Paying it Forward

My sweet sister-in-law celebrated her birthday this month and I was so excited to give her a "Mommy" necklace.

I found a cute little store on Etsy called PureImpressions and she created this beautiful necklace for Melissa.

A couple of days later I received  a message from her saying my money had been refunded.  My immediate thought was OH NO!  Melissa's birthday was right around the corner and I was afraid I would not have time to find a similar necklace and have it here on time.

As I read the message I began to smile so big.

She does this awesome thing where she picks a random winner every Monday and that person receives their order FREE.  

It's a random act of kindness that she does and she encourages the winner to pay it forward.

I think this is the neatest thing.

And now I want to pay it forward...

to you!

I'm giving away one amazing piece ($30 value) from PureImpressions.  

I will announce the winner one week from now.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Winner Winner Chicken Dinner

I bet you thought I forgot all about my Canvas giveaway.

I didn't.  I've just been crazy busy.

We have a winner now.

Congrats Bri!!!  You are our winner. 

Perfect since you are a new home owner. :)

I'll contact you about how to claim your free canvas.  

A Canvas Give Away

Lately I have been getting several emails asking me to review different products.  I have no idea what I'm suddenly being bombarded with these request, but I could not have been more excited to receive one from Easy Canvas Prints.  

Photo on Canvas We have a long hallway in the new house where I want to do a photo gallery.  A 16x20 canvas is a great place to start.

Agreeing to review their product was the easy part.  The hard part was choosing a picture.

I have been unsure about using a photo of Andrew and me.  Seems a little strange to order a huge canvas of myself.  But we don't have any kids and I didn't want a huge canvas of our dogs.  They are my babies but I refuse to be that person. 

There is currently a beautiful painting of the house hanging inside our new home.  I would love to keep it, but the family will be taking it with them.  It gave me the idea of doing something similar.  That is part of the reason I chose to take pictures of downtown.  I thought about using one of those pictures from this post.  

I finally came back around to the idea of using a picture of Andrew & me.  After some facebook encouragement I decided to do it.

I chose one of my all time favorite photos.  It is from our Christmas card photo shoot back in 2007.  That was my favorite photo shoot EVER!  Uncle Kevin captured some great shots.  I remember just wanting to capture our love for one another in a photo.  It was a success.  Several of those pictures have become my favorites.

Including this one that is now a huge canvas print.

As if getting a free canvas for myself wasn't exciting enough I get to offer one of you a free canvas as well.

This company was great to work with.  They were very patient with me as I tried to decide what photo I wanted to use.  

Though I didn't choose to go this route, I was very excited to see that you can use an instagram photo.  How many of have a favorite picture on our phone that just doesn't print well?  

Easy Canvas Print can put it on a canvas for you.

 I cannot wait to hang my canvas in my new home.  And I cannot wait to give one of you a free canvas for your home.

The giveaway will run until September 10

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Gold Winner

Today is the big day.  I used random.org to select a winner for the Britt Nicole album. 

Someday I might even figure out how to display the generated number here like some of you do.  Until then, you will have to trust that I'm not a cheater. :)

The winner is #2 Momma Weaver!  Yay!!  I will your get your cd in the mail tomorrow!  I think you will enjoy it.

Girls Night Out

A couple of weeks ago I had the chance to see Mandisa, Britt Nicole, and Laura Story in concert.  They called it Girls Night Out.  The husband was sweet enough to buy me tickets months ago.  He told me to invite a friend and go have fun.  Is he not the best?

Slack joined me for a night of fun.  Laura Story was the first to perform.  She is hilarious!!  She had us rolling as she told stories in between songs.  She is a worship leader at her church.  They are lucky!  She writes and sings some amazing songs. 

Britt Nicole came out next.  I was most excited to see her live.  She was at Winter Jam several years ago when she was a new artist.  I had been wanting to see her again ever since.  That girl knows out to rock out!  I love it!  Her latest cd just came out not to long ago.  It's called Gold.  This album contains Britt's message that I believe every girl should hear and know.  She has songs that talk about how you are worth more than gold. You are one in a million.  My favorite song from this album is called Ready or Not.  It talks about how we don't have to try to fit into the box that the world things we belong in.  We can be who we are in Christ.  Let his light shine through us even if it means we look a little different.  Love it!  As a middle school teacher, I see every day how important it is for young girls to hear this message.  Shoot I'm 28 and there are still days when I need to hear this message. 

