of her...that is her fighting face, LOL!
In Faerie Glen a juggler taught the boys some new tricks and my oldest son posed with his bow and some very odd arrows ;) Fairy Princess Lolly also read a story to my girls.
We went around the corner and who do I happen to see? Foxgloves PDX! I knew I was missing an element to my costume. I should have been wearing my Maroon Gold Knit Foxgloves. Ami posed with us and Teela tried on some maroon velvet/silver butterfly ones that I had fallen in love with on her website and out of generosity she just gave them to us! I love the picture my husband took of Teela getting the gloves on. Teela adored them and later wanted to pose with part of my son, Jaedan's knight costume that he brought.
We bought the boys an exquisite custom hand-beaded dragon from Secret Dragon Collectibles. My boys selected the only one left with glow-in-the-dark beads. The one they picked had blue iris, bright green and glow-in-the-dark beads. They told my boys that the dragons wings could be changed for different colors so they chose blue, apple green and red ones to go with the colors of the beads. They also got to pick out a treasure that the dragon would hold. They picked out a large red plastic gem stone and the lady sewed it in the dragon's claws. She then attached a thread from the top so we could hang him. Each dragon comes with a name card with information and insurance in case something needed fixing. They make them very customized so each is very unique and made just for the individual. She also makes beaded mermaids, fairies, pixies, butterflies and dragonflies. All were very beautiful!
Then we went to see the joust, but because it was not very shaded by trees it was very hot there and the horses were kicking up dust so I got a few pictures and then we decided it was time to head home to rescue our dog from being home alone. We had a great time while we were at the Canterbury Renaissance Faire and will definitely be back next year.
My daughter Teela turned 4 officially on April 15th, 2012. I wanted her party day, April 28th, to be special. Teela had picked a Princess and Pony theme for her party this year. My mom (her Babu, short for Babushka) got her a princess crown, wand, and ring to go with the party dress she would be wearing and made her a special carrot cake with cream cheese filling for her birthday cake. I made all the arrangements for getting the announcement out for the event on Facebook since all my friends that had little girls semi close to me were on there. I also bought a cute cake topper for her cake with 4 Disney Princesses and a castle that opened up as a carrying case to house them after the cake was gone. My boys helped me decorate and planned their own puppet show to put on for the guests. We had a few glitches during the party, but all in all I believe it was a success. Teela loved all her gifts she received and had a lot of fun with her friends doing games, dressing up, and watching Disney's Tangled.
The icing on the cake crown jewel was her party dress! Handcrafted by Whimsey Kids (My Whimsical Creations Boutique) this dress was custom made with my specifications and my daughter's measurements. I got a knotted dress with a fairly long skirt so that Teela has a bunch of room to grow in it still. I picked out: the style of dress, the material from Whimsey Kids' fabric stash, what size it should be and what my daughter would love handpainted on the front. Whimsey Kids did all the rest! She was so great to work with! She sewed the dress and added really cute embellishments. I love the ruffle on the top front of the bodice, the white ribbon bow, and the ties in back to make a bow that she added to it. My daughter requested Whimsey Kids paint a pony so she painted Strawberry Shortcake's horse, Honey Pie on the front. Honey Pie looks a bit like our mini pony, Gizmo. Whimsey Kids is so amazingly talented! She handpaints all these characters herself! Go to her website and see what she has done to get ideas. Teela's dress turned out gorgeous! I am very thankful to Whimsey Kids because Teela was definitely the belle of the ball and this dress is awesome for Spring!
WIN IT: Prize: Win a Whimsey Kids Custom Dress and Matching Hair Clip.
I am trying out Rafflecopter on my blog. Please click on this post link if you do not see the script for it below. Also, if there is anything that is wrong with it let me know by emailing me: finamoon AT gmail DOT com I will try my best at fixing it. Thanks for being awesome readers!
DISCLOSURE/DISCLAIMER: Thanks to Whimsey Kids for sending me product for free to review and one to give away for free. My thoughts are mine and my family's own opinion and have not been altered by anyone else. I did not receive any other compensation for doing this review.
It is National Princess Week for Teela's Birthday Party! My little girl has turned 4 years old. Her actual birthday was on the 15th, but I made the party for Saturday the 28th because my husband was working the other weekends. I really couldn't have planned it for a more perfect day. Little did I know that my sister, Jennifer, who lives in Utah was coming to visit my folks and would also be able to attend Teela's party along with my parents. Also, I just heard that it is National Princess Week April 22-28 so that just made it even more extra special since my daughter made her party theme to be Disney Princesses and Ponies. I just hope the weather is nice so we can have some outdoor fun.
Disney, Julie Andrews (author of The Very Fairy Princess and actress in The Princess Diaries among other things) and Target have teamed up to create the very first National Princess Week April 22-28, 2012! I got some great ideas from Julie Andrews on her blog for 30 Ways to Celebrate National Princess Week and before I even knew about this I was pinning all sorts of fun ideas on Pinterest for Teela's Disney Princess and Pony Party. Parents are invited to shop Target for: the 10th anniversary release of The Princess Diaries & The Princess Diaries 2, “The Very Fairy Princess: Here Comes the Flower Girl!” (part 2 in Andrews’ series), and all sorts of Disney princess Blu-rays, books, toys & games.
