The Peer-Nominated Liebster Award

A BIG thanks to Four to Adore for nominating me for the Liebster Award!  The Liebster Award is given from one blogger to another as a way to acknowledge what they contribute to the blogsphere. I'm very humbled that Amber choose to nominate A Beautiful Ruckus!

The Rules:

1. Thank your Liebster Blog Award presenter on your blog and link back to them in your post.
2. Answer the 11 questions from the nominator, list 11 random facts about yourself and create 11 questions for your nominees.
3. Present the Liebster Blog Award to 11 blogs who you feel deserve to be noticed and leave a comment on their blog letting them know they have been chosen.
4. Copy and Paste the blog award on your blog.

Note: (These are the “rules” but please feel free to do as you wish. If you have 5 bloggers to nominate instead of 11, and you can only think of 7 random facts about yourself – that’s perfectly fine! )

Thank goodness the rules are bendable.  I'm not sure if I can come up with 11 things in every category. So like Amber did before me, I'm going with four things in each category. She has quads, I have quads. Makes sense to me!

My Questions To Be Answered:

1. What is the best thing a stranger has said to you upon realizing you have quadruplets?
Normally people say things like, "Wow, you have your hand's full." Or, tell me that I'm Super Mom (which is so far from true.) When people actually say something encouraging, it sticks out in my memory because they are so few and far between. My favorite? "You are SO blessed!" And they are SO right!

2. What features does your dream house include?

Definitely more room for storage since I try to buy ahead on items we need when they go on sale. I'd love a four bedroom house with one room for us, one room for the girls, one room for the boys, and an extra bedroom (or office) for Sean and I to work from. He works from home occasionally, and I work from home all the time. Oh, and a real master bathroom plus a pantry in the kitchen are musts on my lists too. But honestly, I'm so very thankful for a house and space (albeit tight) for each of us.

3. When you need some “me” time, what do you do?

Writing! I love writing because it is a total stress reliever. I also try to get in at least 30-45 minutes of reading to help me wind down at night. And occasionally, I can be found baking something sweet in the kitchen.

4. What is your biggest guilty pleasure?

But then everyone will know! Oh, all right. I have a complete weakness for Hot Tamales candies, Edy's French Silk Ice Cream, Smores in the microwave, and Sweet Tea. And yes, I have been known to consume all of those on the same day.

Random Facts About Me:

1. Someday, I'd love to write a book. A real book that I can hold in my hands and see displayed on a shelf. And then, I'd like to go on a publicity tour and be interviewed on The Today Show, Good Morning America, and do book signings. And then, I'd like to see my book turned into a movie. But first, I need to come up with a book to write...fiction, non-fiction, children's book, memoir....hmm...dream big, right? *smile*
2. After graduating from high school, I went camping, backpacking, rappelling, and mountain climbing in Wyoming. It was an amazing trip, and I've never felt closer to Jesus than sitting on a mountain top with my Bible. I'd do it again in a heartbeat! 
3. I was homeschooled from kindergarten through twelfth grade. Just to clarify, I was well socialized and played softball and tennis, took ballet lessons, participated in Awanas, apologetic courses, and leadership and government classes. I was very busy and thoroughly enjoyed the extra experiences that being homeschooled afford me.
4. The points above make it look like I love exercising. I don't. I'd much rather sit on the couch because it's easier and a lot less sweaty. To offset that during college, I signed up for dance classes so that I would be forced to exercise. I accidentally earned a dance minor when I realized during my senior year that I only needed a couple more classes to make it official. So I earned a BA in English Writing on purpose, and a Dance Minor on accident.

Questions for Nominees to Answer:

1. If you had an extra hour during your day and could only spend it on something enjoyable to you (not chores or work!), what would you do with it?
2. Every occupation in the world is open to you except for the one you are currently in. What new career would you choose?
3. If you had to raise animals or grow produce on a farm, what would it be and why?
4. And my husband's favorite question to ask people, "Would you rather be a success in your field or have mad cow disease?"