We ended the night with Mandisa.  She is awesome!!  She has been on a journey in weight loss for quite some time now.  In that journey she has discovered and come to love Zumba.  She made up a Zumba routine for one of her songs that she taught us.  So much fun!!

I have been wanting to do a give away for awhile now.  I think it's about time we did that.  One of you lucky ladies (or guys) will win Britt Nicole's new album Gold.  The message in this album is just that good! 

To enter the give away and have a chance to win this cd all you have to do is leave a comment on this post.  Easy as that!

Almost forgot.  I'll use random.org to choose a winner on Friday, May 4. :)

A New Look for a New Year

Can you believe a new year is quickly approaching? 2011 has flown by for me. It's been a whirlwind of craziness.

I started thinking a few months ago that it was about time for a new look here on the old blog. I've even been toying around with the idea of a new blog address. I'm just not sure I want to go through that pain. Have you ever switched blog addresses? How did it go? Worth the trouble?

New address or not I'm in the market for a new look. Lucky enough, my sweet friend Miranda is hosting a giveaway for a new blog design. I'm thrilled about this giveaway. I probably shouldn't even be sharing it with you because I want to win. :)

Go on over and check out her giveaway here. She does a great job! You won't regret it.

Winner Winner Chicken Dinner

I'm hanging out with Miss Amelia tonight! She wanted to pick a winner for the blog design giveaway. She was such a polite lady saying please. How could I resist? We wrote down the names of everyone who entered. We put them in a bowl.

Then she drew our winner.

I tried to get her to say the name of the winner on camera, but she wasn't in the mood.

Our winner is Linda! Congratulations. I'll give Miranda your email address so that the two of you can start working on a design.

Party Planning and a Giveaway

Hey ya'll! I had really intended to blog about Andrew's birthday party by this time, but it just hasn't happened. It's been a busy crazy week. Andrew's sister, Joy, has been in the hospital since Monday. I don't feel like it is my place to share all the details with you, but if you could be praying for her and for wisdom for the doctors, we would greatly appreciate it. It seems she is finally getting some answers and that is an answer to prayer.

Because of that and some other things, I just haven't posted this week. I haven't had time and I don't have the pictures yet. Jill was my photographer. As soon as she gets the pictures to me, I will share with you. She's been busy tending to Joy this week

But there is something from the party that I'm ready to share with you. I started the planning process back in January. Some people laughed at the fact that I started planning two and a half months before his birthday. This was the first party I've ever thrown and I knew I needed all that time.

The party was going to be a basketball party, but I didn't want to go overboard with that as a theme. After all it was for an adult. I decided to use colors as my theme instead. I chose orange, blue, and green.

I spent hours on etsy looking for the perfect invitation, but didn't find anything that was right. I found several things I liked, but none of them were exactly what I was looking for.

I decided to email Miranda. She has done my last few blog designs and I love her work. I didn't know if she did invitations, but I had to ask.

In true Miranda fashion, she emailed me back almost immediately and said she didn't have much experience, but she'd give it a try. We emailed back and forth and before the end of the night she had several digital papers for me to choose from. It wasn't long after that, she had created my invitation.

Simple. Perfect.



I absolutely love working with Miranda. She is super easy to work with and always does a fantastic job. And F-A-S-T!! She makes sure you get exactly what you want. As far as I'm concerned she will be doing all my future blog designs.

I want to show her some love as a thank you for the invitations. I'm giving one of you lucky readers the chance to win a blog makeover by Miranda. Your blog will be all ready for spring/summer with her "The Anchor's Aweigh" package. Go check out her gallery here. She seriously does an amazing job!
To enter to win this awesome giveaway all you have to do is:

1. Become a follower of my blog for one entry.
2. Become a follower of Little Sailor Design for a 2nd entry.
3. Leave a comment sharing a party planning tip for a 3rd entry.
4. Blog about a party you've planned then come back and leave a comment with a link to your blog for 4 entries.

That's a total of up to 7 entries folks!!! Let's show Miranda some love.

Please leave a separate comment for each entry. I will draw for a winner on Friday, April 15.

