Telling Stories

For Moms Who Want to Feel Really Good About Themselves...

Oh, friends. What a weekend. I'm in crunch-time for several projects I'm working on and yes, that means the house is starting to fall apart again. It's in these moments I almost back a dumpster to the garage and start chucking stuff into it. 

I'm just ready to part with the clutter. 

And the less I have to clean, the better. 

(I try to look sporty when I leave the house so people will think I'm athletic. Never mind that I slept in those pants.) 

I didn't really. 

Promise.

The good news is that slowly but surely, I'm crossing things off my list. Which makes me wonder if everyone lives with their to-do list on a  pedestal. And if so, do they also leave things off of their list like "Buy Halloween Costume?" 

Because I sure do. Thus, explaining our 8 p.m. trip to that god-awful Spirit Halloween store last night where I soon discovered that everything on the "Tween" wall should've been on the "Trollup" wall...and how do you explain to your 10 year old that you don't want her looking "slutty"? 

At any rate, she's going to be a punk rocker. Not to be confused with a "Punkin' Rocker" which is what was my suggested. That got me a lovely eye roll, but I still think it's darn clever.

Since I'm short on brain cells, I'm posting this fine evening all the Facebook statuses I wanted to post this past week but didn't. I love a good list almost as much as I love when Sophia's underwear accidentally gets put in my pile. 

There's nothing that boosts the self esteem quite  like trying to squeeze into a ten-year-old's panties.

TMI?

Before I get myself into real trouble, here's my list. In no particular order...

10. I wish the mailman would post a note on the outside of my box: "Don't get too excited, there's nothing in here but junk." 

9. Everytime I talk on my phone, I gross myself out with the residue my cheek leaves on it. (Does this happen to everyone else? My skin isn't even oily, and most days I don't wear makeup so...what is that??? ew.) 

8. I love that Sophia's after school snack of choice is a salad. 

7. I love my agent. 

Everytime I talk to her, I want to post this on my Facebook. I am the luckiest girl in the world. And I get to see her this weekend, which is a real treat given that normally I only get to see her once a year! 

6. I secretly love mac & cheese. Not the kind Paula Deen makes either. The kind you get from a box. One bite makes me sick for the rest of the night, but if I could get rid of my dairy allergy for a day, I'd totally kill some Kraft M&C. 

5. I talk to Adam more when he's out of town than I do when he's here. 

Oddly, our frequent conversations made me think that he was pining away for me while he was in Chicago a couple of weeks ago.

Really he was doing this:

4. I just noticed a toothpaste stain on my shirt, so I tipped my drinking water bottle over on it to avoid having to change. Does this make me resourceful or just lazy? 

3. The cover of my book is almost finished. I can't WAIT to show you. It releases February 1st and yes, I'm ridiculously excited. :) 

2. I want this shirt. I wish it came in a size other than a 5T:

1. There are just no words for this:

Sam. Oh, Sam. 

As a sidenote: I just this second remembered while we were at a church event on Friday night, Sam got chocolate on that shirt that I haven't yet washed. The same one he has to wear in an hour to go trick-or-treating. 

Mother of the year. 

What Does a Website Need?

I could type that title into Google and get tons of responses. People much wiser than I am explaining what a writer's website should have. 

(Photos today have nothing to do with this post. Just a smattering for you to see what yesterday looked like around here.) 

And I so value the opinions of those expert-y people. 

(Please note, he is wearing his sister's scarf, boots and snow pants because everything I had for him was too small.)

In fact, experts are usually the ones whose words I live by. It drives Adam crazy that I'm always quoting them. "They say you're supposed not supposed to do it that way." 

To which he responds: "Who are they?" 

To which I give a blank stare because I have no idea...these things just get lodged in my head. 

(Decked out in all of Ethan's cast-offs from two years ago. Again, his stuff was too small. Who gave these kids permission to grow?) 

The fact of the matter is, that I am working with a cracker jack designer to come up with a website, and I am curious...what do you, as a reader, think a website needs? Do you even visit writer's websites? (I do, but then I also stopped watching Secretariat right in the middle to go research the real family.) 

What websites do you love? What do you want to know about an author? Do you care if she has a hobby or a day job or an addiction to Milk Duds? 

What do you think a website needs? 

Do tell.

Disclaimer...I always get nervous to post questions like this on my blog. What if no one answers? What if no one really cares what goes into a website? What if everyone is eating donuts while I'm eating granola? 

These are the things that run through my head. 