And now, for my nominated blogs:

1. 4tunate

2. OMG There's Three

3. Three Times the Giggles

4. Raising the Barrs...In Alaska!

A BIG thanks to Four to Adore for nominating me for the Liebster Award!  The Liebster Award is given from one blogger to another as a way to acknowledge what they contribute to the blogsphere. I'm very humbled that Amber choose to nominate A Beautiful Ruckus!

The Rules:

1. Thank your Liebster Blog Award presenter on your blog and link back to them in your post.
2. Answer the 11 questions from the nominator, list 11 random facts about yourself and create 11 questions for your nominees.
3. Present the Liebster Blog Award to 11 blogs who you feel deserve to be noticed and leave a comment on their blog letting them know they have been chosen.
4. Copy and Paste the blog award on your blog.

Note: (These are the “rules” but please feel free to do as you wish. If you have 5 bloggers to nominate instead of 11, and you can only think of 7 random facts about yourself – that’s perfectly fine! )

Thank goodness the rules are bendable.  I'm not sure if I can come up with 11 things in every category. So like Amber did before me, I'm going with four things in each category. She has quads, I have quads. Makes sense to me!

My Questions To Be Answered:

1. What is the best thing a stranger has said to you upon realizing you have quadruplets?
Normally people say things like, "Wow, you have your hand's full." Or, tell me that I'm Super Mom (which is so far from true.) When people actually say something encouraging, it sticks out in my memory because they are so few and far between. My favorite? "You are SO blessed!" And they are SO right!

2. What features does your dream house include?

Definitely more room for storage since I try to buy ahead on items we need when they go on sale. I'd love a four bedroom house with one room for us, one room for the girls, one room for the boys, and an extra bedroom (or office) for Sean and I to work from. He works from home occasionally, and I work from home all the time. Oh, and a real master bathroom plus a pantry in the kitchen are musts on my lists too. But honestly, I'm so very thankful for a house and space (albeit tight) for each of us.

3. When you need some “me” time, what do you do?

Writing! I love writing because it is a total stress reliever. I also try to get in at least 30-45 minutes of reading to help me wind down at night. And occasionally, I can be found baking something sweet in the kitchen.

4. What is your biggest guilty pleasure?

But then everyone will know! Oh, all right. I have a complete weakness for Hot Tamales candies, Edy's French Silk Ice Cream, Smores in the microwave, and Sweet Tea. And yes, I have been known to consume all of those on the same day.

Random Facts About Me:

1. Someday, I'd love to write a book. A real book that I can hold in my hands and see displayed on a shelf. And then, I'd like to go on a publicity tour and be interviewed on The Today Show, Good Morning America, and do book signings. And then, I'd like to see my book turned into a movie. But first, I need to come up with a book to write...fiction, non-fiction, children's book, memoir....hmm...dream big, right? *smile*
2. After graduating from high school, I went camping, backpacking, rappelling, and mountain climbing in Wyoming. It was an amazing trip, and I've never felt closer to Jesus than sitting on a mountain top with my Bible. I'd do it again in a heartbeat! 
3. I was homeschooled from kindergarten through twelfth grade. Just to clarify, I was well socialized and played softball and tennis, took ballet lessons, participated in Awanas, apologetic courses, and leadership and government classes. I was very busy and thoroughly enjoyed the extra experiences that being homeschooled afford me.
4. The points above make it look like I love exercising. I don't. I'd much rather sit on the couch because it's easier and a lot less sweaty. To offset that during college, I signed up for dance classes so that I would be forced to exercise. I accidentally earned a dance minor when I realized during my senior year that I only needed a couple more classes to make it official. So I earned a BA in English Writing on purpose, and a Dance Minor on accident.

Questions for Nominees to Answer:

1. If you had an extra hour during your day and could only spend it on something enjoyable to you (not chores or work!), what would you do with it?
2. Every occupation in the world is open to you except for the one you are currently in. What new career would you choose?
3. If you had to raise animals or grow produce on a farm, what would it be and why?
4. And my husband's favorite question to ask people, "Would you rather be a success in your field or have mad cow disease?"

And now, for my nominated blogs:

1. 4tunate

2. OMG There's Three

3. Three Times the Giggles

4. Raising the Barrs...In Alaska!

The Grand Tour + A Blog Giveaway!!

