GIVE AWAY! 18X24 Poster Print from UPrinting.com

I am so excited...Really excited! If you know anything about me at all, then you know how much I love pictures. So you know that I'm in love with this give away. I received an email from UPrinting.com and they are going to let me host a give away. One lucky winner will receive an 18X24 Poster Print. The contest will run for one week, and I will announce the winner next Friday. The contest is only open to US/CAN residents.

With Father's Day around the corner, this would be a great idea to use as a gift for that special dad, grandfather, or husband. It will be something they will treasure for a lifetime. I've seen some of the works that have been printed by this company and I assure you there will be no disappointments in their products. I already have my picture picked out...do you?


You can enter by one of these easy ways...or do both to increase your chances of winning!
~Leave a comment describing the photo you would use to print if you won.
~If you have a blog and post about this giveaway and link to the Hosting Website, you will receive a second entry. (Just be sure to leave a separate comment telling me you have blogged about it.)

So, spread the word, and best of luck to you all! Be sure to check back next Friday, June 5th to see who the winner is, and be sure to visit UPrinting.com to see all their wonderful products!

Heres some links for you to check out...
Canvas Prints
Poster Prints

Happy Memorial Day!

Hope everyone has had a great Memorial Day. My mom, Landon and I went to the DFW National Cemetery this afternoon for a ceremony they were having to honor my grandfather and all the veterans. My grandfather served in the US Army during WWII and has a purple heart. He's always been a hero to me!

I have to be a proud momma for a minute and share the sweetest story with you. We were putting flowers and flags on my grandfathers grave this afternoon when my mom said to Landon that her daddy was one of the greatest men that ever lived and how he loved his family and was a dedicated man. We were walking away when Landon told us to stop. He said, "Behind me is one of the greatest men that ever died! He was awesome!" Seems he had been listening to our conversation.

Here's Landon helping us with grandpa's grave.

And, here's another one of my proud moments as a mother today...Landon was sad because the guys beside grandpa didn't have anything on their grave so he said he was going to share grandpa's pinwheels with them. He looked at my mom and said, "Nana I wished I had a pinwheel for everyone that don't have nothing." I love that he's so thoughtful, and I was wishing with all my heart that I had enough time and enough pinwheels for him to do just that. That innocent love of a child's heart is just the most beautiful thing ever.




It was so beautiful to see all the flags and all the family members coming to honor those who gave their lives for this country. I love to see veterans being honored. It was a beautiful service on a beautiful day. Thanks to all of you who have served our country. You deserve to be remembered on this day!



And last, but definitely not least...HAPPY BIRTHDAY to our dear friend Kristen Martinez who was killed in a car accident this past January. It just wasn't right to have to take you something and place it on a grave today. It wasn't right to have to stand there and let the wind push the tears down our cheeks. It's not at all how we wanted to do things this year. We love you and miss you so much it hurts. God knows WHY this tragedy has come into our lives, and I trust Him too much to question His ways! Happy Birthday, my friend...HAPPY BIRTHDAY indeed!

It's starting to feel like home now...

Well, we spent most of the day working on cleaning and getting our new place ready for us to move our stuff in and make it officially home. Of course, I had to add some color to the living room walls. I'm just not a white paint kind of girl. My husband and brother in law think my walls look like a chocolate milkshake, I think they just look perfect. What do men know about paint colors? Nothing. Every lady that came over yesterday loved the color and all the men just nod and say, "If momma's happy...everyones happy." Well, I assure you 'momma' here is happy.

There was lots of furniture left in the place after the last person moved and my husband and I had no use for it, so we were sitting it to the curb for the parish to pick up, We were still working late last night when there was a knock on the door. My husband went to answer the door and it was a young couple who had just moved into their first house after being homeless for almost a year. They wanted to ask us if they could take the furniture and use it. The furniture was in great shape, I just had no use for it since we have too much of our own.

I wish you could have seen the look on this couple's face when we told them they could not only have the recliner and end table by the curb, but they could take the couch, sleeper sofa, coffee table, dresser, dinning table and chairs, and entertainment center that was left inside. I also gave her dishes, a toaster, coffee pot, shower curtains, curtains, linens and much more that had been left in boxes. There was so much joy on their face that I had tears in my eyes. She pulled out ten dollars and some change from her pocket and offered to pay me all she had until she received her check on the next day. I told her to put up her money because I was the one receiving the blessing by being able to help her and get the stuff out of the house.