Save me from myself. 

Guest Posting With the Flower Patch Farmgirl

Shannan feels like that friend I've known my whole entire life. I'm not sure if our mutual attraction to comfy clothes or the fact that she openly makes fun of me in the kindest, most hilarious way that makes me love her so. 

Or perhaps it's our shared affection for Robert Downey Jr. I'm sure that's it. 

Whatever it is, I am so blessed to know this girl. And today I'm guest posting on her blog series 31 Days of Letting Go. My topic is "Letting Go of Hurt." Guess you could say I've learned a few things... and regaining my perspective has been good for me. 

Hope you'll come check it out HERE. And if you aren't familiar with Shannan's blog...you are REALLY missing out! 

Creepy AND Crawly

At some point, I know I'm going to have to share these horrible-awful photos I have in my stash. 

No, they aren't of me barely awake and stumbling to the kitchen before I've had my coffee... they are true, honest-to-goodness phobia-inducing photos that I'm not sure I can even edit in order to post. 

No, really. It is that bad. 

I finally found something I don't like about living in Colorado...

My friends, meet the Orb Web Weaver Spider...

This guy (or girl??) lives in my back yard. 

Yes. In the yard. On the fence. And it's, er, he's still there. 

(How HOW do you smoosh a spider with a body that big? fortheluvofallthatisholy...)

I got home from ACFW last month and Adam (in all his geeked out glory) ushered me to the back yard to meet his new friend. I cannot explain how this made me feel, I am not kidding. 

Stomach knotted. Skin crawling. And I started doing that little shaky thing I do when I'm just utterly grossed out...

And yet, even I have to admit...when I look at her (or him), I am in complete awe of this creature. I am not for one second saying I want this thing in my life for any length of time... 

But you have to admit, it's pretty darn cool...

One more of God's magnificent wonders, wrapped up in a creepy crawly little package. 

And living in my back yard. 

Shift Your Focus

Yesterday was a hard day from the start. I woke up late, felt frazzled and discovered I should've done things differently last week to avoid it. 

I may've collapsed completely were it not for my husband's insistence the day before that we get out of the house and enjoy this beautiful weather. (There's a pattern here of him forcing me outside and me realizing how good it is.) 

The only bad thing was I forgot the card for my camera and only had my phone. I'm telling you, no phone camera can do justice to the beauty of a Colorado fall...

We headed up into the mountains to a park hidden off the side of the road and even I'll admit, it was much needed and well worth it. 

Right when we got there, Adam said "let's just let the kids go explore." 

And then promptly yelled "Sam, get back here." 

He was up to no good. 

It's amazing to me that after lamenting my church issues only Friday, I could get out to a place where I'm sure God spends most of his days...

And I promise Ethan is not wearing short pants...

Though you can't tell it in this photo.

I think going through this little quandry has been good for me. It's taught me that it's time to move on. It's time to stop trying to live my life out of obligation, but to tap into the God who made me...and discover what he wants for my life. 

Which I'm convinced includes a community of people...though I'm not convinced we've found the right one. I haven't abandoned my beliefs that church is important and good and valid...I'm simply struggling to find where we belong...and I know it's important to keep pushing until we find it. 

Some days, I'm just thankful I can hear the whisper of God's voice in the changing leaves of the Colorado aspens. 

And I find myself overwhelmed with gratitude that Colorado trees DO change color... and they're just as beautiful as the trees in Illinois.

I want to thank you for the emails, calls and texts of encouragement over my last post... knowing that I'm not alone has been hugely helpful... 

So let me encourage you now, in the way you've encouraged me... to keep pushing until you find your spot. If you're searching, like we are, it's out there...and it's important to move past the past to discover what God has for us in the future...

Later this week, I'm going to share a post from someone who helped me shift my perspective on the whole matter...come back for more encouraging words...

And have a wonderful Tuesday!

When Your Faith Falters...

My mom isn't going to like this post. 

Probably a lot of people aren't going to like this post. And that's okay. I'm not even sure I'm going to like it when I'm done. 

For my first book, I created a layout about church. It was just called "Why church?" and my simple response was: "Because I believe in it." And I do. I really do believe in church the way God set it up to be, but I'm not convinced that in our society this is what we aim for. 

I often allow my emotions to serve as an internal compass. A way for me to guage what's really going on...and it's usually dead on. I'm 35 now, so the more years that pass, the easier it is for me to recognize when something is "off" or when it conflicts with something I believe in. 

