My Very First Giveaway

The winner is Elainaann! Congratulations, and I just love your name! Thanks for playing everyone. That was so fun. I want to do it again!!!

Y'all, I'm so excited because I am doing my very first GIVEAWAY! Nothing feels better than to give, so I'm super excited!!!

CSN Stores.com contacted me and said they would love to let me pick something from their site to give to one of my readers! Well, I was so excited about the opportunity. I went over to their site at www.CSNbaby.com. They have the cutest baby things including adorable crib bedding, lamp shades, clocks, mobiles, picture frames, and lots more.

After going through the website, I decided a toy would be perfect since Christmas is right around the corner. I decided to look for something that my children would have loved at that age and that could go for a girl or a boy. I decided on the Chicco Talking Farm Playset. I know I picked a good toy when Ella Grace strolled by the computer while the picture was on the screen and exclaimed, "I wish I had one of those!" Ha! And, she just said it again now!!!

So, if you have a little tot in your life you think would enjoy this awesome toy or if you would like to win it to donate to an organization or your church, please leave me a comment and you will automatically be entered to win. Feel free to advertise the drawing on your own blog if you know some people that would be interested. I'll draw the winner on Friday, November 20th, at 6:00 p.m. You can see all the specifics on the toy here.

You can also see the other great products CSNbaby offers by clicking the links below.

http://www.csnbaby.com/Nursery-Decor-C56261.html

http://www.csnbaby.com/Mobiles-C56337.html

http://www.csnbaby.com/Lamp-Shades-C56339.html

Yay for toys! Yay for a giveaway! Thanks CSNbaby!

I Met the Pioneer Woman

I'm sure all of you are familiar with the Pioneer Woman. Her blog about life on the ranch is interesting, and she is so whitty and funny! I also love looking at her recipes. They always make me hungry. I had no idea she was coming out with a cookbook until my good friend, Abby, told me. Ree was coming to Little Rock for a book signing.

Why in the world the book signing wasn't at a book store, I have no idea. It was at Wal-Mart of all places. It was funny because initially on the schedule was a, let's just say, "less preferred location." My friend, Abby, said she actually e-mailed PW's personal e-mail letting her know that Wal-Mart was the "yucky" one. Later, it was changed to a much better location. While standing in line, Marlboro Man was signing authographs and mingling with the crowd while we waited in line. When Abby and I got to him, he actually said someone had written in about changing it to a better Wal-Mart. We laughed so hard because it was Abby. We told him she was the one that wrote in and he said we should have been moved to the front of the line (but he didn't...I sure would have taken him up on it). LOL! Abby got our picture with both MM and PW, so I'll post them when I get them from her. I thought it was funny that MM autographed the picture of his rear end. Ha!

I got to see blogging beauty buddies, Becky and Cortney. I snagged these pictures from Becky. Aren't they just the cutest?

There are a lot of good recipes in the cookbook that I'm going to try, especially over the holidays. It sure was fun to meet someone I've read so much about. Pioneer Woman was very sweet and very beautiful. Here is the link to her post about her visit to my Little Rock. I find her hilarious. Can I just say how comforting it is to hear she wears a Spanx? That makes me just feel better. since I am a fan of that, too. LOL!


Abby and I were gone a little longer than I expected. I left my cell phone in the car and Derek had been trying to check on me. When I finally got to call him back, he joked, "I didn't think I could call the police and say, 'The last thing she told me was she was going to Wal-Mart to meet the Pioneer Woman.' They would have thought I was crazy." That made me laugh out loud because it does sound a little crazy. HA!

Veteran's Day

Happy Veteran's Day to all the heroes out there including my amazing husband, Derek! How blessed we are to have such brave men and women willing to go wherever to protect all of us!

He served with the best of the best and not a day goes by that I am not incredibly thankful for he made it back home to me and our little family.

This is a picture of Derek and his unit while they were in Iraq. Can you find Derek? He is the hunky one (with helmet hair). LOL!

I have to admit the 15 months he was gone was probably the most difficult thing we have ever been through in our entire married life. I wish I could have been more graceful during that time, but lack of sleep with a new baby, decisions about care for Evan's autism that needed to be made and the constant worry of Derek's safety honestly about did me in. I am proud of how brave he was through it all, even when it came to his crazy wife (seriously). Derek is one amazing person...he is so sweet, thoughtful, nice, charming and also tough, deliberate, smart, and aggressive when he needs to be (like war for instance). I really think he is as close to perfect as you can get this side of heaven. I am one lucky girl.