I am also going to be reviewing a party dress for Teela that was handpainted and handcrafted by Whimsey Kids soon. Here is a special sneak peek of what it looks like. Isn't it adorable!! I can't wait for Teela to wear it at the party! I will be getting pictures...
DISCLOSURE/DISCLAIMER: I wrote this blog post because I thought
you might be interested in knowing this information and taking part of the deals on Target. I thought I would share the savings. My
thoughts are mine and my family's own opinion and have not been
altered by anyone else. I did not receive any compensation for doing
this post save the free dress that will be reviewed later.
Halloween is coming up really soon and the hunt for great costumes is on. The Costume Supercenter is a great website to find a wide assortment of costumes. They have everything from silly to scary to pretty to anything else imaginable. They have baby costumes all the way to adult in a wide range of sizes to try to accommodate just about everyone. These costumes aren't just great for Halloween. They are also great for: dress up, pretend play, other costume parties, etc.
My daughter Zari was needing a costume this year because the hand-me-down baby bee costume had been overdone in my family and I didn't have any other good ones in her size. I went searching for a cute costume to go with my other daughter, Teela's Belle from Beauty and the Beast costume that we had already. Teela decided she was going to wear it this year because she had now grown into it and because she loves the Disney Princesses. So I stumbled upon the Disney's Infant Snow White Ballerina Costume at Costume Supercenter that was so adorable that I had to have it for Zari! I got a size 12-18 months. When the costume came in the mail one of the bows and flowers had fallen off the sleeve, but all I did was sew it back on...good as new. If something like this happens to you with one of their costumes don't forget that they have free shipping on all exchanges! In the pictures you can see I forgot to flip the collar up like Snow White's actually was. The Snow White jewel in the center of the bodice kept pulling the neck down too and I kept on having to fix it for the pictures. The ric rac and red roses are so cute and set the bodice off gorgeously. I love the sparkling yellow glitter tulle on the ballerina skirt part of the gown. I also liked the fact that the skirt wasn't see through because of an under layer of yellow satiny material. The blue ribbons on the sleeves are a nice touch too. In my opinion it is the cutest of all the Disney Princess costumes for babies that they have. All in all this costume is sure to please anyone who wants their little one to look like a pretty princess.
BUY IT:
The prices for costumes range from $9.99 on up and they have free shipping on exchanges. Their shipping prices are also fairly reasonable. The Disney's Infant Snow White Ballerina Costume is $24.99 on the Costume Supercenter website. They have a number of great Snow White Halloween costumes to choose from along with all sorts of others.
DISCLOSURE/DISCLAIMER: Thanks to Costume Supercenter for providing me with the Disney's Infant Snow White Ballerina Costume for free to test and review. My thoughts are mine and my family's own opinion and have not been altered by anyone else. I did not receive any other compensation for doing this review.
Flutterbye Dreams is a small shop on Etsy that makes hair clippies, felt finger puppets, mitten clips, soother clips for binkies, felt cookies, felt crowns, felt tooth fairy pillows, and other creations. These creations are handmade and hand sewn in Canada and are very well made.
I received a colorful assortment of 5 felt cookies (one red, purple, orange, pink and blue) and a felt princess crown for free to review for the Princess Tea Party Birthday Blog Carnival that I hosted for my daughter, Teela, on my blog in April. The felt cookies looked good enough to eat! They are embellished with felt icing & sprinkles that are little sparkly beads! The beads are very securely stitched so they won't come off easily. They are a great addition to any play kitchen. This was Teela's first felt food and she thought it was great! The felt pink princess crown was so adorable on Teela and I know she will love to play dress up with it a lot. Flutterbye Dreams definitely pays attention to detail. The crown and the cookies are both perfect for pretend play.
DISCLAIMER: Thanks to Flutterbye Dreams for participating in the the Princess Tea Party Birthday Blog Carnival on my blog and for providing me with the felt cookies and a felt Princess crown for free to test and review. My thoughts are mine and my family's own opinion and have not been altered by anyone else. I did not receive any other compensation for doing this review.
Teela loved it too and recognized some of the Disney princesses on it. Click on the picture and you can see it better. It was such a nice touch to her princess tea party theme! I hung it where everyone could see it in our living room as they came in for the party. It was a big hit! I think these fabric banners are so much better than the paper or plastic ones that you can get because you can re-use them and they are very well made. These are such a great decoration for any party, birthday, celebration or holiday.
My youngest daughter who is almost 2 will be having a princess tea party for her birthday on the 9th of April. All of April I am throwing a big bash for her on my blog! So, anything that I could review that you think would go along with the theme of princess or tea party or really anything girly and suitable for 2 year olds please get in contact with me by either email, websurfergirl19 AT hotmail DOT com, or commenting on this post.
We are currently looking for a *tutu, *princess crown, *homemade fabric happy birthday banner in girl colors and patterns, tea party tea set that is preferably unbreakable, castle bunt pan, decorations, party favors and any other princess/tea party items for a 2 year old Birthday party :)
*We now have this covered.
Also, looking for items for gifts for her Birthday (I love homemade, handmade items...Etsy is my friend!!) and Easter items for all my kids!
I will be reviewing each item on my blog and if you would like me to host a giveaway for a similar item then I can also do that.
If you or someone you know might want to be in this blog carnival please let me know and what you would be willing to contribute to it! Thanks!!