If you read my blog, you've probably read our struggle to settle in to a church home. I think it feels like it should be an easy thing. Just start going to a church, get involved, be a part of their family. Like it's easy to enter a clique in high school or decide where to go to college. It's not. Your church shapes so many things about you. We went from knowing everyone who walked in the door to knowing nobody. And I thought that was part of what I liked--anonymity... but the truth is, when you've been on the inside and you know how things go on "behind the scenes" it's hard not to look for the holes in the seams. 

You sit in the service, eyes squinting, trying to find the discord. It's there. Maybe they're just good at hiding it. Maybe they aren't letting on that they're corrupt or immoral (or whatever else is they could be...) but it's there because they're human. It's everywhere. 

And I know this. I've been the on the human side of things. Full of mistakes but still able to be used by God...so in my head, I have to remind myself I don't serve these people. I serve God. I try to break free of the obligations that I've grown up with, the pressure to perform, the feeling that if I don't show up every week in my Sunday best I'm somehow letting God down. I try to snuggle in close with what he's telling me and I'm trying to figure out why that contradicts with most of what I've learned. 

I'm trying not to justify my annoyance with the way people have taken church and turned it into a business. Or my irritation with phoniness. My difficulty with impracticality. My need for common sense. 

Or the fact that lately...I don't want to go to church. I don't want to get involved. 

There. I said it. Frankly, it scares me a little. Because this feeling is the exact opposite of everything I know...Does it mean I haven't found the right church or does it mean that there's something broken inside of me? Did dissecting church life day in and day out for eleven years crack me apart at the seams? I know for a fact there are things I bought into that I no longer agree with. 

Like we should condemn people who don't think like we do. (Is that love?) 

We should expect commitment to church from people who can't commit to their spouse. (Shouldn't they get their home in order first?) 

Like pastors always know best. (They really don't.) 

I know I'm wrestling with something here...and I know that many of you are lucky enough to have a church family. And I also know there are many churches doing it right...But if you've been hurt over the years specifically by Christians, how do you reconcile the lack of desire to join that kind of family ever again? 

Do we purposely walk into dysfunction and say "yes, please, give me more?" 

I feel it's important to work this out for myself but more so for my kids. Because they're cracker-jack smart and they're going to pick up on the fact that while I believe wholeheartedly in God and the Bible and the principles within...I've lost a lot of faith in people...

And that's hard to remedy...

"I came to you in weakness -- timid and trembling. And my message and my preaching were very plain. I did not use wise and persuasive speeches, but the Holy Spirit was powerful among you.  I did this so that you might trust the power of God rather than human wisdom." - 1 Cor. 2:3-5

 

Perspective

Sometimes when you're just goofing around, someone's there with her camera, goofing around with you...and she captures someting undeniably you. 

It's in that moment that you realize how thankful you are...

For a new life...

A new town...

A new perspective...

But all experienced with the same old guy. 

Photo by my uber talented friend, Lyndsey.

When he's an artist and not an athlete...

We had parent/teacher conferences last week. I never know what to expect because at home, sometimes my kids make me nuts. Like, roll into a ball and rock back and forth nuts. 

I see all the good...and all the bad. 

So it's always a bit of a crapshoot going in there. 

Especially with this guy...

I know. He looks sweet and innocent, doesn't he? We had our family pictures taken this past Sunday and I was fully prepared for the Sam-meltdown...but Ethan was the one that gave us the most trouble. Funny how that happens. 

Also, he's started doing this twitchy thing with his face. I caught it in this picture:

But you can't get the full effect. Not that I have anything against weird twitchiness, I'm just imagining him getting made fun of and that worries me. But don't worry, I've been really compassionate about it. I think the last thing I said to him "Will you STOP doing that weird twitchy face thing?" 

To which he responded "MY NOSE ITCHES" 

To which I said, "THEN USE YOUR HAND!"

I suffer from an innate loss of sympathy. 

Anyway, Ethan's teacher is this cute, adorable, sweet girl (and she really is a girl. I am getting OLD, friends.) and she had so many great things to say about my son. It made me so happy. Especially when she said "Ethan is really a leader. The kids just want to be around him."

I knew Sophia had leadership qualities, but I was a little surprised to hear this about Ethan. I was also kind of...okay REALLY excited...when she said "He is an amazing writer." That one I'm holding onto. I remind myself of it every time he gets twitchy or doesn't listen or does that high-pitched whine that really makes him sound like a wounded animal. 

So far, it's helping. 

