If I believed in luck - I would say "lucky me" but I don't, so I won't

Over three months ago I entered a give away on a blog. Not being the kind of person that wins things - pretty much ever - I did not really expect any thing to come of it. But in an oh so su-weet turn of events quite a bit did come from it. :) I have been meaning to blog about it for awhile. The exciting thing about this giveaway is that it was a part of an awesome fund raiser for a sweet couple, Josh and Rachel, to raise money for their international adoption. It was neat to watch the numbers go up signifying the amount raised! They are now closer than ever to traveling to South Korea to pick up their son Josiah! When I found out that I was the winner of Prize package B I was honestly shocked! Of course it was a very thrilled kind of shock. One part of the winnings form this give away was a hand made doll, lamb, or other bit of soft goodness from Baby Be Blessed. I had first heard of this wonderful business through Angie Smith's blog, Bring the Rain. I knew she was a big fan of their products, but I wasn't really familiar whit what all Baby Be Blessed made. All I knew is that they make cute dolls. As I perused their on line shop I made a discovery that warmed my heart. And it made me stop and thank God for his goodness. And it gave even more meaning to the way he was blessing me through this give away. Among many other things, Baby Be Blessed makes beautiful soft lambs that are called Treasure a Memory Lamb. You can choose a verse of your choice to be printed on the lamb's belly. These lambs are made to be a special reminder of a baby or child who you can no longer hold in your arms. What a special treasure! Actual baby footprints can be printed next to the verse you choose. All of the fabrics, ribbon, colors, etc can be picked specifically to what you want. After emailing back and forth for a while with the wonderful ladies from Baby Be Blessed, our lamb was chosen. I could hardly wait to see how it would turn out! A couple of weeks ago a box arrived in the mail with Baby Be Blessed in the top left corner. I was like a little kid breaking into the package. The boys watched me from a distance - kind of wondering what was up with mommy and why she was acting like she was their age... :) I'm sure you can imagine how sweet this is to me! Look at those precious foot prints! And perhaps there was a little tear or two to wipe away. Maybe. Not tellin' for sure. :) Use your imagination. I explained to K, Jay, and Noe why mommy was so happy to have the lamb, what it represented, and the sweet reminder it was of their brother in heaven. They seemed to realize right away that this was not a typical toy to be dragged around the house and otherwise abused as toys and stuffed animals seem to be here. They carefully examined it. They talked about how soft it was and how little the footprints were. They were so gentle with the lamb - I was really quite surprised! After the little boys went up for their nap I sat down with K and we talked about the brother whom he never really knew. He is always rather matter of fact when we talk about J.D. Some times I ask him if he knows he had a twin brother. Some one who looked just like him. He usually just smiles his easy going smile and says, "yeah." He seemed to form an attachment to the lamb right away. He held it for a long time. He watched his Little Ein.stein's movie and sang along with the classical music while gently cradling the lamb. I know that this is just a piece of material. Sewn together and made into a simple design. But what it represents is so close to my heart that I can't help but feel an extra thankfulness for this unexpected gift. I would encourage you to check out Baby Be Blessed! The quality of the lamb I received was very impressive! Every doll or animal made has a Bible verse on it. They are all SO sweet. I am still deciding on which personalized diaper bag our newest little boy will be stylin' with. :) What a fun decision! I have chosen my scrabble tile pendant (no guilt trip intended sweet NOLA friend) :) I will be gifitng some one very special with two precious little girl hats from Carey hairbows - now that I know I will not be needing them. :) Wow are they ever sweet! We love our hand made crayon roll from Shut The Front Door Etsy shop! It is so convenient to throw into a bag on our way out the door to have something to keep the boys busy during appointments and such. I thought having crayons would be the entertaining thing, ends up opening and closing the crayon roll is the biggest excitement maker. Who knew? Target gift card (such a treat any time!!), magazine subscription, photo collage - the goodness seemed to be never ending. :) It was so much fun for me and I just want to thank Rachel for the thoughtful items she gave away. So. much. fun. Did I already say that?