Who won????

Drum roll please......

Congratulations Jennie!!

She has won the book "21 Days CLOSER TO Christ" by Emily Freeman.

Thanks to all who left comments! I have great friends!

Another Giveaway!

Ok... so it has been longer than a couple days... forgive me?

I know I promised another giveaway back in November... well here it is!!

This giveaway will be an autographed book by Emily Freeman. She is the best selling author of several books including - "The Ten Virgins", "21 Days Closer to Christ", "God Bless Your Way" and most recently "The Woman at the Well". She has another book coming out in the Fall that is incredible! Depending on how many comments I get I may throw in 2nd book!


Emily speaks all over Utah & Idaho at Young Women's New Beginnings, Young Women in Excellence evenings and Relief Society Enrichment nights. I have attended the presentations for the "The Ten Virgins" book and "21 Days Closer to Christ" and both were fantastic! She recently started presenting with the Time Out for Women tour this year and her presentation is AMAZING! You can read more here.

Here is a clip from the Question and Answer portion of Time Out for Women last month. If you are still unsure about going to an event. Hopefully, this will give you a little taste of what it is like. When you have Emily, Kris and Hilary on the stage together, you know it will be funny and uplifting!





Emily lives in our ward and I have had the opportunity to get to know her the past 2 1/2 years. She and her husband Greg were actually one of the first couples we met before moving into the ward. We went to church about a month before we moved in to check things out. That Sunday I sat by another dear friend Julie who talked me into signing up for dinner groups that month and she promised to make sure we were in the same group. About a week later, (I had forgotten that we signed up) I get a call from Emily letting me know we had been assigned to her home for dinner and would I mind bringing a salad (I think). She had been told we were new to the ward and let me know Julie had requested we be in the same group. We had a great time that evening getting to know Emily and Greg better and they did a great job helping us feel welcome!


Now as kind of a side note... when my sister-in-law Monica found out we were moving to Lehi she said "I think one of my high school friend's lives down in that area. Her name is Emily Freeman." Come to find out 2 of her brothers were also in the ward and Brad knew them growing up as well. Small world eh?

Anyway, after that first meeting, Emily always made a point to say "hi" and check in. A few months after we moved in, Emily was called as the Relief Society President in our ward and served for just over a year. Which worked out perfectly, because right about that time I was in need of an assistant camp director. Our current camp director needed to attend to her family and was unable to finish up the last minute details. So with 3 weeks until camp, Emily was called and pulled everything together with the help of our YCL's. Here is a picture of some of the leaders at camp. She is the camp director again this year and everything is coming together nicely! I will save the fun camp stories for another post! :-)

Emily, Josephine, Mindy, me and Trish

Brad and I have really enjoyed getting to know Emily, Greg and their wonderful family. They have always helped us feel included and have been great examples of how we want to be as parents. Emily has an amazing testimony of her Savior and is one of the best examples to me of seeking guidance from our Heavenly Father in all that she does. She knows the scriptures and understands how to liken them to any situation. She is also a great friend, as I have sought advice or comfort she always knows the right thing to say. I have seen her in action on many occasions within our community, neighborhood, ward, etc... and I always know I can count on her. She gives of her time and talents to all those around her and places the needs of others above her own. Brad calls her Wonder Woman - if she can't do it- no one can! We have learned great things from Emily and Greg and are grateful to call them our friends.

Now in order to qualify for the drawing you must make a comment on this post by Wednesday May 13th @ 10PM. I will announce the winner(s) the next evening. If you make a comment on this post and have (prior to today) made a comment on one of the previous 2 posts you will be entered twice!

Winner review...

My friend Susie posted her review of the Hilary Weeks CD she won during the giveaway 2 months ago. Check out this link for her review. Here is her comment on my blog as well.

Barlow Family said...
"Now that things have died down I have a chance to thank you for that beautiful CD! Please pass on how much I love it to your sweet friend. I've posted a "review" on my blog, so hopefully it will send a few more her way. It truly is something that warms the soul and brings the spirit! THANK YOU!"

If you haven't had a chance to listen to her music clips... click here.

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas Holiday and HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

More posts to come... just need life to settle down a bit.