It is time for a FIRST Wild Card Tour book review! If you wish to join the FIRST blog alliance, just click the button. We are a group of reviewers who tour Christian books. A Wild Card post includes a brief bio of the author and a full chapter from each book toured. The reason it is called a FIRST Wild Card Tour is that you never know if the book will be fiction, non~fiction, for young, or for old...or for somewhere in between! Enjoy your free peek into the book!
You never know when I might play a wild card on you!
***Special thanks to Christy Wong of Tyndale House Publishers for sending me a review copy.***
MY THOUGHTS: I love this book! It lets us as parents know how to raise our daughters to be Women of God. In today's society we need to instill in our daughters, and the little girls in our lives, a sense of purpose, value and strength. Even though this book is not Latter Day Saint/Mormon, it is Christian and has a lot of what I was taught growing up. Growing up in a Latter Day Saint/Mormon family I felt the sense of purpose, value, and strength was very strongly instilled in me from my birth. Being able to go to church as a family is a great blessing. When I turned 12 I went into the Young Womens organization that is part of my church. The purpose of the LDS Young Women organization is to help each young woman, ages 12 to 18, "come unto Christ" (Moroni 10:32). I learned about the YW Values of Faith, Divine Nature, Individual Worth, Knowledge, Choice and Accountability, Good Works, Integrity and Virtue. We recited the Young Womens Theme which had these princess qualities in them every Sunday. We were also given wonderful instruction by a pamphlet we received as youth in our church called "For the Strength of Youth: Fulfilling Our Duty to God". In my opinion these things are much like a Rite of Passage for a young woman...something that reminds us to stay worthy. I am very blessed to be of goodly parents who brought me and my sisters up well and to have always known that I am a daughter of God.
Here are the YW Values in which I believe should be instilled in every young lady (click on the image to see it bigger:
Go HERE and you can download some fun YW Values graphics.
Here is a quote from Elaine S. Dalton, Young Women General President (speaking to and about the Young Women):
"Our desire is to help young women be worthy and pure and to prepare every young woman to receive the blessings and ordinances of the temple. We will work tirelessly with your daughters, with you, and with priesthood and Young Women leaders to protect and strengthen and prepare our precious young women to be virtuous and pure and live the standards that will help them be free and happy and allow them to reach their divine potential. We know that we are all elect daughters of God. We also know that each one of us has a great work to perform."
Here is a beautiful movie from Mormon Messages:
ABOUT THE AUTHORs:
Pam Farrel is a relationship specialist, international speaker, and author of over 25 books, including best selling Men are like Waffles—Woman Are Like Spaghetti. She has been a pastor’s wife and director of women’s ministries, and is president of Seasoned Sisters.
Doreen Hanna is founder and president of Treasured Celebrations Ministries. She is the co-author of Becoming a Modern-Day Princess, a biblically-based rite-of-passage program for teenage girls. She is a faculty member and motivational speaker for CLASS (Christian Leaders, Authors, & Speakers Seminars), and has been a women’s Bible study teacher and trained biblical counselor for more than 25 years.
List Price: $13.99 Paperback: 256 pages Publisher: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. (December 3, 2009) Language: English ISBN-10: 158997574X ISBN-13: 978-1589975743
AND NOW...THE FIRST CHAPTER:
Seeking My Father’s Blessing: What Every Young Woman Longs For
‘I’ll be a Father to you; you’ll be sons and daughters to me.’
The Word of the Master, God.
—2 CORINTHIANS 6:18 (MSG)
I am a princess. All girls are. Even if they live in tiny old attics; even if they dress in rags; even if they aren’t pretty, or smart, or young. They’re still princesses. All of us. Didn’t your father ever tell you that? Didn’t he?
—A LITTLE PRINCESS (1995)
Lying in my bed, I [Doreen] lifted the shade and peeked out the window. Except for a sprinkle of stars and a sliver of a moon, it was now pitch black outside. My sister’s gentle snore let me know she was sound asleep. The TV was off and I had heard my parents’ bedroom door close. It was time for my escape.
Earlier in the day I had picked out my best purse for this “runaway.” It was red, rectangular in shape, with hinges on it, like a little suitcase, and a mirror on the lid. It could only hold my hairbrush, two pairs of panties, and a package of crackers. But for an eight-year-old, that was good enough. I was ready to go.
However, I began to have doubts. I considered how hard it would be to walk down the hall past my parents’ bedroom without them hearing me because there was a board in the floor of the hallway that creaked. But if I attempted to open the heavy wooden window of our bedroom and tried to remove the screen, I knew for sure that my sister would wake up.
Suddenly, or so it seemed, those warm covers felt so good as I heard the wind blow through the trees on that chilly, late winter’s eve. I couldn’t seem to keep my eyes open. I fought it, but it felt like someone was gently closing them. The next thing I knew, it was morning, and once again, I had failed to make my great escape.
This scenario played out many times in my elementary years. But it wasn’t until I was in my twenties, seeking help for challenges in my marriage, that I discovered why I continued to replay leaving home but never making my way out.
As a child, there were certain securities that kept me there. My mother loved me, food was always on the table, and I had a lovely home to live in. We lived in a middle-class neighborhood where I enjoyed many childhood friendships. I enjoyed spending time with both sets of grandparents who lived close by.
