GIVEAWAY!

Hooray for my first giveaway!  I've got a little something to get you in the Christmas spirit!  Yeah, I know it's not even Thanksgiving yet, but I'm so excited for Christmas music, decorating the tree, all the food that comes with the holidays and celebrating Jesus!

So I've mentioned before that I have the best friends.  Still true!  Remember Boyd, our friend that designed our adoption t-shirts?  (Speaking of, we still have t-shirts for sale and they would make a great Christmas prize!  Just sayin!)  Not only is he super talented and generous, but so is his wife!  Tara has her own etsy shop and has offered an amazing prize for this givaway!

The prize . . . 50 custom Christmas cards + envelopes from Creole Paperie.  

Here is a link to Tara's shop . . . Creole Paperie.  (I've also put some examples below.)  She has a big selection of cards to choose from and will do all the work for you!  I know this is about the time when you start thinking of making some cute Christmas card, but then life happens and instead of creating something cute, you are lucky if you get something in the mail by February!  If that's you (you know it is), then this giveaway is just what you need!

Details about the prize . . . The winner will get 50 custom Christmas cards + envelopes from Creole Paperie.  Choose from any card design shown in the shop.  Cards will be 5X7 and full color front and back.  The cards are a heavyweight card press-printed with brilliant archival ink.  I will work with the winner to make sure their greeting and photo(s) are exactly as they would like, and will proof the card for them before the final order is placed.  The card order must be sent to the lab for printing no later than December 10th to ensure delivery before Christmas.  Printing generally takes 2-3 business days then it is an additional 2-3 business days for shipping, so the winner needs to place their order with the knowledge of this time frame, depending on when they would like to send their cards out.  I will not remove any photographer's logo or watermark, so please make sure the winner has authorization or a release to reprint any copyrighted photos.

Tara has also said that if the winner happens to not need 50 Christmas cards, you can do 25 for Christmas and can save 25 to use for another occasion (birthday or shower invitation, etc.).  

How do I enter?   Glad you asked!  You can enter to win this giveaway in 2 easy steps . . .

1.  Follow my blog by email.  There is a box for your email with the heading "Follow by Email" at the top right corner of the blog.  

AND

2.  Leave a comment on this post letting me know that you are following me by email.

It's as easy as that!  Two steps and you could win 50 free and stylish Christmas cards!  I'd love it if you shared this post on your facebook or blog too, but it's not required! :)

I'll announce the winner on Monday morning (November 14th).  I have to have my physical for the adoption on Monday so I need something to look forward to that day!

Here are some samples of the cards Tara has in her shop.  You can even have a little New Orleans flair!

Crafts, a mascot, and a must read

This is a smorgasbord of a post . . . just a quick update of a few things going on in our lives.

Last Thursday night, my bff, Lisa Ray, and I had a table at the New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary's annual craft fair.  Your probably thinking . . . Wait?  I don't remember Cole being super crafty.  You'd be right.  I'm not.  That's the beauty of having a best friend that is!!  Lisa and Charlie (C3 is what the Gilberts call him) have been great friends for years, huge supporters of our adoption, and are also demonstrating God's heart for the orphan by being foster parents . . . they challenge us in our faith in ways they don't even know! 

Lisa is all kinds of crafty and really outdid herself!  Unfortunately we didn't get a picture of our table, but it was covered with capri sun creations (who knew you could make such cute stuff out of trash?), hand rolled paper bead jewelry, handmade cards, and hair bows.  Lisa spent so much time working on all these creations and was overwhelmingly generous in donating all the profits to our adoption fund.  And then there was me . . . selling our not-at-all-handmade adoption t-shirts!

Here's the sign I made for our table . . .

We had a great night and were shocked to realize at the end that we made $445!  Thanks to everyone who bought some of our goodies!  We also gained something amazing for Easton on Thursday night . . . a mascot!  Caroline Garrett bought one of our shirts and immediately started sporting it to draw attention to our table.  A few minutes later she comes over with an Africa and a big E painted on her face!  I love that this sweet girl who loves Jesus and already loves our little boy will be a part of Easton's story!

Last night we had an unexpected blessing.  One of the Edgewater Life Groups that meets together on Sunday nights showed up at our house.  Their ministry focus is widows and the elderly so we were trying to figure out how we fit into that!  They piled in our living room and proceeded to speak words of affirmation and encouragement to Chad and I as a way to celebrate Pastor Appreciation Month (it was in October, but if you missed it, it isn't too late . . . tell your pastor (and his wife) you appreciate him.  It will mean more than you know!).  They shared words that encouraged our hearts, but rightly gave all the glory to God.  They ended by laying hands on us and having a time of prayer for each one of us in the family, even Easton!  What a blessing to be a part of a faith family that is all about being the Church!


Last, but definitely not least . . . I want to you to read a post from another blog.  Jen Hatmaker is a mom, author (so that's why her blog is SO good!), and has adopted two kiddos.  This post is for everyone who knows anyone in any stage of the adoption or foster care process.  It gives honest and true insight into things NOT to say or do, but also what you CAN do to encourage those on this journey.  Definitely worth the read!

Fleur de Lis Raffle Results

And the winner is . . .

Tracy Manning!

Congrats to Tracy for winning the fleur de lis goodies!  And a big thanks to everyone who donated to enter the raffle . . . every dollar puts us that much closer to what we need to bring Easton home!

(FYI, I use the Random Number Generator at random.org to pick the winner.)

Be sure to check the blog on December 1st for our next raffle: a fabulous Christmas bundle of goodies!

3rd Adoption Raffle: Fleur de Lis Bundle

It's that time again!  We've been so blessed by our adoption raffles so far and hope that this prize gets lots of you excited about having a creative way to partner with us to bring our son home from Ethiopia!  Hopefully you've read this post about all that has happened in the last week, but if not, just know that things are moving quickly, which makes us even more excited about these fundraising opportunities!

This raffle has some New Orleans flair and would make a great prize . . . Christmas is just two months away!  Or you can just keep it for yourself if you win.  No shame there!

My mom started her own little crafty business last year, Lili Designs.  She even has a facebook page now (look her up . . . she has great stuff!).  She is so excited about our adoption and has taken initiative in finding creative ways to help us in this journey.  She had a yard sale in September and has now donated some of her creations for us to raffle. 

Fleur de Lis Bundle:

A 7x9 frame for a 4x6 picture

 3 tile magnets

4 Coasters

8 blank note cards (4 black and 4 brown)

2 embroidered tea towels
1 pair of Premier Designs earrings

Not by Lili Designs, but still really great!

That's a lot of fantastic Fleur de Lis goodies!  I'm sure you can picture someone on your Christmas list right now that would love to get this bundle from you!

So here is how the raffle will work . . .

A $5 donation will receive 1 entry for the raffle.
A $10 donation will receive 3 entries for the raffle.
A $20 donation will receive 7 entries for the raffle.
If you give more than $20, I'll let you know about the number of entries!

Steps to enter the raffle . . .

1. Use the Donate (PayPal) button on the right side of the blog to make your donation or you can pay me directly.
2. Let me know about your donation through facebook, email or by commenting on this post.
3. I will send you an entry number(s).
4. I will use a random number generator to pick the winner.

After you donate, if you share the link to this blog post on your blog or on facebook, I'll give you an extra entry! Just comment on this post to let me know that you shared the link!

I'll announce the winner on Saturday, November 5th so you have a little less than a week to donate and spread the word!

Remember that all the donations will go to bring our son home from Ethiopia! Thank you for walking this journey with us in such fun ways!