Many of you have noticed that our blog got a huge upgrade about a week ago. I mean, seriously, how could you not notice??

If you are new to the site, this is what it used to look like:

If you guessed that I designed it myself, you're right. Ugh.

Now that you are getting to visit with me and my family in this bright new spot, what do you think of it?? I absolutely love it! And if you would humor me, I'd like to give you the grand tour of our new space:

-It's now a cleaner, brighter site! My number one request was for a site that was lighter and easier to read.  Sarah, the designer, came up with this!

-There is a streamlined tab bar with drop down menus! Go ahead and look around up there! It’s easier to navigate!

-We have an awesome new header with customized figures to represent our family! I just have to brag on Sarah for a minute here. I found the bride and groom on the internet, but couldn’t find a mom and dad that matched them. She actually drew the mom and dad to look like us, changed the hairstyle on the groom to match the dad, and found the kids that she customized with their colors! I love that each of the kids so perfectly matches the personalities of their real life models! So much work and thoughtfulness was put into the header! I LOVE what she did with it!

-There are nifty little buttons to guide you to our Pinterest account (want to see what a mom of quads pins??), our twitter account (for fun up to date quips on the funny things they do), our new FaceBook page (give us a like!), our YouTube videos (in case you want to see Abby dancing on the coffee table again), and, of course, our RSS feed!

Sarah of Sarah Beth Digital Design is the mastermind behind our new little home in the blogging world and she went above and beyond with her redesign. She totally blew me away with how perfectly she captured exactly what I wanted! LOVE IT! I’m pretty blessed to have had my friend who is a professional website designer offer to redo my blog just because!

Actually, she didn’t just offer to redesign my blog! She asked if I would be willing to host a giveaway because she wants to give a blog/website design away to one of my readers too!

If you have done any research in how much it costs to design a blog or website, you know how big this is! 

Want to know exactly what you will get if you win the giveaway??

Sarah is giving away a free website design for Wordpress or Blogger! It’s a package valued at $150!!!

If you win, you will get The Supreme Blog Make-Over which includes:

·  Header

·  Background

·  Custom Fonts

·  Horizontal Menu Bar with Graphics

·  Sidebar Titles with Graphics

·  Post Signature and Post Divider

·  Post Icon

·  2 or 3 Column Layout

·  Grab Button

·  Social Media Icons (up to 6)

·  Favicon

·  Facebook Cover Image

·  Installation

She is also including a $10 stock image or design kit credit to use in the creation of your blog!

She is also giving the first five people who contract with her to build a new blog design The Supreme Blog Make-Over for only $50! If you want to skip the giveaway or don't win, make sure you contact her anyway so that you can get a blog design for next to nothing! Seriously, no one gives blogs a complete overhaul for only $50!

She designs for both Wordpress and Blogger (self-hosted) platforms and can help you design just about anything you can come up with. Want to keep extended family updated on your happenings? She can help you. Have niche market expertise that you want to share with the public? She can design a dynamic site for you. Have a little business that you'd like to run? She can set you up in a way that will draw people in. Don't know what you want to design yet? No problem! Everyone has something that they can share, so enter anyway!

To enter, simply use the below giveaway form! The first two entries are a must, so make sure you do both. Once those are done, then you will officially have two entries in the contest and it will allow you to gain additional easy entries with just a click of your mouse! All entries will be verified!

You don’t want to miss this contest! It is huge! Good luck!!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Many of you have noticed that our blog got a huge upgrade about a week ago. I mean, seriously, how could you not notice??

If you are new to the site, this is what it used to look like:

If you guessed that I designed it myself, you're right. Ugh.

Now that you are getting to visit with me and my family in this bright new spot, what do you think of it?? I absolutely love it! And if you would humor me, I'd like to give you the grand tour of our new space:

-It's now a cleaner, brighter site! My number one request was for a site that was lighter and easier to read.  Sarah, the designer, came up with this!

-There is a streamlined tab bar with drop down menus! Go ahead and look around up there! It’s easier to navigate!