I remember the enjoyment of watching Leave it to Beaver and Father Knows Best on TV and wishing my dad was like one of those TV dads.
From the age of five well into my teens, I loved watching the Miss America beauty pageants, and wished that I would someday be beautiful enough to be crowned a princess.
I wept deeply for the first time in my life as I spoke those words out loud to my counselor. He sat and listened as I began to describe occurrences that clearly displayed the lack of my father’s acceptance throughout my life. This seemed to open the floodgates of memories and hurt and angry feelings I felt toward my father.
Seen but not Heard
I recollected how resentful I was toward my dad for so often sending my sister and me to bed by six-thirty in the evening so he could have our mother to himself.Many summer nights I would peer out my bedroom window, yearning to be with the rest of the kids on the block who were playing hide-and-seek at dusk while I was supposed to be sleeping; all because my dad thought children were to be “seen and not heard.” I believed that this was just a convenient out for him on many occasions, when those words followed his request that we leave the room.
I expressed to the counselor how I was told by my mother every night, for the first 12 years of my life, to “go and kiss your father good night,” no matter how I felt. He most often sat comfortably in his easy chair, watching TV, expectant of my nightly kiss. I could not remember one time in my childhood when he came to tuck my sister or me into bed and kiss us goodnight. That longing was heightened when I saw my friends’ dads do this for them whenever I had spent a night in their homes.
I recounted how, in my teen years, I dreaded our nightly family dinners. I would set the table thinking, What will he find fault with tonight? Would it be my acne? Or would I draw his criticism for putting butter on my bread? Or maybe it would be my posture, bringing a threat that he was going to make a wood brace that would force me to sit up straight.
His harsh, critical words about my appearance caused me to feel that I would never gain his favor or have boys interested in me.
I Will Prove Him Wrong
By this time I was becoming rebellious. I was determined to prove him wrong. I would get a boyfriend.
I found, in those early teen years, that flirting with the boys brought quick attention and some form of emotional gratification. I was so hungry for them to compliment me or just kiss me—validating me as a young woman. I didn’t understand why all the other girls didn’t flirt with the boys like I did. I thought it was fun. I lost the trust of some girlfriends and made enemies playing that game, luring the other girls’ boyfriends away from them. But the relationships were short-lived so I thought, What’s the big deal?
I looked for every opportunity to be away from home—a school football game, a party, a church activity, or anything else that was acceptable to my mother. My dad never minded how much time I spent away from home unless it interfered with the chores he required of me. In fact, I truly believed Dad appreciated my time away from home as much as I did.
By the age of 17, I was a senior in high school and had dated almost every guy I had hoped to. However, that had left me very lonely. I didn’t even have a date to the senior prom. I had proved my father wrong, but all to no avail. I had isolated numerous potential girlfriends and was left with no boyfriend. I had a huge hole in my heart and nothing seemed to fill it.
The Man of My Dreams
Within two weeks of my high-school graduation, the man of my dreams came into my life. He had just finished a three-year term in the army and had returned home to establish himself in civilian life. He was the potential “catch” for every girl between the ages of 18 and 22 in the church where our families had attended for many years.
He was 22 years old and very handsome, over six feet tall, blue eyes, a great sense of humor, and—very important to a beach-city girl—a surfer! One night, as I jumped into the backseat of his parents’ car for a ride home from church, there sat Chad. I was excited but jittery, knowing I was sitting right next to the “catch.” I spoke more to his parents than to him because I was so nervous.
His dad pulled up in front of my house. As I slipped out of the car Chad said, “Boy, those are some great legs!” My heart leaped—Chad Hanna thought I was pretty! By Friday he’d asked me out and within six months we were engaged.
At barely 19 years of age, marriage seemed like the best solution to escape my father’s house. My dad viewed life with a strong work ethic. He did not regard higher education as a necessity and had informed me that if I were to consider going away to college, I’d have to pay for it myself. That seemed impossible. So I was soon working full-time and saving my money for a beautiful wedding.
My father was not happy that I was marrying Chad. I remember one day, just weeks before the wedding, he said to me, “I thought this would be a time in your life when you could spend some time with me.” I couldn’t believe my ears! I was instantly angry and thought, He’s ignored me for the last 19 years of my life and NOW he wants to spend time with me?
It was the first time in my life that I sensed I had begun to build a wall in my heart—a wall that I thought would keep my father from hurting me anymore.
The day of the wedding, as I stood waiting to go down the aisle on my father’s arm, he turned and touched the edge of my veil. I thought for just a second that we were going to share a special moment. Instead he stated, “My mother would have never let this happen.” I looked to see that my veil had been trimmed slightly unevenly. “Your grandmother would have trimmed this in satin,” he stated proudly.
Rightly so, my grandmother was a well-known seamstress and had I asked, I’m sure she would have done it for me. Once again, I had failed to meet my father’s standards.
Still, that walk down the aisle gave me such hope. I had proven that I could find a man to love me and would finally be free from my father. I believed that saying “I do” would eliminate my frustrated and angry feelings toward him. Yet, there I sat in a counselor’s office 10 years later, dealing with all my “father” issues.
Break Down the Wall
With kindness and gentleness, my counselor helped me realize that the wall I had built in my heart ultimately never hurt my father; it only hurt me. He continued by saying that I would never be free emotionally or spiritually until I could forgive my father. OFFER forgiveness? I couldn’t believe it. I thought to myself, Shouldn’t my dad be seeking MY forgiveness?