An Early Christmas Present and a winner

My laptop has been falling apart for quite some time now. I've been so subtly dropping hints for a new one. To be honest, I didn't really think I would get one for Christmas. We hadn't looked at any and I didn't know when the husband would find time to buy one with his crazy work schedule.

Saturday afternoon right after we got home from our nephew's 3rd birthday party, I was going crazy turning the house upside down for a coupon. I wanted to go right then and buy gifts for a couple of friends. As I'm going wild through the house, the husband says he has to go get something out of his car. he goes outside and comes back in all while I'm in the back bedroom. When I walk into our bedroom, a new laptop is sitting on the bed. EXCITED!!! He said he thought about waiting until Christmas, but he wanted me to have it for our vacation next week.

I love it!!!! It's a Gateway and is huge. It is much bigger than what I'm used to because it has a 10 key. I know I'm going to love that when I'm putting grades in the computer. He really is the best.


And now for a winner.....I'm so excited to share Holiday Inn with you. The husband was shocked that some of you haven't seen this movie. :)


I used random.org to choose a winner.

The winner is Shelly!! Shelly, I will give you the movie this week at work. I hope you enjoy it!

Christmas Cinema

I will never forget my first Christmas as a married woman. It's one of those stories that Andrew and I will share with our children when they get married. It was a true test of our love for one another. Maybe I'll share it with you sometime. Let's just say for now it was a White Christmas and here in Arkansas white means ice not snow. That not so wonderful ice meant we spent the night with Andrew's parents on Christmas Eve. Don't get me wrong, I love my in-laws, but I wanted to be with my family. I was a little homesick.

There I go getting into this story that I wasn't going to share with you quite yet. Let's move on. So there we are at the in-law's house on Christmas Eve. A couple of Andrew's siblings were there along with there spouses. It was a Weaver tradition to just hang out and eat chili and drank apple cider. This particular year, my father-in-law was begging everyone to watch It's A Wonderful Life with him. No one wanted to watch it. They all claimed they had already watched it once that year. Some even claimed they had watched two or three times that year. Maybe they had. I was still a fairly new Weaver and being the shy girl that I am, I was just sitting there quietly taking it all in. Finally my father-in-law asked me if I had seen it this year. I remember meekly telling him that I had never seen the movie. His face lit up. He was so excited that he was going to get to share this with me. We watched the movie together as everyone drifted into another room to do their own thing.

Yes, before marrying my husband, I had never watched Its A Wonderful Life. Truth be told, I had never seen a black and white Christmas movie. They weren't on the list of must see movies. I was young and assumed that all black and white movies were boring.

Christmas movies are another one of those things that Andrew and I very rarely agree on. You see I love those cheesy made for TV Christmas movies. Every year I look forward to The 25 Days of Christmas on ABC Family. The husband...not so much. We do agree on a few good ones such as Charlie Brown Christmas, The Santa Clause (all 3), Polar Express, and one or two more.

A few years ago he introduced me to White Christmas and Holiday Inn. I LOVE these movies and they are now on the must see list every year. Next week, I'm going to see White Christmas in the theater. I'm really looking forward to it.

I have Holiday Inn set to record on my dvr as soon as it comes on this year. And even better, I have a copy of Holiday Inn on dvd for one of you. I want to share this classic with you. If you have never seen the movie, you are in for a treat. If it is one of your favorites too, then you know it needs to be added to your collection.



For a chance to win Holiday Inn, blog about your favorite Christmas movie(s) and then leave a comment with a link to your post. If you don't have a blog tell me about your favorite movie in a comment. The blog will end this Saturday, December 11 and I will announce the winner on Sunday.

I HEART BOOKS!

One of my favorite past times is reading. I love books. I think I always have. I definitely remember being the kid in school who would try to hid whatever novel I was currently reading behind my history or math book. My two best friends and I would each buy a different book and then trade them among the three of us.

My favorite author has a child was Judy Blume. I loved "Just As Long As We're Together". That is probably the only book I've read multiple times. As I got older I went through a spell where I didn't really read very often. I was too old for the books I had been reading, yet I didn't enjoy books that my mother was reading either... Danielle Steele and John Grisham. Okay so I never tried them,but they just didn't appeal to me. Around that time my Aunt Judy introduced me to a new author Karen Kingsbury. I read "Halfway to Forever" and was instantly hooked on Karen Kingsbury and Christian fiction. Karen Kingsbury is now my favorite author easily!! I have read all of her books except a couple. I will be reading those next month. I have a weird thing where I won't read any book in a series until they are all out. I don't like to be left hanging.

