And the winners are......

Thank you so much ladies for making my birthday even that much more special with all of your kind comments and warm wishes!

The first name drawn was Nicoly....she has won the little girl apron!
I know where you live already missy so I'll get it in the mail!

The second name drawn was Heidilynn! You won the three cute little pinch bowls! Just let me know your address and I'll get those right out to you!

The third name was Chantel Monet! You won the two dish towels! Lucky me gets to meet you next week so I'll just bring these along with me!

It's a Birthday Giveaway!

9-9-09

Yes, that is today. It is my birthday. It is actually my super duper special birthday because it is

9-9-09

And guess what?

It's my 33rd birthday too!

Can you figure out this picture puzzle?




Okay, I'm about to go make some coffee if you don't figure it out soon.....



(3 x 3 = 9)

Get it? I'm 33 and it is 9-9-09? I know, I know....a little much but I thought it was kind of fun. Birthdays get a little anticlimactic when you have had like 32 of them like I have so I thought I would do this up a bit.

So in honor of my super duper extra special birthday and my super duper extra special friends who hang out with me here I thought I'd do a birthday giveaway here! (Not an especially original idea but I'm good at stealing those really cool ideas I see floating around!)

So three of you sweet people that choose to comment here (Get it? 3 in honor of my 33rd?) will get one of the following.....


This cute little girl apron modeled by my little Addison. (I got one for her too because it matches my kitchen curtains!) And a cute little list making notebook!


Or....a very soft micro fiber dish towel in yellow polka dots and an Anna Marie Horner flower print dish towel and a cute little list making notepad.

Or maybe even this....three oh so cute polka dot pinch bowls and a sweet little list making notepad!

I gave myself a treat and drove out to my favorite store yesterday to buy these little goodies! It is a little store about a half an hour away in a little country town called Rockford.


I L-O-V-E this store. Above are some shots of their displays. Best to go without children and with time. There is soooo much to look at! Find a friend, a long afternoon, an iced coffee and go visit! They are open everyday from 10-5!

So as I was driving back the coolest thing happened! It really made me laugh out loud and put a smile on my face...really made my day.


See? Even the sky was happy for me!

I pulled into this gas station to snap a picture of something and I pulled in right in front of this sign....


Really? For me? Now I realize that there is some other Courtney out there celebrating her birthday too and that the person who did this meant it for her...but I'm liking to think that God let me see this as a special I love you from Him. It sure did make me feel really special.

So ladies....leave a comment and I'll enter you in my little birthday giveaway! I'm not sure when I'll end it...maybe tomorrow night? It depends if more than three people have commented or not!

(Okay...I apologize...the font and size and color of the text in this post is out of control! Really! I can't seem to fix it so sorry!)

It's a keeper!

So yesterday I was so inspired by this sweet friend and her post that I went out and bought my children their very own copy of The Jesus Storybook Bible by Sally Lloyd-Jones.

Eli was very excited about it and asked me to read it to him in the evening. We read many, many stories and I told him we could continue later for bedtime stories.

We read one Berenstein Bear book and then the Jesus Storybook at bedtime. He kept asking for one more story in it....so sweet. When I was all done reading he wanted to continue to look at the book with the light on. I agreed and when I heard Addison making a ruckus an hour or so later this is what I found.....


So I have to wholeheartedly agree with Chelle on this beautiful children's Bible. I am in love with it. The beautiful stories made me tear up....I love how the author explains the simple concepts of the Bible....so easy to relate to and understand and her writing is just extraordinary!

Eli got up early this morning while Daddy was getting ready for work and he requested that Daddy read him more Bible stories...

Here is a bit from the book from Genesis 3

Now, God had given Adam and Eve only one rule:
"Don't eat the fruit on that tree," God told them.
"Because if you do, you'll think you know everything.
You'll stop trusting me. And then death and sadness
and tears will come."
(You see, God knew if they ate the fruit, they
would think they didn't need him. And they would
try to make themselves happy without him. But
God knew there was no such thing as happiness
without him, and life without him wouldn't
be life at all.)

I love the simplicity and the truth here. So easy for kids to understand and such a simple reminder of what we all do and how we all need God. We can make it all so complex but it really isn't and this book does a wonderful job reminding me of the simple beauty and love that God has planned for us since the beginning. And how we went so terribly wrong and struggle everyday with the idea that we know everything and don't need God.

L-O-V-E, love this book! Thanks so much Chelle for recommending it!

Wild Hairs....

* Call pest control and have them remove large and scary looking spider from front porch - check
*Call furnace man for annual inspection and cleaning - check
*Call realtor to set up appointment to discuss putting our house on the market - check
*Call orthodontist to set up consultation - check

Still need to...

*Call electrician to fix that thingymajig hanging on our house
*Call Father-in-law to fix water heater so I can take hot baths again

And yes, the pest man and the furnace man were here in the early eight o'clock hour this morning de-pesting us and making sure we will stay warm this winter.

And yes, I did go to the orthodontic consultation and am very seriously considering subjecting myself to ugly braces for the next twenty four months of my very adult almost 33 year old life.

And yes, my realtor is coming to see my house on September 28th to discuss our options. (She is currently out of the country or I'm sure this wild hair could be put to rest sooner than this...)

As for the other two...I'm workin on it.

(And yes, I do realize my picture has nothing to do with my post but what is a post without a picture?)

Revamp old farm table - check

Remember this post? Well, I didn't get everything accomplished those few days.
I didn't touch this farm table until this weekend.
I sanded it down a little, trying really hard to get rid of an iron shaped burn mark on the top of it. I finally decided that the burn mark told a story.....
I applied Restora - Finish to the top and painted the apron and legs with a couple dollar sample container of cherry red. It was a bright pink as I was painting it on and I thought here I go again with a bad choice in red...but it dried beautifully. It is living by our couch in our living room right now until I decide if I want to sell or keep this baby.