As I left the counselor’s office, pondering his advice to forgive my father, I drove to my parents’ home to have a chat with my mother. I was considering the possibility that my memories might be distorted and I wanted to gain her perspective.
As we sat and talked, things began to unfold. She told me something I had never really understood before. I was a honeymoon baby. My father was not only shocked that, at 19 years of age, he was going to be a father within months of being married, he was also very disappointed that he was going to have the responsibilities of a father. He had told my mother prior to their wedding that he wasn’t ready for children and had wanted to wait at least five years before starting a family.
So, upon my birth he found me an obstacle to having my mother fully to himself. Ah ha! Now I was beginning to understand why I had been sent to bed by six-thirty so many nights of my life!
My mom also told me how critical his mother and other members of my father’s family had been toward him as a child, calling him various “pet names” that were very degrading. He, too, at the age of 18 couldn’t wait to marry and flee from his home.
Driving home after chatting with my mom, I thought about what she had told me and seriously considered the words of my counselor. His desire was to free me from the inner turmoil that comes from harboring unforgiveness. In addition, he pointed out how this turmoil was overflowing into my marriage relationship—the reason I was there to see him originally! He explained to me that I had put many of my unfilled expectations of my father onto my husband. He then humorously expressed,
“It would take at least three men to fulfill all that you are expecting your husband to fulfill!”
As I walked through the door of our home that night, I determined that I would seek Chad’s forgiveness for the unrealistically high expectations I had placed upon him during our marriage. That night as we slipped into bed, I expressed to him how I now realized why I had been asking so much of him. I was trying to have him fulfill what I had desired from my father all of my life. He understood my feelings and forgave me. I closed my eyes at peace now with my husband, but still—what about my dad?
The Power of the Blessing
Within weeks aftermy counselor’s challenge to forgive my father—which I wasn’t yet ready to do—I went to a local bookstore to pick up a gift for a friend. While there, I happened to also pick up a book titled The Gift of the Blessing, authored by John Trent and Gary Smalley (Thomas Nelson, Inc., 1993).My eyes were immediately drawn to the following sentence on the cover:
Dr. John Trent tells of his search to receive the blessing from his father and how, with the new insight he received from God through that search, he has sought to pick up the pieces of his shattered dream.
Those words jumped out at me. My dreams had been shattered and I was trying to pick up the pieces. And I surely did not want to be like my father. I wanted to do things differently for my daughters. I bought the book and began reading.
Chapter after chapter, I remember thinking, Oh, how I wish my father had done that for me. My self-pity was stopped short in the last chapter when Dr. Trent presented this challenge: “If you have not received your parent’s blessing, begin to bless them and see what God will do.” I was again confronted to face my “father” issues head-on.
Within days of finishing the book, I called my father and asked if I could take him to lunch—just the two of us. He said “yes” without hesitation, and we met together the next day. I can still remember exactly where we sat at a small Mexican restaurant in Cave Creek, Arizona.
As he finished his last few bites of an enchilada, I mustered up the courage to share my feelings. “Dad, I now know that when I was a child you demonstrated your love by providing a home for us, nice clothes, and food on the table. However, I’ve always felt that you didn’t like me.”
Those were some of the hardest words I had ever spoken. I felt that by saying this out loud to my father, I was taking the risk of his complete rejection.
Conversely, he quickly responded, saying almost word for word what my mother had said about him, “I didn’t want children immediately after marriage, and I was taught that children were to be seen and not heard.”
I could sense regret in his words and it was reflected in his demeanor. For the first time in my life I felt sorry for my father, and the wall I had built in my heart began to crumble.
When he had finished talking, I said, “Dad, I want to have a good relationship with you; one that also includes my husband and children. With the counseling I have received recently, I’ve come to realize that I’ve had a deep resentment toward you for a long time. I would like for us to have a better relationship from here on and I need to ask for your forgiveness. Will you forgive me?”
My father’s eyes welled with tears as he replied, “Yes I will, and will you forgive me?”
I wept out those healing words: “Yes, Dad, I forgive you.”
Wow! What a huge step in our relationship. While, in all honesty, I had hoped to hear “I love you,” I was satisfied at that time with, “Will you forgive me?”
As the years progressed, our father/daughter relationship began to grow. We could laugh and talk together for the first time in our lives.
From that day—he in his forties and I in my twenties—we were both seeking to grow spiritually, prompting engaging discussions between us.
In addition, at our now numerous family gatherings, I would delight as I watched my father and Chad enjoy each other’s company.
The Perfect Father’s Day Card
Some years later, I remember searching for several weeks, seeking to find the perfect Father’s Day card. At the end of a discouraging search, I felt prompted to pray and ask the Lord if He had something that He wanted me to write for my father. As I lifted my head from prayer, it was as if suddenly the creative writer that was deep within me came out and my fingers began to speed across the keyboard, typing out a poem for my father.
I had never felt that I had a poetic gift until that day! I sat in amazement of my own work as I reread the poem. I quickly printed it out and sent it on its way to arrive by Father’s Day.