I also have a love for children's books. I love their simple messages and amazing illustrations. My sister-in-law Jill bought books for her children before she was even pregnant with Amelia. I loved this idea and have started doing the same. As of today, Baby Weaver has over 60 books. Oh how I hope I have a child who shares my love for books. :)

Most of those 60+ books have come from the Scholastic Warehouse sales. I love these. You can get books for up to 80% off. They have a sale in my area going on right now. I recently learned that you can volunteer to work at the sale and earn $10 in free books for every hour you worked. So this morning, I was the official Scholastic Warehouse Booksale greeter!! I sat in a chair for 3 hours welcoming people to the sale. Easiest books I've ever bought/earned.

A couple of the titles I picked up today were "There Was No Snow on Christmas Eve" by Pam Munoz Ryan, "Library Mouse" by Daniel Kirk, and Little Lam by Piers Harper (A Soft-To-Touch Book). I bought so many books. I picked up a couple of Amelia Bedelia books. Love these!!

I also picked up a 4 book package that included "Walking the Plank to the Baptism Tank", "Church Summer Cramp", "Preacher Creature Strikes on Sunday", and "Mission Trip Impossible" all by Mike Thaler. Because they were in a package, I could preview them at the store, but went ahead and bought them because the price just couldn't be beat. I opened them up and started reading as soon as I got in my car. I have to say, I don't think these are ones we will be keeping in our library. The attitude of the character telling the story isn't one I'm sure I want to be sharing with my kiddos. However, there were two lines out of these four books that I liked and wanted to share with you.

From "Walking the Plank to the Baptism Plank": Everyone applauds. I guess I have to get out. I feel clean and new. It's like a Laundromat for the spirit.

From "Church Summer Cramp": Well I'll just go and trust and in God. After all, he's got the best G.P.S. there is - God's Protecting Son.



I also picked up "Little Miss Star" by Roger Hargreaves.
I love the Little Miss and Little Mr books. I remember checking one of these out every time I went to the library when I was in elementary school. They are so fun! When I got home and began adding my new titles to the ongoing list, I realized I already had a copy of Little Miss Star. My mistake is your gain. I'm giving away a copy of Little Miss Star to one of you lucky readers.

Here's how you can enter:

1. Leave a comment sharing your favorite children's book.
2. Become a follower of my blog.
3. Blog about this giveaway.

I will draw a winner on Thursday, May 13

It's A Give Away.

Leslie over at Lambert's Lately is hosting a great giveaway in honor of her blog's birthday. You should go check out her blog and her giveaway. I think you will enjoy it.

I Want To Win

That's Right! Prima is giving away two more AMAZING prize packages in conjunction with our BIG SECRET!


We want EVERYONE to have a chance to win so we are changing the rules a bit.


Please copy this write-up and link us on your blog, Facebook, or any other site that you frequent (please follow their TOU).
Then post here with a link to your blog, Facebook or site post for your chance to win BIG with Prima!
One US and one International winner will be chosen on Thursday, March 4th, 2010.

A Rainbow of Colors & A Great Giveaway!

This morning while sitting in the office preparing for today's field trip, the principal asked me to step into her office.

I have to tell you even though I'm 26 years old, this still scares me a little. Guess that's my fear of confrontation - of any kind!

Of course it wasn't anything bad. She showed me the blue prints for our new middle school that will be ready in July. Because I was the first one in her room, I got first choice of which classroom I wanted. Of course there are a few set classrooms like the computer lab. But other than that, I got dibs. The first choice was first floor or second floor. I chose second floor. That means next year I will be doing a lot of stair walking. I'm actually looking forward to that.

Once I chose my classroom, she told me that she ordered all furniture in gray so that it would match no matter what color room I had. She told me I get to choose what color my room is. I can choose if I want all four walls painted or just one wall or two walls or whatever basically whatever I want.