Happy Veteran's Day, Derek! Love you SO much!


Just several more pictures during his time in Iraq:

My pilot and his aircraft - UH60 Blackhawk (medevac)

One of his patients. This is an Iraqi father and his daughter. She lost her leg in an explosion. Most patients they would not or could not take pictures of. Derek saw some terrible things. =( His mission was a good one though. He helped A LOT of people get to medical treatment.

His aircraft in an amazing sunset

Halloween

We had the best time trick-or-treating with the kidlets. Ella Grace was large and in charge leading the way! They would both start saying, "trick or treat" before anyone even made it to open the door. It was so funny. Here they are in their costumes.

My Indiana Jones (or Mr. Jones as EG calls him) and Minnie Mouse

Harrison Ford has nothing on this guy!

It was rather chilly here that night. However, Ella Grace refused to wear anything that would cover her dress! Her little arms were so cold! She didn't care though.

Sweet, sweet girl.

Who needs candy when you have these two around?
I think I'll just eat them up instead! =)

Precious

Is there anything more precious than this?

The parents were invited to Ella Grace's school this week. The children were going on a field trip, so we were invited to share a donut breakfast and attend the praise and worship time with our child. Y'all, I just about bawled through the entire thing! There is nothing more precious than seeing your child sing worship songs. Ella Grace blew me away with how she knew all the words and the hand motions. She was thoroughly enjoying herself. She recited her memory verse and I couldn't help myself but to snap this picture of her while they were closing in prayer. PRECIOUS!

They all had matching shirts for the field trip. I love what was on the back.

Here is a little video of her while she was singing her favorite song. I just love it!

My Birthday Girl

We had a wonderful day yesterday celebrating Ella Grace turning THREE! We woke up with her in our bed (as we do most mornings...she starts off in her bed but always makes the move to ours around 2:00...sometimes we don't even realize it until we wake up). The first thing she said had nothing to do with her birthday but, "I want my Snow White panties!" Ha! I have no idea where that came from. I told her, "Ella, today is your birthday. You are three! Happy Birthday!" She just smiled ear to ear! We made our way to Daddy who gave birthday wishes. Evan was eating his breakfast and she went right over to him and said, "Evan, tell me Happy Birthday," which he did with a mouth full of waffle. =)

We took her to eat at the Purple Cow. She loves that place! We got her some cheese dip because that is her FAVORITE and she wanted to order a salad for her lunch. =) After she ate, they brought her a hot fudge sundae with purple ice cream. She was so proud of the candles and loved blowing them out.

Then, we headed home to give her birthday presents. To say she loved her castle and princess set is an understatement. She was so excited and so happy!

For dinner, we ordered pizza and had birthday cake. Well, actually Ella Grace had birthday cake for dinner. She was so proud of her cake. For years, I have gone to the same bakery for birthday cakes. This bakery is my favorite and makes the best cakes, but you have to pay for it in advance (they are very expensive) and then go pick it up. I do not have time for two separate trips to the bakery, so I decided to try Kroger. Y'all this cake was so good! Plus, when we went to pick it up, I wish I would have had a camera because EG put her little hands over her mouth and literally gasped when she saw it. It was exactly what she wanted! Yay! The best $10 I ever spent! =)

We spent the rest of the night playing. We will be partying some more on Saturday for her big party.

I love this child! Happy 3rd Birthday, sweet girl!

Last night, when I was getting her in bed, this was our conversation:

EG: "Momma, do you like honey bears?"
Me: "Yes, I do. I think they are cute. Do you like honey bears?"
EG: "No. I like rabbits and dogs and cats."
Me: "And horses?"
EG: "Uh huh. And horses."
Me: "I love you all the time."
EG: "I love you all the time. You're my best friend."
Me: "You're my best friend, too."
Followed by kisses and hugs. The perfect ending to the day. =)

Pumpkin Patch

I took Ella Grace to the pumpkin patch this morning with our mommy group. We had a great time. I am soaking in these last few days of her being three! I took these before we left. I am loving all the colorful mums!

Before the hayride, we got to check out all the animals. So cute. I think her favorites were the donkeys (especially the baby) and the pig.

I wouldn't trust this tractor driver if I were you. =)

We then got on a hayride to the pumpkin patch to pick out the perfect pumpkin. On the way, EG told me she wanted an "itty bitty" pumpkin.

She found the perfect "itty bitty" pumpkin, and so did I. =)

Speaking of "itty bitty," here she is last year. What a difference a year makes!