The winner of the signed copy of "Seasons"!

I used random.org - integer generator to choose the winner of the book "Seasons", by Elizabeth Byler Younts. I reviewed the book and talked about the giveaway here.

And the winner is - Katarina! So happy for you, friend! I think you will really enjoy reading this. :) Please email me your contact information, so I can send that on to Elizabeth and get your copy on its way.

Thanks to everyone who entered the giveaway. As a reminder, click here to get right over to Amazon to order the book "Seasons" for yourself: Kindle version is also available!

And the winner is...

I just chose the winner for the $5 Starbucks gift card and the book, "For Women Only".

Using Random.org, integer generator, commenter number 14 was chosen.

And... commenter #14 was - The Sneaky Mommy!

I think you are going to LOVE this book Londa!!

Thanks to all for entering. It was very fun. :)

It's not a birthday with out gifts...

So guess who is about to enter the excitement that is "the 30's"?

Yep - on Friday I will be waving bye-bye to my twenties.


Wow were my twenties a ride.


Got married one month after I turned twenty.

Had my first children one month before I turned twenty-two.

I've pretty much had my heart won over,

shattered,

pieced back together,

and rebuilt

in my twenties.


Not a decade that I could ever take lightly or forget.


Is it weird that I am excited about turning thirty?

I don't know, it's just neat for me to look back,

see this scared,

wounded,

 insecure girl

and the chasm there is now between who I was, and who, by God's grace, I am now.


And really, what's a birthday without gifts, right?

I'm going to be giving away a $5 Starbucks gift card and a really great book!

The book is called "For Women Only" by Shaunti Feldhahn.

Let me tell you - this book has really changed the way I view men, and has greatly helped the way I relate to my husband! Whether you are married or single, this is a wonderful book in giving insight into the guys God has put into our lives.

It isn't just a woman writing her opinion on the subject. Shaunti conducted a national survey - interviewing thousands of men, helping us to support and love them the way they wish we knew how to.

I have to admit, I resisted reading this book for a couple of years. A man's mind can be a scary thing. :) Really, it can be, but I am so glad that I finally read this eye opening book!

I will be giving one copy of this book away, along with the gift card, to a randomly chosen commenter from this post.

Simply leave a comment and you will be entered to win!

This give away will be open until Saturday evening. I was going to close it on the actual day I turn 30 - but that day is far too packed full with all of the fun that entering a new decade can entail.

The dearest friends,

the most delicious food,

The dress,

The man,

A night without kids.

Yep, the winner choosing will just have to wait. :)

And no, I am not being paid for this at all. It's simply a book that has proven very beneficial to my marriage and I highly recommend it.

And you all know how I feel about coffee. -Just a few of my favorite things.

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?

A neat opportunity!

I have been following the adoption journey of a sweet couple; Josh and Rachel. I think that Rachel left a comment on my blog a few months ago and that is how I found her blog. I don't personally know Rachel and Josh, but the way she writes about each step in the adoption process as well as the emotions they have gone through truly makes one feel like Rach is a close friend. Yep - I called her Rach. 'Cause we're buds like that. I think she very likely calls me Wen. ;) Any way, Rachel came up with a really great way to help them raise the funds they need to help out with all of the costs this adoption is going to incur. You can chip in to help them out and will be entered in to a fantastic drawing. You are going to have to go check it out - but believe me, it is good! I love the community among people who blog and share their lives. I think it is awesome how word can spread and if a whole bunch of people give a little bit it adds up to an incredible amount! Click on the image above to be directed to her blog. Rachel and Josh are already wonderful parents. The love they have for the baby, who will soon be placed in their arms, shines through every post she writes. This child is going to be loved beyond measure and brought up in a way that glorifies the one who knew in the very beginning that this couple and this baby would be a family.

A give away winner and a tired vlogger

And yes, for the record, I did realize that the "in everything give thanks" message of the sign I made was quite applicable for my currant situation after I posted the video. :)

Payin' it forward

I love winning things! It's just such a fun little surprising treat. Especially for one, such as myself, who seldom wins anything. What's even more fun for me though is crafting and giving stuff away. So, that is the lead in to this post... A while back (probably can be measured in months by now...) I won a bloggy give away that was extra special. Rachel @ Musings of a Future Pastor's Wife had won a pay it forward give away and kept the goodness going in her own crafty giveaway. With a pay it forward give away you enter to win on the premise that if you are the winner you will, at some point (maybe even months later), do a give away of your own. I was one of several who won Rachel's give away. She was pretty generous. Rachel has an Etsy shop with all kinds of crafty goodness. Go to her blog and from there you can find a link for her Etsy shop. She makes the neatest pendants from scrabble tiles! As neat as they look in pictures, I have to say that when I received mine in the mail it was even prettier. :) She does a lot of different designs, colors, and fonts. I picked a brown cross. Isn't it fun? So, I have finally gotten some crafting of my own done so that I can keep the give away fun going! I made this little sign as a reminder to keep a thankful heart in everything. It just happens to look pretty good in my house and it just so happens to be a reminder I need so much each and every day. :) I will be making an identical one to keep. 'Cause I am generous like that. Or selfish, or some thing.

All you need to do is leave a comment on this post and you will be entered to win the sign. Be sure to have your email address included in your comment so I can contact you if you are the wonner. I sense that some of you are nervous now. You think that if you enter you will have to come up with some crafty project and have your own give away. Well, I am going to make this easy for you. Because I like you, and I don't want any one to have bloggy give away anxiety.

If you enter and happen to win I would love it if you just kept the pay it forward idea some where in your mind. You don't have to do anything crafty, do a bloggy give away, or post about it, jut look for opportunities to give some thing away some time in the next few months. You do not even have to have a blog to enter. Now if you win, you really enjoy crafting, and have just been waiting for an opportunity to make some thing to give away then please do! :) If that is the case you will just come up with your idea and compose a blog post similar to this one, keeping the pay it forward give away on a roll.

This give away will be open until Monday, January 19th, at which time a random winner will be drawn. Go on now, enter to win and then go tell your friends all about it! :) On a different note, I want to sincerely thank every one for their incredibly kind comments during the anniversaries of J.D. s birth and death. It means so much to me!

The Winner!!!

I just want to thank all 39 of you for participating in my give away. I had so.much.fun!! In fact, it was such a delight that I would love to do it again! I'm sorta addicted to making those bags too - so I will perhaps do it again for my 150th post. :) I wish I could give you all something - really I do! But alas - We could only choose one person this time. We made it into a very fun family activity. :) We wrote out the number of comments on paper, than cut them out and put them in the bag. :) My super nephew Aaron picked one out and the random number he choose was 25! My 25th commenter was Genny from My Cup 2 Yours. Congratulations Genny! I will be in contact with you!