At this point I was expecting her to hand me 4 or 5 plain colors to choose from. You know... 5 shades of beige! But no! She handed me and entire book of colors. Every shade of every color imaginable. And I'm supposed to choose one. Doesn't she know that I'm the kind of person who needs to mull this over for awhile.

So I want one your help. It looks like I will be teaching all 7th grade Science with a few classes of 7th grade history thrown in. So when you think of Science class, what color comes to mind. I have a color I'm leaning towards, but I want your opinion.



And now for a little treat for you! My sister-in-law Jill is hosting a fabulous giveaway. She has the neatest cookie cutters I have ever seen. They are message cookie cutters. You can put ANY MESSAGE on a cookie. They are great for baby showers, wedding showers, holidays, and tons more. Go on over to her blog and enter to win.

Possible Snow Day & Blog Candy

The talk around town is the snow/ice is coming our way. Everyone at school is preparing for a snow day tomorrow.

Of course, every TV station says something different. One says we're supposed to get 2-4 inches of snow, one says we're supposed to get sleet only but that it will be bad, and so on. Who know what we will actually get. That's one of the joys of living in Arkansas.

I know that I prayed hard for a Snow Day Monday. I stomped around this house and whined like a little kid. But that was Monday. Now I'm not so sure I want a Snow Day.

I'm already well into this week and even have my lesson plans done. I know that if we are out tomorrow but have to go back Friday, Friday isn't going to be an easy day.

I also know that we are already in school until June. I really don't want to add any days to that.

Yet part of me would love a snow day. A white ground, my warm cozy bed, my pjs, hot chocolate, and a good book. Yes, that does sound nice.

I don't know what I want for tomorrow. Maybe that means I will be pleased either way. :)

And as far as big school decision. I'm beginning to feel a little peace about my current decision.


Last but not least.... Melissa over at Scrapz N' Stuff is have a giveaway. It is a beautiful kit to make your own calendar. Go check it out.

"Not Me!" Monday and Giveaway Winner

I did NOT look out the window last night every five minutes to see if it was snowing. And I most definitely did NOT stomp through our house every time I looked and it wasn't snowing. Jumping up and down while clapping was NOT something I did once it finally started snowing.

I did NOT fall asleep praying for an extra day of vacation due to the snow. I did NOT hit the snooze 3 times this morning. When I finally rolled myself out of bed, I did NOT run to the window hoping to see a white ground. And when I didn't see that out the front window, I most certainly did NOT run to the back door in hopes that it had miraculously snowed in the back yard and just missed the front yard.

After dreading going back to work today, I was NOT instantly reminded that I love this group of 7th graders. I did NOT spend my entire day enjoying those preteens/teens while watching it snow outside my classroom.

I did NOT come home and immediately put on my pjs and grab my computer. I have NOT looked forward to writing this post all day.

Nor did I forget to draw a winner for my giveaway this morning. And with that being said... the winner is.....




#6 Kristen. I'm so excited that you won this. I will bring your prize to work this week.

From 09 to 10 and a Giveaway

2009 has been a wonderful year for Andrew and I. It has been full of ups and down like any other year, but we came out better and stronger people.

In 2009, we:

* Finished some home improvement projects


*Celebrated 5 years of marriage


*Colored Easter eggs together for the first time.


*Celebrated as Drew turned 28.


*Enjoyed our first vacation together with just the two of us as we visited our Nation's capitol.


*Celebrated as I turned 26.


*Went to a concert or two.





*Celebrated the wedding of Shawna and Ben.


*Spent time with our families.



*Welcomed two new beautiful nieces into our family.

We stepped out in faith and joined a new church. This led us to standing up for what we believe and walking out of a church.

Watched dreams come true for our family members.

Watched God answer prayers.

Made new friends and spent time with old friends.

Made some decorative changes throughout our home.

Spent lots of cuddling time with Liberty and Liam.

So much more happened in 2009 for Andrew and I. Like I said, it was a wonderful year. For all you who have followed along beside us through this past year, we thank you.

Now we begin to look forward to 2010. We know that it will be even better no matter what happens. We plan to grab on tight to God's hand and allow him to lead us through each day all the way through the year.

I know that during this time people begin to make resolutions. I don't know about you, but I make them every year. And I break them every year.