My father and I were living several hundred miles apart at this time, so the following Sunday I called to wish him a happy Father’s Day. I was so eager to find out whether he’d received the poem and hear his reaction to it that I urgently asked, “Dad, did you get my poem?”
He, rather casually, just said, “Yes, it was nice.”
My heart dropped. I thought the poem was fabulous and all I got was an “It was nice.” I made every effort to mask my disappointment in his response. We went on to other topics of conversation. But as we were closing our phone call, he said, “I love you, Mija.”
Whenever my father called me Mija (a Spanish word of endearment) I always knew I was in his good graces. This was big—very big! I heard an “I love you” coupled with a “Mija!”
I quickly responded, “I love you, too, Dad.” I got off the phone and fell into a heap of happy tears. I had heard the words I had yearned to hear all of my life from my father: “I love you.”
Several months later, I had a business trip that took me to Phoenix, Arizona, where my parents lived. When I arrived at my parents’ home, only my mother was there. We chatted for a few minutes and then she said, “Before your father gets here, I must show you something.” She took me into their bedroom, and there on the wall hung a 3x5 copy of the poem, done in calligraphy on parchment paper and lacquered to a beautiful piece of wood. I wept with joy, not only realizing how much he valued that gift, but also appreciating how often since that Father’s Day he had told me he loved me.
In that reflective moment, the thought came to me that I was living out the last chapter of the The Gift of the Blessing, which stated, “If you want to be a person who honors your parents, you will be a person who blesses them. When you truly honor them and do what is right in God’s eyes, it will even prolong your life; living free of resentment and unforgiveness does prolong our lives, enabling us to live years longer!”
Pam’s Search
We sat across the table in a restaurant in Canada. My husband, Bill, and I had just appeared on theTV show Marriage Uncensored with Dave and Christie. Over dinner Dr. Dave Currie and his wife, Donalyn, along with Bill and I, were talking about our children and our families of origin.
Dave and his wife have two remarkable daughters, whom we had met as they sat in the studio audience that night. As we sat at the table that evening, Dave shared a story that penetrated me to the core. When his daughter Jody was a very little girl, she came home and announced her love interest in a little boy. Dave said to her, “Honey, when you are much older, there will be a day when you will want to give your heart to a man. He will have to be really special, and you will need to feel confident that he is the one God wants you to marry. Until then, I will keep your heart. I will keep it safe.”
Dave’s wife made a heart that hung in the Currie home and on it hung two gold keys, one for each daughter. Any time Dave prayed with his daughters, tucked them into bed, or acted out any of the other daily interactions a loving father would have with his daughter, he’d say, “And who has the key to your heart?” His daughters would answer, “You do, Daddy.” Anytime he had to set a rule or make a correction he would begin with, “Remember who has the key to your heart?” And the girls would answer, “You do, Daddy.”
Then Dave would explain how because he, their daddy, has their best interests on his heart, he had to make decisions and choices to protect his daughters and provide the very best path for them. Dave would explain, “God has called me to do this because God and Daddy love both of you little girls very much.”
Dave shared, “One day Jody met and fell in love with a fabulous man, Chris. She came to me and asked if she could have her heart now because she had found the man she wanted to give it to. I agreed and prayed and released her heart.”
The day of their wedding, Dave asked one last time, “Who has the key to your heart?” But this time the answer was different; it was the name of her new husband.
Then Dave sang a song he had written for this moment, The Transfer of the Sacred Trust:
As man to man, we stand here today,
Though the time is so right, I won’t give her away.
Yet you are my answer to the prayer for God’s plan
Please listen close, Son, as I give you her hand.
God gave me a trust as head of my home
To look after my family, to protect through life’s storm,
To comfort and build these put in my care
And cover them daily with a fatherly prayer . . . that’s why
I won’t let her go, but I will let you start.
To treasure her most, you must carry her heart.
I’ll still be her Dad, but relinquish I must,
It’s the transfer of the sacred trust,
The transfer of the sacred trust.
There comes a day in every girl’s life
About leaving and cleaving, ’bout becoming a wife,
I’ve protected her heart from all other men
The depth of this moment, please understand.
God gives you this trust now as head of your home
To look after my daughter, to protect through life’s storm,
Your love dare not waver as you carry her heart
Please hold her real close as I did from the start . . . you see
I won’t let her go, but I will let you start.
To treasure her most, you carry her heart.
I’ll still be her Dad, but relinquish I must,
It’s the transfer of the sacred trust,
It’s the transfer of the sacred trust,
I transfer now my sacred trust.
(reprinted with permission)
Right after he sang the song, he gave Chris, his new son-in-law, the key that had hung in the Currie home, the key to his daughter’s heart.
Then six years later, for his second daughter, Keldy, Dave repeated the passing of this sacred trust, and gave the key to her heart to her new husband, also a prince of a man.
A dedicated dad holds the key to the heart of his Modern-Day Princess until the day God’s prince of a husband comes to care for the heart of that precious young woman. It is a sacred trust, passing from the two men who should love a woman more than any other: a father, then a husband.
I sat at the table weeping because that is the kind of love I had always longed for as a daughter. That is the kind of love that builds courage and confidence into a young woman’s heart and life.
Looking for My Key
In a nutshell, I grew up in a home that was confusing. One night I might be dancing around the living room with my daddy, but the next night he might be in a drunken rage banishing me to my bedroom in fear. I would slide my chest of drawers in front of the door to keep him from coming in my room while he was so angry. I always thought our family might make the front-page news, but not for a good reason, rather a headline that would read, “Man shoots family then shoots himself.”