And the winners are.......

Well.. the time has come to announce the winners of the Hilary Weeks giveaway. It has been so fun hearing from all of you, especially those that are new to the blog world and entered your first comment. Hopefully, now that you have conquered that first step you will feel empowered to continue leaving comments. :D

CONGRATULATIONS TO...

SUSIE "If I Only Had Today" CD

and because there were so many entries the 2nd winner is...

MELISSA "Christmastime"CD






Thanks for all those that participated! Especially those that jumped over from Jennifer's blog. Also, thanks to those who "actually" read the post about San Antonio to know a comment on that post got you entered 2 times in this "giveaway". I hope that even if you didn't win you will take the opportunity to purchase one of Hilary's CD's. You will be glad you did!


I will have "giveaway" for another talented friend in a couple weeks so check back again!

Hilary Weeks - Giveaway!

Here it is- the 1st of two giveaways. If you read the previous post you know that you got a head start!

I don’t know about you but until 3 yrs ago I had no idea who Hilary Weeks was. I think as I look back I vaguely remember seeing her CD once at Deseret Book and wondering if we may be related. (We are not, at least not within 2 generations) Anyway, 3 yrs ago my mom gave me her “Christmastime” CD and it quickly became my favorite Christmas CD. I loved her voice and the unique arrangements of familiar Christmas songs, also the 3 songs she contributed were beautifully written.

I am fairly picky with my “church” music so I didn’t purchase any of her other CD’s ; worried I wouldn’t love them as much. Then just over 2 yrs ago we built our new home and moved into Tim & Hilary’s ward. Brad and Tim grew up in the same ward so that first week at church we actually sat by them in Sunday school. From day one they were very welcoming and kind, which instantly impressed me. Now at first, I didn’t really put two and two together, even after we met them that first week. Yes I finally figured out she was THE Hilary Weeks of my new favorite Christmas CD! But it wasn’t until a few months later when she released her “Collection” CD that I decided to buy it and see what it was like. After listening through a couple of times I became a fan, the lyrics of each song are amazing and instantly you know she has a strong testimony of her Savior. In the past 2 years we have grown to love and respect Tim & Hilary as well as their cute family. I also had the opportunity to serve with Hilary in the YW this past year and have seen her in several situations- spiritual, fun, stressful, etc... She is as genuine as she seems and is always looking for the good in a person or situation. She is so great at building people up and really wants to see others succeed, she is an amazing teacher and always taught with the spirit. I will always appreciate her encouragement and support while we served together. I am grateful to call her my friend.

I want others who are unfamiliar with her music to have the opportunity to find out more about who she is. Here is a link to hear some clips from Hilary’s new CD. (Look on the right side where it says “a closer look” then click “listen to clips”. ) Her new album is amazing and when you read her expression of gratitude in the front cover you know she has a deep testimony of her Heavenly Father and trusts him completely. Her music truly speaks to your heart.

In her own words… “God will never let us down. It took me fifteen years and seven CDs to learn that. While creating my first six album projects I spent many tear-filled nights wondering if I could write songs that were good enough. Was I good enough? As I began writing for this CD I came to the realization that, though all along I may not have been good enough, God has been. He has made up the difference. Every time. As I approached this seventh project I decided to trust Heavenly Father completely. I was not going to worry about whether or not the songs would come—I just believed they would. And they did. Turns out, this is the most pleasant writing experience I have ever had. The late-night tears were replaced with trust and I felt God's hand in every song. He is there for us. And He will never let us down. I believe that. May these songs carry that witness to your heart.”

Many of my friends have mentioned not knowing who Hilary was. I thought, what better way to help those in blog land get to know her music than a giveaway! So here is the deal, Hilary has generously agreed to giveaway an autographed copy of her new album “If I Only Had Today”. Depending on how many entries I receive we may also have a 2nd prize, her “Christmastime CD”. It is almost Christmas right? And I am feeling generous!

In order to be entered in the drawing, you must make a comment on this post before Sunday morning Nov 16th. I will pick the winner out of a hat and they will be announced Sunday evening. Good luck! Feel free to tell your friends!

Here is another link to her website and blog.. go check it out.