And the Winner is.................

Wow! This was fun again!

So many wonderful stories and so many worthly little ones but alas, there can only be one winner!

And the winner is.......

Playful Professional over at
http://talenttoplay.blogspot.com/

Congratulations!

She asked that the beanie be sent to a local NICU. This will be going out Saturday.

Thank you all for playing!

Shannon http://rocksinmydryer.typepad.com/ will be hosting another "bloggy giveaway" in 3 months! I will be offering another beanie with the same guidelines during that time so come back and play or better still do both! Play to win and Play by offering!


Trina

I want this!

OK who couldn't use one of these?

A Cowboy's Wife is having a contest on her food blog! You can win a Hamilton Beach® Stand Mixer and she'll ship anywhere so everyone is eligible!

I personally LOVE to cook and have always wanted a "nice" mixer. I was so excited to stumble onto this giveaway! YAY!

Now to just win!
Crossin everything I own...Fingers, eyes, toes you name it :0)

Trina

Bloggy Giveaway......

It's another bloggy giveaway!

The rules are quite simple.
All you have to do is post a comment. How simple is that?! :0)
Contest will be open to U.S. residents, England, Australia and Japan.(Good luck Tia and Laura my international friends! :0))
The contest will run to Sunday Feb. 3rd at which time comments will be closed. To be fair I'll be using a random number generator to choose the winner.

This gift is something really special and YOU will play a very important role in the giving of this gift.

I'm offering ONE little beanie but not just any ordinary beanie. These beanies are made for "special" little ones. Below I will include a couple sample pictures.

I make these little beanies for preemie babies in NICU's and for children who are going through cancer treatments or some other devastating illness.

I think most of us at some point have been touched by a child in one of the above situations. Personally my heart is with the wee ones at St. Jude however, this contest is in YOUR hands.

Now for the FUN part!

I will make ONE of these beanies. Please allow a couple weeks for me to make/ship the beanie. The winner of the beanie may choose to have it sent to either a child who is currently going through cancer treatment/some other devastating illness OR if you have been fortunate enough to not have been touched by childhood cancer then I will send one Preemie beanie to the NICU of your choice. Either way the beanie will be sent in YOUR honor.

There are no wrong choices here folks! :0)


Thats it!

Once a winner is chosen we can work out the details.

Details for you to consider:
Preemie or Child with cancer/other devastating illness
BOY or GIRL
Size: Preemie up to teen
Style: See Samples below for 2 ideas(I do have more options)
Color of your choice



Preemie version



Good Luck!!

Trina

And the Winner is...........

Heather over at Eliza Valentine

Congratulations Heather! You've won my Tinkerbell Hair Clippie!

Please reply to my email with your snail mail and I'll get your clippie right out to you the first of the week.

Happy Fall Y'all Bloggy Giveaway......

Wheeee! It's time! It's Time!

Shannon Rocks in my Dryer is hosting another bloggy giveaway!

Click HERE to read the guidelines and join in the fun!

I'm giving away the cutest Tinkerbell Hair Clippie handcrafted by me using Swarovski crystals sure to please any little girl!

To enter just leave a comment on this post. You don't have to be a blogger to enter but you must leave me an email address with your comment so I can contact you in the event you do win. Contest is open to U.S. residents, Canada, Japan, England and Australia. I will leave comments open until Saturday Nov. 3rd at which time I'll use a random number generator to draw a winner.

Good luck!

Now go have some fun and win something!

Fun Fun Fun!......

Janice and Susan of 5minutesformom have gone and done it AGAIN!

How'd you like to win this SURF UP! Prize package? I know Jophie sure would!

Or how bout this beauty??

CASIO has generously offered one of these pink beauties specially bundled with a camera case with pink stitching and a pink ribbon-clad lanyard to show support of the National Breast Cancer Foundation (NBCF.

Lisa The Preachers Wife has a fun package too!

Click HERE for your chance to win Beths "Loving Well" Study bundle package! Cute bag included! Wheee!

Now I'm off to do a little Jophie update! :0)

Fun Fun Fun!......

LOTS of fun happenings in bloggityville! Tons of fun prizes and awards being passed around that yes even you could win or better still have bestowed upon yourself!

Lets start with a few FUN prizes:

Janice and Susan have gone and done it AGAIN! How'd you like to drive this beauty?? No? I didn't think so. No bother trying to win it anyway cause well ....
I plan on winning this one!

DYSONS PINK all floor vacuum! How fun is this??? Wheeee!

OR how bout this from Janice and Susan??

WD's Passport Portable Hard Drive!

Can I just say Squeeeal??!! I get absolutely GIDDY with excitment when I see new electronic toys! I'm like a kid in a candy store and not only is this just plain cool but it also comes in colors! Wheeee!