When I was in high school, one night I was awakened from a deep sleep to my mother screaming, “Help me!” We three kids bolted from our beds, running through a pitch-black house thinking, Oh no! We need to rescue Mom! We broke open the door into the garage and there we found, not my mom in need of rescue, but rather my daddy, trying to hang himself from the rafters of the garage.
My brother, Bret, a high-school football player, pulled my dad down and dragged him into the living room, pushing him onto the sofa. I took the noose off his neck and began to pray aloud over my father. I knelt and prayed with my siblings and my mother for hours, singing hymns, praying, and begging God to rescue my father from himself.
Abba, Father
Later that same day, God spoke to my heart, “Pam, you have been pushing me away. You must think I am like your earthly father: distant, demanding, and demeaning. I am not like that! Open up the Bible; find out who I am.” Shortly after that day, I came upon Romans 8:15, which says we call God “Abba, Father.” I was reminded again of the reason I made the decision to begin a relationship with Him. I recalled in a powerful way that the King of Kings was my Daddy and He loved me unconditionally. My best interests were and are on His heart. It was as if He were saying, “Who has the key to your heart?”
You do, Daddy, my
Abba Father, I am your daughter, a daughter of the King.
For the next three years I kept a journal and I wrote down all the verses I found that showed God loved me and was a Father I could trust. That journey was my personal rite of passage into becoming a woman of God.
Those verses placed my tiara on my head as I was crowned a Modern-Day Princess. Because of this journey, I was able to recognize my own prince, Bill, when God sent him into my life. I could see that Bill, a healthy, godly man who loved me fully, was worthy to hold the key to my heart.
God sent many people into my life to help me understand what it meant to be God’s princess. You will hear some of those stories, and hear more of my own journey to grasp what it means to be a daughter of the King.
Highly Motivated, Greatly Needed
You see, the two of us [Pam and Doreen] are highly motivated to help young women learn what it means to be daughters of the King. Somehow girls around the world have lost their way. Consider the following statistics:
One in three girls becomes pregnant before age 20. The median age at which young women have their first sexual experience is 17. One in four will contract an STD (sexually transmitted disease). Forty percent of girls at a contraceptive clinic are there without their parents’ knowledge. One third of all teen pregnancies will end in an abortion. We also know that many girls are turning into bullies. Nearly one third of all juvenile arrests are girls, and one-third of all property crimes are perpetrated by girls. About one-quarter of all aggravated assaults are committed by girls. A girl is more likely to be violent at home, and the victim more than any other is her mother.
Dr. Dallas Jackson, professor of educational leadership at Argosy University/Tampa and assistant principal of curriculum at Morgan Fitzgerald Middle School in Pinellas County, Florida, says, “Over 50 percent of the bullying incidences involve one girl picking on another.” Cyber bullying has made picking on each other more common and deadly.
On March 30, 2008, high-school cheerleader Victoria Lindsay was lured to a friend’s home in Lakeland, Florida. While two boys stood guard outside the house, six girls attacked Lindsay. They knocked her unconscious by slamming her head against a wall. Then the perpetrators posted the attack on the Internet. After the authorities arrested the teens involved, one asked if she would “make cheer practice,” apparently uncaring of the seriousness of the attack.
Cyber bullying can consist of mean or critical comments, sharing personal information in a public setting, or demeaning or undermining another girl’s social standing. Today, this kind of pain can travel at light speed through text messaging, IM chatting, or social-networking postings.
And girls pick on the guys, too. On December 5, 2004, the Ottawa Citizen reported: “Considerably more boys than girls say their dates yell at them, demean them, pinch them, slap them, and out-and-out attack them, according to preliminary findings in a study on dating violence.”
However, teen girls are hardest on themselves. Teenage girls are more likely to develop depression than teenage boys. (The Heritage Foundation found that those who were sexually active had a much higher depression rate). Depression in girls might also extend to behaviors like cutting, anorexia, bulimia, and other self-destructive behaviors. Girls experiment with drugs and alcohol in higher numbers than boys. Often, girls use drugs and alcohol to lose weight.
Girls think about and attempt suicide about twice as often as boys, and tend to attempt suicide by overdosing on drugs or cutting themselves. A new, desperate, self-destructive behavior is “sexting,” which includes text messaging pornographic photos of themselves; over 20 percent of girls have engaged in this risky behavior.
Consider the young women around you. Can you think of just one girl you know who seems to have lost her way? When I [Pam] met Emily, she was suffering from the hurt and pain of a dysfunctional family. Her mother, distracted by her own pain, was unable to help her daughter. Emily needed someone to care enough to come alongside her, to reach out and show her God’s love. There are Emilys all around us.
My [Pam’s] motivation in writing this book was heightened on September 5, 2007, the day my first granddaughter, Eden, was born. Even while she was in utero, and since, I have prayed she will step into her priceless identity as a daughter of the King. I pray that her mother, Hannah, will have all she needs to impart a godly heritage to her. I know my son Brock will impart a blessing on his daughter because he already does, in the way he gently loves and cares for Eden. But I also know Eden will need more voices, more wisdom—the help of mentors—to help her safely step into, and then walk out, her identity in Christ.