We began to visit with this couple and learned that she works at the McDonalds here in town and he works for another company that my husband was familiar with. Before they left we had secured our first Bible study and they have promised to come and visit us in church. The best part of all? This couple has several children, nieces and nephews that have never been to church, and to a lady who loves children and Sunday School and changing childrens lives by introducing them to Jesus...well, lets just say I couldn't stop smiling for the rest of the night.

So, we are off to finish cleaning and painting the house today. Hope everyone has the best day ever.

Busy Busy Weekend...

Our friends were married on Saturday, so it's been a pretty busy weekend. Friday I helped decorate for the wedding and then came back for the rehearsal that night. Everything was so beautiful and they had a nice wedding. The bride told us the sweetest story when she was getting dressed.

See, I was nervous that she would be upset because it was raining on her wedding day...and well, no one wants rain on their wedding day. WRONG! This bride had actually prayed for it to rain on her wedding day. Sounds crazy, right? Well, the rest of that story is that her grandmother and grandfather has passed away and she had heard the song, 'There Must Be Holes In The Floor Of Heaven, and prayed for rain so she would know they were watching her marry. I know...I cried too!

I have to say the bride was lovely and the groom was handsome as this picture will prove...


BUT there was one man at the wedding who just took my breath away! Seriously, I had to remind myself to 'breathe in, breathe out, breathe in, you get the picture.

Here's my hunny with the groom and the Pastor. He's the one on the left. Not that you couldn't tell he's the most handsome one of the group.

Heres a couple of other pictures from the wedding.





And just because I think it's funny...

He was acting up again at the reception! I really have trouble getting him to behave in public! He even drove off with the bride at the end of the reception when the groom left the car door open. Whatever am I gonna do with him?

So, that's what we've been up to this weekend. I'll post more pictures from the wedding when I have had time to edit them. I have a blog to write tomorrow that has been pinned up inside of me for a very long time. I can finally release it from me and let it out. See you all then.

As promised...Mother's Day Pictures

Here are the pictures from our Mother's Day Fashion Show at church yesterday. The fashion show represented the various jobs of a mom. We had so much fun! We had lots of moms at church and judging by the smiles on everyone's faces, I think we all had a wonderful day.

Here's the group shot


New Mom


Toddler Mom


Activity Mom


Project Mom


Junior High Mom
(Her kids are embarrassed of her and want her to be 'invisible')


Laundry Mom
( You all know this lady...Monica)


Driver's Ed Mom


Graduation Mom


Wedding Mom


Grand Mom


Here's some pictures of the ladies working the runway! They were great sports.

Happy Mother's Day...From a 3-yr old!

So, we had the best time at our Mother's Day Service at church this morning. I will post pictures of our Mother's Day Fashion Show tomorrow, but I just had to share my favorite part of today with you.

Our pastor's wife 'interviewed' some of the children before service this morning and asked them questions about their mom. Landon's answers were just the best ever! They went like this...

How much does your mom weigh? I don't know...she's just big...really big.
Can you put that in pounds, Landon? She weighs 3 pounds.
What color is your mom's hair? Black (For the record, it's brown)
What color is your mom's eyes? Blue (He got that one right!)
What does your mom like to eat? No food, just nasty. (If I don't like to eat food...HOW did I get really big???)
What is your mom's favorite thing to do? Get on the computer.

Have I mentioned that I LOVE THIS LITTLE BOY? He's just the best part of my life. I can remember when I would dread Mother's Day. The one thing I wanted was to be a mom, but after many years of trying and miscarriages, I had just resolved that my arms would be empty and I'd have to learn to deal with it.

I remember Mother's Day after my first miscarriage. I had decided to go to church that day and just get through it. It had been three months since I had lost the greatest gift I'd ever been given. The incredible sense of loss was so overwhelming to me that I left the service and went to my mom's house where I spent hours crying myself to sleep. My mother held me and rocked me till sleep came and gave me the escape I needed from the day. I will never forget that empty feeling.

As I look back over the 17 years that we waited and hoped and prayed for a child, I can remember the pain and loss that was there. I can remember the dread I had for Mother's Day. I can remember sitting in the church as they passed out roses and gifts to the mothers, and feeling that useless feeling because I was just 'Carol'...not a MOM.

Having said all that, I want to say how THANKFUL I am today that I have the priviledge of being Landon's MOMMY. It's a job that I don't take for granted. It's a job I love! A job I cherish! A job I never want to end! Since his birth, I have not one time put him to bed without pausing to tell God how thankful I am for having Landon in my life. If I could count all the ways that he's blessed this home with joy and laughter, this post would never end. He's the greatest part of My World.

Landon, mommy loves you with all her heart, and I am so proud to be your mommy! You are my life!