Ahhhh! I. Get. To. Choose. A. Color. which if you know me, you know this just makes me even more happy. :0)

Hows that for electronic stylin folks?? :0)

This is a fun one too! Who could use a new blog design?? I know I could.

Lindsay over at SPLAT Designs is offering just that so hop on over and enter! You never know you might just be the one stylin in your new blog design. I doubt it though cause I'm gonna win this one too! :0)

Now for the awards:

My dear friend Melody over at Slurping Life

has given me this Nice Matters Award

I'm blushing girlie but Thank You just the same :0)

Melody has 3 beautiful boys with an array of disabilities. Even through her struggles, she always makes time to leave an encouraging word and to me that means more than anything. So I'm tossin this award right back at ya girlie! Catch! :0)

Tia of Behind the Child She is my rock. A friend I met years ago through an online group for special needs kids. Tia also is a foster/adoptive parent and has 3 beautiful girls with multiple/complex disabilities. She is always a source of encouragement and comfort to me and, the best all night chatting buddy ever! She helps me make it through Jophies all night care and carries me clear to the breaking of the dawn! Tia is now facing her grimmest days. One of her daughters just recenetly died and she is currently in the hospital with another who continues to teeter back and forth from good to bad. I'm sure she'd love some words of encouragement. :0)
I can't wait for you to get home Tia cause I miss you my dear friend from across the pond. :0)

Now to "My Girls + One Guy" or should I say "Jophies Girls + One Guy"? :0)

Jophie has several caregivers. I really hate that word. I don't even like aides. They all sound so cold and impersonal. 2 have recently gotten their LPN degree so we now have 2 nurses on staff. Gosh I don't even like the word staff nor do I like the word STAPH but I digress. :0) "The Girls + One Guy" have been with us for many years. All but one were already close friends and ALL now are more like family. They are a constant source of encouragement to me. My strength and like Tia my rocks. They are my link to the outside world. I could not make it without them nor could Jophie. We depend on them greatly and they never fail us. They go above and beyond and even when the hours have run out and we still need help....They continue on their own time. And they do this endlessly without question nor do they look back in regret.

Only one has a blog so I'll start with her.

Katy of Mom 22 Teens is a childhood friend and has worked for me from nearly the beginning. We were best buddies in high school and loved being in the band. We sure took our share of Grand Champion and Best Percussion awards! Oh yea we were BAD!(Course you know that means good right?) Yep I'm showing my age. :0) Anyway, Katy is resourceful, creative and can host a mean fund raiser! She's made MANY a midnight run to the hospital with me when Jophie was near death all the while keeping her cool. It's nice having someone who can "stay calm" in the midst of the storm. She's fed us, paid our bills and bought items that Jophie has needed without question nor did she ask for anything in return. Her hubby sure is handy to have around too! Mike can fix anything and I mean anything! She's shared him with us on more times than I can count. I could go on and on but you get the idea. So here ya go Katy. Your very own Nice Matters award! :0)

Now for the others who don't have a blog:

Danny and Tammy(One of my LPN's) are as close as my family if not more. We've been through thick and thin together. They've endured from the beginning. We've lived together and vacationed together. They've fed us, paid our bills, bought Jophie needed items and carried us through many hard times without asking for anything in return. We've shared lots of laughs and rejoiced together in one anothers achievemants. Together we've wept over Jophies bed many times as he hovered near death. We've also wept over the death of their 4 children and then rejoiced over the birth of their 4 living children. They say trials and tribulation really show who your true friends are. This I know to be true.

Lora is the only one I didn't know prior however, we've grown to love her just like family. She cares for Jophie as though he's her own. She's compassionate and our organizer. She likes things to be "really clean" and organized. I love that in her plus it sure helps me breath a bit easier when she declutters something! She's just finishing up her LPN and I can't wait to get her back on our "normal schedule" so I can get back to the Y and swim! Hurry up Lora!

Laura of Mom2_4 is also an adoptive/foster parent that I met through the same online group for special needs kiddos. She's also a missionary in Japan who faces many challenges daily not only with her son but with just the daily grind of being a missionary in a foreign country then toss in a few natural disasters like EARTHQUAKES and voila! You have yourself another "crazy life". She's always been very supportive and encouraging to me even through all her struggles. Thanks Lora!

Alesha of akconklin is yet another friend I met through the same online group for special needs kiddos. She too is an adoptive mommy who faces many challenges each day with her precious little boy. Through her struggles she always finds the time to drop by and leave the most encouraging posts. Thanks so much Alesha!

All of these people are so deserving of this award and such a source of strength to me. Drop by and visit with each of them. You will be blessed. :0)

Stay tuned as I'm going to share with you one of my favorite Fall Crafts I've ever made! Pumpkin Topiaries! Wheee!

Phew! I think I'm finished and good thing too. It's time to get Jophies meds and tube feeding ready! Yikes!