We have a winner!

The winner of the Alphabet Soup wall hangings is commenter #94, Taylor (email @ Juno). I'll email Taylor and let her know!

Thank you all so much for entering! I really never expected such a response. Your kind comments meant a lot! If you'd be interested in purchasing similar canvases, or if you've got something else in mind you'd like me to try, please let me know!

Photo contest!

Christine at Are We There Yet Mom? has asked her readers to participate in a photo contest! When I read that in her blog, I knew I wanted to enter (I can never resist a contest!), and I knew exactly which photo I wanted to use. Here's the story behind it.

My husband proposed to me on Memorial Day 2006 at a state park in the city where we live. I had no idea the proposal was coming on that day! First walked the trails through the park. Part of the trail passes by a river, and it was there that I stopped to take a photo very similar to this one. After our walk, we had a little picnic, and that was when he very nervously dropped to one knee and asked me to be his wife.

On Memorial Day 2007, we returned to the park. We'd been married a little over four months and had just weeks earlier learned we were expecting our first baby! We had our picnic (first, of course, because pregnant ladies are hungry all the time!) and then took our walk. That's when I snapped this photo, along the same trail we'd walked the year before, just minutes before we became engaged. We plan to return there this Memorial Day, with our picnic and our camera. But this time we'll have an even more precious piece of cargo with us: our sweet little boy.

Bloggy Giveaway Carnival!

Howdy! It's time for a giveaway!

Before my son was born, I went on the hunt for cute wall hangings for his room, and couldn't find any I loved, or that I felt were worth the big bucks. So I made some myself! For this giveaway, I'm offering a set just like the ones you see here. These are from the "Alphabet Soup" crib set made by Cocalo (it's amazing what a color copier, paint and Mod Podge can do!), but they'd look great in any baby's or child's room. They're colorful and fun, and every kid loves that!

These are on 8x10 canvases, to give you an idea of their size.

If you'd like a shot at winning your own custom-made set of canvases, just leave a comment here and let me know how I can get in touch with you (your email address or blog address). You do not have to have a blog to win! I'll ship these to the U.S. or Canada only. Since I'll be making these from scratch, please give me at least a week to make sure they're perfect and ready to ship! I'll choose a winner using the random number generator on Saturday, April 26.

Thanks for stopping by! :)

THIS CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED. THANK YOU FOR ENTERING!! :)

Sweet boy,

Tomorrow you will be baptized. Your daddy and I will walk to the front of the sanctuary at First Presbyterian Church, and your daddy will place you in the arms of your pastor. He will ask your daddy for your given name, and your daddy will proclaim it, strong and clear and with all the love in his heart. Your pastor will administer the sacrament of baptism to you and will pray over you. He will pray that you will come to know your Savior at a tender, early age, sweet boy. He will pray that you will grow in your faith, that you will study and learn and pray and be eager to serve your King by serving others. He will pray that your mommy and daddy and family and all the members of your church will pray for you and guide you and protect you from this fallen world. And he will pray that the Lord will even now be preparing a godly wife for you, a woman who will love you and watch over you and be your helper and give you children of your own.

Your daddy and I pray all those things for you, too, my love. We love you so much and could not imagine our lives without you. From the moment we knew you were coming to us, we have loved you and prayed for you. With us you will always be safe. In our arms you will always find love. In our home you will always be accepted and cherished. You are the brightest light in our world.

Thank you for being our son. You will never know how much you are loved until you look into the eyes of your own son or daughter for the first time. Then you will understand.

Love,
Mama and Daddy

Praise Baby

I've been on a bloggy break for a while because my sweet boy was born on November 26 via c-section! We're doing well, and the husband and I are totally in love. I'm not sure what name Baby will go by here on the blog yet, but I'll take suggestions! I'll also post some photos soon of cute baby hands and feet. No face shots! This is the big, bad Interwebs, after all.

Shannon @ Rocks In My Dryer posted a great link for a Praise Baby freebie. All my mommy friends keep telling me to start investing in these CDs and DVDs, and I think this offer might be the place to start. The first 300 bloggers to sign up will receive a free bib and a $5 off coupon for the new Christmas DVD. I can't wait to get it. It looks great! Click the Praise Baby link in my sidebar for more info! :)

Smitty's latest

I heard about Michael W. Smith's new Christmas CD, It's A Wonderful Christmas, from a post in BooMama's blog. I jumped at the chance to get one, because who doesn't love free CDs, and who doesn't love Smitty? (Sometime I should tell the story about having supper at his house.)