Awards...

Thanks to Tanya I am receiving these two neat awards. You are sweet to think about me. Thank you.

The first award is...

Thank you, Tanya! What a lovely surprise and gift for Mother's Day.

The second award is...



I am suppose to list 7 things that make me Awe-Summ and then pass the award on to 7 bloggers I love. Then I make sure and tag my recipients and let them know they have won! Also,I am to link back to the Queen that tagged me. So, here goes...What makes me Awe-summ??? If only I felt Awe-summ then I'd be able to answer that. I'll give it my best shot.
1. I have a strong faith and belief in God that keeps me grounded. Without this, I'd be nothing.
2. I have a supportive husband who believes in me even when I don't believe in myself. If I didn't have him in my life whispering "Yes, you can!" I wouldn't accomplish half the things I do.
3. I have the greatest little boy ever born to a woman. He gives me purpose and reason in my life.
4. I have the best parents ever. They taught me about the important things in life and I'm forever appreciative of that.
5. I have a wonderful church. I cannot say enough about how much I love my church and all the ways we as a group are reaching out to individuals in our community.
6. I have the greatest group of friends who each bring something special to my life.
7. And last, but not least, I have found a way to let the past be the PAST, so it doesn't ruin my future.

Thanks, Tanya for thinking about me with this award. Hopefully, I didn't butcher it to pieces.
I am going to tag these 7 people...
Monica-Whatever Things
Layla-These Are The Days
Kasey-All That Is Good
Kimeri-Kimeri's Kastle
Sondra-Dandy Gandee's
John Deere Mom (I just found this great blog!)
Alexis-Where He Leads Me I Will Follow

Party, Friends, & Food...What's Not To Love?

Here's a few pictures from Thursday at our friends personal shower who's getting married next Saturday. We had a great time and the food was awesome! I just hope her groom to be doesn't have any heart problems or high blood pressure because with some of the gifts she received...well, all I'm gonna say is they could run into some problems! Oh, and Monica...I missed you being there and hope that you are feeling better soon!

My husband is the best man in the wedding, so I can't wait to see him in a tux again! I'm helping take pictures for the wedding and I have a sneaky feeling that I might have a problem keeping my camera lens off him. I love that after 21 years of marriage, he can still turn my head and make a smile come across my face.

Enjoy the pictures...



The food was wonderful...



The friends were many...(This first pic is of the bride to be and our former pastor's wife. Please stop and say a prayer for her when you read this. Their son was killed in a terrible car accident in January. They resigned the church a year ago when her husband became disabled after a heart attack. She carries a heavy load at this time, and needs your prayers, especially this Mother's Day!)

This would be Layla...who is a nut! If you're having any kind of party, then you want her there!

We had lots of laughs...mostly at the bride to be's expense!

Making bridal gowns out of toilet paper...


the end results...

SOMEBODY had some of the leftover toilet tissue stuffed in her purse to take home...talk about CHEAP!
So, we had a great night with our friends and the bride to be has plenty to wear on the honeymoon. I'd say that was a success.

Because there were some of the brides family attending that some hadn't met, we played a little ice breaker game and each one told about their first kiss. There were some great stories about first kisses and I thought I'd share the story about my first kiss.

My first kiss was given to me by the man I have been married to for 21 years. Yep, he was my first and only. We were very young, and he was so shy and nervous about kissing me, we were on our way to church and so he decided to just give me a quick kiss while we were stopped at a red light. Next thing we hear is metal touching metal. You guessed it...he let his foot off the brake and hit the car in front of us! There was no real damage to the cars, just a little damage to the pride when he had to explain to the man what had happened. Great thing is, after all these years I can still get that feeling when he kisses me today. I love that man with all my heart!
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On Friday afternoon, we invited a friend of mine over to eat so our boys could play together and we could enjoy some time catching up. We had a casual and lighthearted meal...chicken spaghetti, salad and breadsticks, with peach cobbler and ice cream for dessert.

My husband filled up a small pool for the boys to play in, so of course the camera had to come out. My husband had left a small ladder leaned up against the fence from where he was doing some work yesterday, and of course the two boys found it and just had to peek over the fence and see everything in the neighbors yard. What is it about a fence that makes little boys want to see what's behind it???

We had a great time and so did the boys.

You can so tell they are 'church kids'. Yes, they baptized Cat in the Hat! SEVERAL TIMES!

WORDLESS Wednesday

If you'd like to join Wordless Wednesday, go here to see the rules and other participants.

This week's Wordless subject...Mom- Mama- Mommy- Mother