I always expected to have a son that loved football. And cars. And hated school. (I don't know why--Adam and I both loved school.) I didn't expect to have one who spends his free time making these:

In 3-D:

Or making cards for his friends...

in 3D:

Or writing books...

But I am so happy this is the kid God gave me. 

In our society, it's tempting to discourage kids from exploring their creative side. It's easy to assume boys will love sports and cars and boy things...but the world needs creative thinkers. People to plan and build and write and draw. 

I welcome this side of my boy, twitchy face and all. 

I think he's going to do amazing things...

My NovelTree Winner!

I didn't want to let the day slip by without posting the winner of the brand new My NovelTree photobook. 

Colette said...

I am dying to have one of these books so I WILL run over-- but I am sure I could love a second one if I WON it!!!! Thanks for the chance

ReplyOctober 10, 2011 at 08:47 PM

Colette, you are so super lucky! Be sure to email me with your info (cwalsh [at] websterspages [dot] com) so I can get your book in the hopper! 

Thanks everyone for playing along...and if you didn't win, you can check out My NovelTree on Facebook and on the website! They are so purty! You need to go getcha one!

Happy weekend!

She Holds His Hand

 Sometimes through my lens I catch something beautiful. 

A look. A smile. A relationship. 

She's growing up. It doesn't scare me. I'm excited for her. 

But I'm sad. Because what if one day she doesn't fall into step beside him...what if she thinks his wisdom is outdated and runs instead to the arms of another boy? 

What if she doesn't go on for a year and five minutes about what happened at school that day or she forgets to give us every. single. detail. and then tell us again an hour later?

When the day comes that she no longer tells us everything, where will I be sitting? What will I be doing? How will I let her go? 

The other day I looked at her and thought, "Wow, she's tall..." and in a split second I was holding her again for the first time, trying to figure out how to be a mom, certain I was going to fail. Sure I didn't have what it takes. 

Recounting all my faults and all the ways I'm not good enough. All the ways I'm not like my own mom...who is brilliant at this job...

And now she's a decade old and I'm a decade older and she still talks to me and she still worships him...

What happens the day that she doesn't? 

What will I say to her then? What would you say to me then? 

I'm not ready.

The Look of Love

How much of these days will you remember? 

How much of these days will I remember? They pass by speed-of-light style. One glance in the wrong direction and they're gone. 

But sometimes I stop. And sit. And see.

Which is what you do a lot of the time. You stop. You sit. You see. 

I could learn a lot from you. 

Your busyness is all about play. It's fun. I wonder, will you remember me as the mom who didn't know how to have fun?

When you think back on these moments, will you feel the love I've tried to give you, though maybe not in the way all mothers do. 

I am not goofy. Or often playful. I am routinely rigid and sometimes boring. 

But my heart fills when I look at you. That feeling writers try to capture but no one ever quite has. 

Like your insides are swollen and the pulsing of your lifeline pounds in your chest, between your ears, in your veins...

and you realize in that moment what you have is something you never want to lose. 

It ups the stakes, really. 

It scares me sometimes how much I love you and how hard it is to take the time to make sure you know. Do you feel it? In my hugs? In my smiles? In my sitting with you in the quiet to watch the train go by?

What will you remember of these days, I wonder? 

Doubtful that it will be my bad posture or my penchant for not wearing makeup. 

I hope it's the things I intend for you to remember. I hope it's maybe indescribable. Like the writers, you can't find the words...

...but deep down, you know you were well loved.

Turn your junk mail into art

What seems like forever ago, I pitched an article to Memory Makers Magazine about using recycled goods in your scrapbooking. I was never one to get too caught up in the acid-free thing...in truth, I just like paper. 

And one of the greatest sources of paper is your mailbox. 

Junk mail. 

The result of that pitch was an article about Green Scrapbooking...a nice way to say "use your junk mail to make pretty things." 

Like a mailer with coupons for diapers...

...which became a little mini album. 

Or, if you're in children's ministry and wind up with a random roll of raffle tickets...

They make a lovely background for a layout. 

So whenever I get a catalog I love, like Anthropologie or Land of Nod or anything else that comes to my mailbox full of things I know I can't afford, I hang onto it.

My husband calls this "hoarding." 

If I'm not careful, he's going to put me on A&E.

Doesn't he know you can turn the pages of a catalog into a gift for a very sweet, very wonderful, very amazing friend on her birthday? 

I took a sheet of kraft cardstock on the outside and gussied it up...which is a nice way of saying I got it good and messy. With paint, rub-ons, stickers...all the things that make birds sing outside my window on a clear day. 