Much of our Christmas decorating was already done when the CD arrived Saturday, because our baby boy is coming Monday (tomorrow! gulp!) via C-section and I wanted the house decorated and clean before the big day. But we were still getting some last-minute decorating done yesterday, so we put the CD in and listened.

I really like this! It's different from what you might expect from MWS. I didn't realize so much of it would be instrumental. It's all very well done, and felt totally Christmas-y. I was especially glad to hear a bit of "Once In Royal David's City," which is my ultimate favorite Chrsitmas hymn. I only wish it had been longer! I also really enjoyed the duet with Mandisa, "Christmas Day." That girl can flat out sang. Thank you for the CD, Provident! It's in my Christmas rotation on iTunes and my iPod already!

Here are a few pictures of our decorations! I'll hopefully be up to participating in BooMama's Christmas Tour of Homes (see the link in my sidebar) so I'll have more then. Here's a little tease! Enjoy!

My talented husband made this angel ornament several years ago from a photograph he took at a New Orleans Christmas light display. He did some fancy-schmancy stuff to it on the computer and this was the result. I know my explanation of the process is completely thorough. You're welcome.

This glittery gold star is my favorite thing on our tree. It catches the light so beautifully. I think my mom gave it to me. She's given me a big box of special ornaments the past several years.

My mom made this wreath for me several years ago. She's quite crafty. I come by it honestly. :)

Just a little glimpse of the dining room table. I have more to add, but I thought this Santa and snowman were just so chipper together. :)

Thanks for looking!

I love my kitchen. It gets so bright and cheery, especially in the afternoons. That's when I spend most of my time in there, working on crafty projects or cooking. This afternoon's light was particularly inspiring.

A happy first year.

"They" say the first year of marriage is the hardest, and in our case, "they" were wrong. It's been a great year. We've done it all since November 18, 2006: got married, bought a house, found out a baby's on the way (any day now!). We've done all the stressful things without a big fight. Without a little fight, even. It's been lovely.

Hubband's gift to me was exactly what I wanted: a heart-felt love letter. When I'm 80 years old, looking back, there's nothing material he could give me that could ever mean more than his words. (I'm no fool, though. If he wants to whisk me off to Europe one year, I won't turn it down!)

My gift to him was the beginnings of a scrapbook. I used to scrapbook obsessively but have gotten out of practice in the past couple years. I've got the itch again, big-time, thanks to the start of this project. I did a title page and then a two-page layout of photos from our first year of marriage. My only criteria was that the pictures had to have been taken between November 18, 2006 and November 18, 2007. I included the wedding, the honeymoon, our new house, our church's new sanctuary, and our kiss on new year's eve. I wanted to do more photos, but I reigned it in and kept it to two pages. No matter what else Hubband ever gets for an anniversary gift, he'll always know he can expect the next two pages in the scrapbook. When we're gone, our kids will inherit a book commemorating our entire marriage. It's the gift that keeps giving, and it's a legacy!

We also ate part of the topper of our wedding cake. It held up very well in my parents' freezer for a year! When we were choosing flavors, I asked for a sample of strawberry cake, my favorite. My great-grandmother and grandmother made it for me every year on my birthday, and there's nothing better. When I tasted the sample, I cried. I've had other strawberry cakes through the years, but nothing's ever come close to the ones Mamaw and Mo made. The cake shop came awfully close. I think I scared the shop owner with my tears! I thanked her for taking me straight back to childhood and giving me that taste I missed so much. I need to work up the nerve to try the cake in my own kitchen. I have the original recipe, but I fear it'll never be the same!

Here's the yummy topper. No fondant for us! Just ooey gooey icing. Mmm!

HALEY-LUJAH!

I do love me some Mississippi politics. Especially when it's a Governor's race with results that my parakeet could've called months ago.

Not only did the brat John Arthur Eaves get his tail whooped and handed to him in a styrofoam box by the much-loved incumbent Haley Barbour (58% - 42%), Eaves also didn't ever call Haley and concede the election. Yes, it's just a formality to do so, but it's polite and proper and by not doing it, we call SORE LOSER.

Graphic by my equally-snarky and equally-joyous husband.