Can you hear a host of teen girls crying, asking, and waiting for your help and guidance? Right now, think of a young woman, a tween or teen, you might know. She may be your daughter, your niece, or just a young girl you’re acquainted with. You could be the person in her life to dust off her tiara, place it on her head, and help her see herself as God sees her—a person valued and loved. And you could do this for many girls, moving a multitude of young women into a healthy, whole, and wholesome future as adult women who make a difference for their generation.
Out there among you, there are many “Doreens” who are longing for affirmation; “Pams” who are longing for attention; “Emilys” who are longing for affection; and “Edens” who are looking for agreement. One voice to confirm her value can make all the difference in a girl’s life. Every girl deserves a mentor, a mom, and a memorable blessing—a rite of passage to womanhood—and a chance to be a woman who reflects God’s character and lives it out to leave a positive imprint in a world that so desperately needs it.
Mentor Moment
It’s Mother’s Day, and I [Pam] answer my cell phone often. I have only three sons, but several young women will call me on this special day and thank me for being their “spiritual mom.” Though I am not a biological mom of daughters, I am a mentor to many women.
Let me share my journey to becoming a mentor. It first began when a series of women sacrificed their time and energy to mentor me. I, myself, had a terrific mom who came to know Christ the same year that I did. I was 8, my mom, 28.
But I grew up in a home filled with the drama of an alcoholic father prone to domestic violence. My first mentors were two women I didn’t even know were mentors until years later because I had no idea what the word mentor even meant! They were two of my mother’s friends, Kathy and Mrs. Beamer.
Both of these special women saw the chaos in our family and compassionately invited us to attend church with them. At Kathy’s home, I saw what a healthy marriage looked like and how a healthy family functioned. At Sunday school, Mrs. Beamer taught me about Jesus, the Author of love, and prepared my heart for the personal decision to receive Jesus I would make before my ninth birthday.
What I learned most from these women was:
• Love lavishly and trust the results to God.
• Be faithful in the little things because you don’t know how that little act of kindness, integrity, or wisdom might ripple to impact hundreds, thousands, even millions of people.
In college, I was looking for love in all the wrong places, trying to add up awards and accolades in a frantic search for self that was leaving me feeling empty. As I watched my parent’s marriage implode and fall apart, I felt helpless and very alone in life. I was a young woman with a heart to do good but a fatal flaw inside my heart that threatened to destroy my life before it ever really got started.
At the time, I had an overstated need for male attention. I was a virgin at 18 but a tease and very disjointed in my personal value system. I just wasn’t sure what I believed about much of anything. It was as if I had been dropped by a plane into a vast wilderness and I was looking for my compass. In my life, Tina, my next mentor, became the compass giver.
I met Tina at a Campus Crusade Bible study; she was the woman who, with her husband, organized the event. Tina asked me questions, hard ones at times: Who did I think Jesus was? What did I think my life purpose was? Did I read the Bible? Attend church? Tina also answered my questions, held me accountable to make wise choices, expected me to reach higher and further in my goals, and challenged me to be a better person and leader than I had ever pictured for my life. She encouraged me to dress more modestly, act more lady-like, think more critically about principles, and decide more strategically about my future and my place in the world.
Her nurturing of me in the area of what constitutes healthy dating, engagement, and marriage set the foundation for the strong, vibrant marriage I have today. I would have completely missed my godly, amazing husband, Bill, had Tina not entered my world and gotten me unaddicted to men. She pushed me to interview couples with healthy marriages to get a better view of what dating boundaries work best. She pointed me to God and Scripture to form my core relationship values.
What I learned from Tina:
• Always ask the tough questions.
• Expect the best from people and they will rise to meet those expectations.
• Be a woman of sure principles in an unsure world.
The woman who mentored Tina also mentored me. Her name is Faith. Faith and her husband, Cal, had a vision for building a home across the street from the college campus where students could come and get wisdom, training, and a safe place to make better choices in life as they were launching out on their own.
I came to Faith because I was in a dilemma: I had overcommitted myself with extracurricular activities. Faith listened to my heart, prayed with me, gave me some Scripture verses to read, and then said something like, “Pam, you have a pure heart for God. I am sure God will lead you through His Word to the answer your need.” And God did. As I read one of the verses about not “loving the world,” I realized my future was in serving Jesus. I was to invest in that path for my future. It was a clear call.
What I learned from Faith was:
• Love the Lord and love His Word and you’ll have all the answers you need.
• Treat young people with respect, and trust that if you give them the tools God will lead them.
• Relationships matter. God uses relationships to expand His work.
This last one has an important side-note story. Faith mentored me, but she also had similar meetings with a young college woman named Mary. That same Mary ended up going on staff with Campus Crusade, then was hired to be president of Women of Faith.
It was while Doreen was working for Women of Faith that she and I met. Doreen was in Kansas laying the groundwork for Women of Faith. I was speaking at an event in Kansas where she gave an announcement for the upcoming Women of Faith event. I was speaking on Women of Influence and gave a message on mentoring! Now, years later, all those connections (and more) led us to write this book on raising and mentoring young women.
In seminary and ministry, I have had a series of women invest in my life. When I look back on these women, and others who poured their time, talent, or trust into my life, I realize God was preparing me for living an adventure with Him.