I like messy things. 

You should see my bathroom. If I wasn't exhausted and if I knew how to take an indoor photo at night that didn't turn out burnt orange, I would go take one to show you how messy it is. 

The funny thing is, I also have a cleaner, more graphic side, but these messy pages with masking tape and paint and STUFF sticking out all over the place? They make my heart do cartwheels. 

Because when I make something like this, I am NOT over-thinking. I am creating. And it's therapeutic to get a little lost in what I'm doing...to think about the message I want to convey, in this case "You are an amazing person and I wholly adore you." 

That photo above shows you that this is not a fancy-schmancy book. I took a stack of pages, folded them down the center and hand-stitched the binding. 

EASY but seriously, so fun. 

I inserted pockets by folding one page over and stapling it to the following page. Then you can stick even MORE stuff inside! Here's a closer view...

If you get a cute graphic like this flower-guy from Land of Nod...

Let it show by folding a sheet of book paper back. 

It's a completely original, one-of-a-kind gift...the kind you give when you really want your heart to show. 

We've all got plenty of junk mail laying around...and I know we read about controlling clutter and how throwing junk mail away immediately is key...but what can I say? 

I think I've found a way to justify holding on to a few things...

What about you? Have you ever turned your junk into art? I would love to hear about it...or better yet...I'd love to SEE it!! 

We hoarders have to stick together.

 

Sophia's Take on Mandy Moore

 

I do realize we set this up to record vertically and it looks weird but I didn't want y'all to see what a mess my office is right now. 

No, really. It's a disaster. 

I posted an earlier version of this on Facebook, but this morning Sophia really wanted a "do-over." I understand why because I think she was nervous last night. 

I really should've painted my walls something other than yellow! The whole thing looks like mustard. 

Anyway, yesterday was a hard day. Adam's been gone five days (six now) and I didn't feel well... but she came in my office with me and started singing and my whole day changed. I love to hear her sing. I love to encourage her in this because she loves to do it...and because knowing there's someone in our family to carry on the theatre tradition kinda makes me giddy. 

Hope you're having a great Sunday!

Webster's Pages My NovelTree Giveaway

So I work for this amazing company. And by amazing, I really mean ah-may-zing. It's called Webster's Pages. They make the world beautiful. 

This is my boss. 

She, like the company, is ah-may-zing. She makes the world more beautiful. 

It makes me feel so blessed. Or for those of you who are turned off by Christian-speak...I feel really lucky. 

One of the great perks of my job is that I get to give away something really awesome--our newest products which just launched this week. 

They are the most beautiful photo books you've ever seen. Coffee table books, really, only they feature YOUR photos. Brandin's passion for helping people preserve their memories in a beautiful way is totally infectious. I think she's rubbed off on my a little. At least I hope so. 

I love that even my non-scrapbooking friends can now create keepsake albums quickly, easily and without spending a bunch of money. And as a scrapbooker, I love that I can make albums quickly, easily and without spending a bunch of money! 

I mean, let's face it, none of us can scrapbook everything we want to. 

Or wait. Is it just me that still has shoeboxes from 1998 waiting for my attention? 

(I didn't think so.) 

Anyway, I could go on all day about the perks of these albums, but why don't you just see for yourself? Here are four of the covers. You can find so many more HERE. 

They're all designed by professional designers using Webster's Pages products. They lay completely flat when you open them and AND! they have this gorgeous matte-finish cover. And a vellum inlay/title page. And perfect print quality. And...

I know. I'll stop. But I have a sample book in my hot little hand so I know how beautiful these books are. 

So I get to give one away. And regardless of whether or not you win, you should RUN (don't walk) HERE and pre-order a book because if you do, you become part of the Founding Members Club. Which means 20% off of ALL NOVELTREE PRODUCTS. For LIFE. 

Plus a free gift with each NovelTree purchase. 

Plus you get a cool "member's only" jacket. 

Ok, I made that last part up. You don't really get a jacket. 

But 20% off for life? Think of the Christmas gifts you could buy! Or annual family albums! Or vacation scrapbooks! 

I'm going to step away from the exclamation point now. 

So, leave me a comment and next Friday I'll pick one uber-lucky winner who will be among the first to try out My NovelTree. With his/her own photos!

Lucky. 