-We have an awesome new header with customized figures to represent our family! I just have to brag on Sarah for a minute here. I found the bride and groom on the internet, but couldn’t find a mom and dad that matched them. She actually drew the mom and dad to look like us, changed the hairstyle on the groom to match the dad, and found the kids that she customized with their colors! I love that each of the kids so perfectly matches the personalities of their real life models! So much work and thoughtfulness was put into the header! I LOVE what she did with it!

-There are nifty little buttons to guide you to our Pinterest account (want to see what a mom of quads pins??), our twitter account (for fun up to date quips on the funny things they do), our new FaceBook page (give us a like!), our YouTube videos (in case you want to see Abby dancing on the coffee table again), and, of course, our RSS feed!

Sarah of Sarah Beth Digital Design is the mastermind behind our new little home in the blogging world and she went above and beyond with her redesign. She totally blew me away with how perfectly she captured exactly what I wanted! LOVE IT! I’m pretty blessed to have had my friend who is a professional website designer offer to redo my blog just because!

Actually, she didn’t just offer to redesign my blog! She asked if I would be willing to host a giveaway because she wants to give a blog/website design away to one of my readers too!

If you have done any research in how much it costs to design a blog or website, you know how big this is! 

Want to know exactly what you will get if you win the giveaway??

Sarah is giving away a free website design for Wordpress or Blogger! It’s a package valued at $150!!!

If you win, you will get The Supreme Blog Make-Over which includes:

·  Header

·  Background

·  Custom Fonts

·  Horizontal Menu Bar with Graphics

·  Sidebar Titles with Graphics

·  Post Signature and Post Divider

·  Post Icon

·  2 or 3 Column Layout

·  Grab Button

·  Social Media Icons (up to 6)

·  Favicon

·  Facebook Cover Image

·  Installation

She is also including a $10 stock image or design kit credit to use in the creation of your blog!

She is also giving the first five people who contract with her to build a new blog design The Supreme Blog Make-Over for only $50! If you want to skip the giveaway or don't win, make sure you contact her anyway so that you can get a blog design for next to nothing! Seriously, no one gives blogs a complete overhaul for only $50!

She designs for both Wordpress and Blogger (self-hosted) platforms and can help you design just about anything you can come up with. Want to keep extended family updated on your happenings? She can help you. Have niche market expertise that you want to share with the public? She can design a dynamic site for you. Have a little business that you'd like to run? She can set you up in a way that will draw people in. Don't know what you want to design yet? No problem! Everyone has something that they can share, so enter anyway!

To enter, simply use the below giveaway form! The first two entries are a must, so make sure you do both. Once those are done, then you will officially have two entries in the contest and it will allow you to gain additional easy entries with just a click of your mouse! All entries will be verified!

You don’t want to miss this contest! It is huge! Good luck!!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Thanks for Moving With Us!

Welcome to our NEW BLOG!

We are excited to get to customize our website a little more to reflect our family. I’m also excited that it won’t take nearly as long to upload photos and arrange them in posts! Hopefully, I do a better job of keeping up with blogging now that it will be easier.

The kids have been busy popping through teeth, discovering how to pull toys out of the toy basket, and exploring the electrical wires under the TV. Now that life over here is becoming more active, I’m hoping to get more stories up in the coming months instead of just updates. I’m sure the walking and talking that will show up soon will make for some good times! J

Thanks for joining us on our journey and moving over here with us!

PS. I’ve started thinking about the babies’ first birthday. It’s next month. Can you believe it??

Welcome to our NEW BLOG!

We are excited to get to customize our website a little more to reflect our family. I’m also excited that it won’t take nearly as long to upload photos and arrange them in posts! Hopefully, I do a better job of keeping up with blogging now that it will be easier.

The kids have been busy popping through teeth, discovering how to pull toys out of the toy basket, and exploring the electrical wires under the TV. Now that life over here is becoming more active, I’m hoping to get more stories up in the coming months instead of just updates. I’m sure the walking and talking that will show up soon will make for some good times! J

Thanks for joining us on our journey and moving over here with us!

PS. I’ve started thinking about the babies’ first birthday. It’s next month. Can you believe it??