I am not making them this year. I've decided to just work on my 101 in 1001. They are realistic goals with plenty of time to complete them. Hopefully 2010 will allow me to make a good dent in my list. You can check out my list here. If it doesn't, oh well... I have more time.

Now if you've made it this far through this post you definitely need an award. So here is my first giveaway of 2010.

In hopes of helping you start the year off right, I'm giving you the opportunity to win....


A Francesca Battistelli cd... which you know I love!!!



And... Miracles by Karen Kingsbury. This is a book of 52 devotionals. I haven't read this book, but I'm a huge fan of Karen Kingsbury. I've never read one of her books that I didn't find wonderful. God has truly gifted her. To be honest, I'm a little jealous that I'm giving this away. :)




To enter... Just leave me a comment telling me something about your 2009 and your hopes for 2010.

For an extra entry, post about this giveaway on your blog.

For another extra entry, create your own 101 in 1001. Leave me a comment letting me know if you have made a list.


This giveaway will close January 3. I will draw first thing in the morning on January 4.

Drum Roll Please......

Okay so let me just say having a give-a-way is lots of fun. I've been thinking all week about who win Crazy Love. I think this might have more exciting for me than it was for you. :)

It was so nice to read all of your testimonies to the Lord Jesus Christ. I was definitely blessed by this give-a-away. I love that He saves all in such different ways. He saves us at different times in our lives, at different places. It is so cool that no two stories are alike. That in itself is a testimony to God.

While, I really just wanted to purchase you all a copy of this book, I decided that sort of took away the point of a give-a-away like this. I then asked Andrew to pick a number, he chose numbers like 23, 144, 87, etc. Clearly I didn't have this many entries. And yes he knew that! He just wouldn't cooperate.

So then it was on to plan c. I went to random.org. It was more than willing to cooperate with me. And so we have a winner.

Drum roll please.......

And the winner is...




Jill!! Congrats Sister! I will deliver your book very soon.



Hope you all have a great weekend!

Love ya.
E

A Crazy Birthday Give-A-Away

Today marks a very special day in my life. It is my second birthday. I came into the Ball family on August 30, 1983, but I came into Christ's family October 11, 1999. Ten years ago today, I came to a truth that has altered my life and will forever change my life. I still remember it all as if it were yesterday.

My two cousins, Ginger and Shawna, along with my best friend Mandy, and I decided to go see a play at 1st Baptist in Walnut Ridge. The play was called Heaven's Gates and Hell's Flame. Mandy and I had already seen the play with our youth group. It would be Ginger and Shawna's first time. It was so crowded when we got there that we couldn't sat together. Mandy and I found two seats together and Ginger and Shawna went off to find two seats together.

The play showed groups of people, coworkers, families, and friends. In each case part of the group would be saved, and part not. Jesus would come down and take the saved, and Satan would come get the others. Let me just tell you... this play.... very scary.

It made me realize that Jesus doesn't save youth groups. He saves individuals. Going to church and being good wasn't enough.

At the end of the play when it was time to make a decision, I told Mandy I had to go. She went with me to as my supportive best friend. When we got down to the stage, there was Ginger with Shawna.

I love that Shawna and I shared that incredible moment together.

So... today I am 10. And oh do I have a long ways to go in this journey. I'm thankful that God doesn't give up.

Tuesday on the 13th my dear sweet husband will have his spiritual birthday. He was saved when he was 4. Great story about bathtime with his brother. :) I am so thankful and blessed to be married to a man who loves God. A man who does his best to be a good godly leader in our family.

In honor of my spiritual birthday, I'm going to host my first give-a-way. Our life group is studying a book called Crazy Love by Francis Chan. Incredible Book! It is making me fall crazy in love with my Lord again. I really want to go buy everyone I know a copy of this book. I can't put into words the things God showed me in the first chapter alone. After reading it, I was left to just sit in awe of my awesome God.


To enter in this give-a-away all you have to do is give praise to our God. Leave a comment sharing how God has worked in your life lately or how you came to know God as your Lord and Savior. If you are not a blogger, be sure to leave your email so that I can get in touch with you.

You can also enter by posting about the give-a-away on your own blog. Just leave me a separate comment saying you did so.

I will take entries up until midnight central time on Friday the 16th.

Blog Candy

Check out Kim's scrapbooking give-a-away!! It is amazing.