Thursday Thought of the Day

 
 

Facebook Statuses I *Almost* Posted

Because I'm trying to limit my time on Facebook and because I don't want to overwhelm my Facebook friends with random, senseless drivel, I've compiled a list of Facebook statuses that didn't "make the cut..." 

10. Well, there goes my four pound weight loss. 

That would be posted with a photo of these: 

My drug of choice. They're also responsible for my recent break-out. You'd think I'd learn. 

9. Please pray. My daughter was last seen riding her bike around the neighborhood and she hasn't checked in for an hour. She usually checks in every 15 minutes. 

...which would've led to the following status update: 

8. Sophia is grounded. For life.

Because that's what happens when you find your child on the opposite side of the subdivision along a busy road where she knows she's not supposed to be...

7. I love when my kids come home with homework for ME. Makes my day...my latest assignment? Duck tape fashions for spirit week. 

She made herself a bracelet and covered her earrings.

I got to school this morning and realized perhaps I really am an overachiever. The kid in front of us had a big silver "X" taped to his back. 

The best part was trying to get Ethan's over his head. I had to remove all tape from the back of the shirt and cut off the collar altogether.

I realize he looks miserable here, but that's because he didn't feel good this morning...I promise he loves his shirt. 

Swear.

6. Every time I see the word "debuted" I think it's spelled wrong. 

5. Some days I think my fingers are long and elegant looking. I've actually caught myself staring at them (and my wrist) in the mirror thinking "ooh, fancy"... And then I see a photo of them and the only thing I can think is "oh, stubby."

(I think the cut on my index finger is an especially nice touch.)

4. They say every ONE blog comment is the equivalent of 100 readers. Let's just go ahead and let you believe that. 

3. Proud of my husband who is part of the core team putting on Group's Kidmin conference this weekend in Chicago. He's not even nervous about being on that big stage...so why is my stomach in knots?

2. Is it wrong that the main reason I wanted to cut Sophia's hair was so I didn't have to do that blasted ballet bun anymore?

1. Insert passive aggressive status here. 

C'mon. Like you don't know what I'm talking about. One of my least favorite things people do on Facebook and I'm sure I've come awfully close myself. I've adopted a new philosophy as of about a year ago...

This is one time when I don't mind being called an elephant. 

 

When there are no words...

My last post was all about me making light of all the things I seem unable to keep up with around here. Let's face it, we can't all be domestic goddesses. Some of us are just better at self deprecation then housekeeping.

Truth be told, I'm floundering a little...so I don't have a lot of extra words floating around. Only guilt.

And Jim Gaffigan quotes. (Chip Chop Chip? What does that even mean?)

And pictures of my girl before she got her hair cut...

 

That's all I really want to share today...pictures...

In spite of her hair, I think she's beautiful. And lately there are days when I want to strangle her but more often I want to hug her and tell her I"m proud of her. And I do. 

The other day when I was working on projects for my Papercrafting book, she sat with me in my office, doing her own creating. She made this:

It's a prayer jar. I didn't help her at all. I didn't even give her the idea. She just wanted to make a jar where she could tuck in her prayers. 

That sort of amazed me. She has a big heart, but her faith she mostly keeps to herself. It always surprises me when I see it coming out...and then I remember that I'm the same way, really. 

She's also picked up another one of my habits (though this idea didn't come from me either)... writing notes to herself on the mirror. Affirming love letters to herself. Nothing makes me happier...

She got that idea from a devotional she's reading written by a girl about her age (and her mom.) 

Sometimes I forget she's not this tiny person anymore. She's got a mind of her own. She needs independence. She needs to spread her wings a little. 

Never mind that the last time she "spread her wings" we found her on the other side of the neighborhood (where she isn't allowed to be) and is now grounded for the rest of the week. 

Those are just silly details. 

Speaking of details...

How about two winners of the Preschool Hands-On Bible??

The first winner...

Sharon said...

Courtney, I'm not quite sure why I have never visited your blog...but I suppose He drew me to it tonight with the post on FB about winning this :)

Good luck to me!

ReplySeptember 29, 2011 at 08:33 PM

and the second winner...

AnnaMarie said...

Ok this is pretty freakin' awesome!! :) How uplifting to be involved with a project like this...and love that it is experiential - it will really help the children to process the stories. Even if I don't win, I am so ordering one for my preschooler!! :) Thank you for the opportunity to win! :)

ReplySeptember 27, 2011 at 09:45 AM

You ladies need to send me your address so I can send you your Bibles! 

Thanks to everyone who entered! Hope you're having a great Tuesday. (Is it Tuesday?)