It's for the children

"The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'  Matthew 25:40

Don and I have a friendly little joke we refer to when we spend money or time for a cause that is somehow related to children.  For example, when Don goes and participates in a golf tourney on a Saturday morning or afternoon instead of attending to the Honey-Do list, he'll say, "It's for the children..."  How do you say, "no" and pout about that when you know children are being helped?  When 22 boxes of thin mints enter my house on an annual basis, we look at each other and our chocolate-covered teeth and proudly proclaim the hit we're taking to our non-existent diets is--say it with me--"for the children."  When I would go into some crazy bidding war on a silent auction for a local Christian school,  I'd remind him it was "for the children."  Long before we had a child, we had a soft spot for helping children.  When we found out our Lindy had been taken care of so well in foster care because of VERY generous donations through FTIA, we knew we'd always continue to help children...

I'd like to let you know about a way YOU can help the children, more specifically the orphans, of China.  My dear friend and fellow adoptive mother, Michelle, is having a wonderful giveaway on her blog to promote the 2011 Red Threads calendar.  EVERY penny raised from the sales of these calendars will go to charities which support children in China such as Half the Sky and Love Without Boundaries.  I might add that Michelle is an incredible photographer and was the photo editor of the calendar, so I'm sure it is beautiful.  I missed the deadline to get Lindy's mug in the pages but I know there are several other cuties represented!  PLUS, it is also filled with authentic Chinese recipes...

I know times are tight but please consider helping this wonderful cause either by promoting the calendar and/or purchasing a calendar or six.   Go to her blog and see all the fabulous prizes and many ways to win.

And remember, "it's for the children."

Calling all Marthas...

A few weeks ago I was at H*meG*ods--one of my favorite hangouts. As I was combing the clearance section, I snatched up what I considered to be two WONDERFUL deals--The Martha Stewart Living Cookbook: The Original Classics (2007 edition) and The Martha Stewart Cookbook: Collected Recipes for Every Day (1995 edition). I got each hardcopy book for about 1/5 of the original cover price.

After I got home, I was flipping through some of the pages and realized I was being a bit--okay, REALLY--delusional. I have several cookbooks, 100s of ripped out recipes from magazines and newspapers waiting for their turn to become a tried and true, and the entire worldwide web at my fingertips! As much as I'd like to consider myself a "Martha" (minus the gig in prison), let's call a spade a spade. I'm truly more of a simple girl and really am more likely to cook from recipes with less than five ingredients--one of them being cream of something soup. I saw the movie Julie & Julia and LOVED it (see it immediately, if you haven't already) but there is NO way I'm going to undertake something like Julie Powell did with Mastering the Art of French Cooking!

Delusional or not, I still get a rush from a good find, as well as from being able to treat someone.

Sooooo, IF you would like the chance to add one of these books to your collection, please let me know which one you're most interested in by March 12th. To be fair, I'll draw a name for each book and happily send the winner his/her book of choice.

Bon appetit~
Lisa

And the winners are...

I'd like to congratulate the three winners from my Random Acts of Kindness giveaway!

There were 15 contestants...


Then my lovely assistant chose the first winner....


And it is Tamra from Variety is the Spice of Life. Tamra is about six weeks away from giving birth to her first child. Shopping for her prize will be great fun!

Then we needed another...


Congratulations, Heather, from Our Little Ladybugs. I know you said you didn't want to be "entered" but you were, friend! Um, I think you got your gift in the mail today. Hope you enjoy it.

One more to go...

It is Kayren from LUVTHEBABIES. I'm thinking about this one...Hmmm....I have a couple things in mind for Kayren. If that sounds like you should insert an evil laugh, don't. Only good intentions here.

Congratulations to my three special winners. Thanks for the "random" information you shared. To those of you who didn't "win," I wish I could do something for all of you. Come back again, though.

Remember to spread kindness where ever you go!

xoxo~
Lisa

Better late than never--GIVEAWAY!!!

"What is desirable in a person is kindness..."
Proverbs 19:22

I just realized yesterday--after seeing it on a school billboard--that this is Random Acts of Kindness Week. For the past two years, I have had a giveaway during the week. Obviously, I'm a bit late.

This year, I (or my lovely assistant, Lindy) will RANDOMLY choose THREE winners to receive a gift. Last year I asked people to talk about what they do to be kind and the previous year I asked people to describe acts of kindness they've received. As I recall, people were much more comfortable writing about kindness they'd received.

To mix it up this year, you can share one random fact about yourself. Yep. That's all. I'm not going to make you follow my blog or Tweet about this or blog about it or become my Facebook friend. Just leave me one teensy, eensy, random fact and you're entered.

I'll close the entries on February 28th and then draw three winners.

Have fun and be kind--all the time!

xoxo~
L

And the winner is...

Thank you to everyone who commented on this post. I added everyone's name into this bowl. My lovely assistant, Lindy, chose one name...

The winner--this time--was Cristie at Bits and Pieces. I will be sending Cristie a gift card to Barnes and Noble. She has three lovely children to read to but I'm really hoping she'll buy something fun for herself...She's a gifted crafter and is always up to something cool.

Congratulations, Cristie!

Thanks to everyone for sharing what they like to read and a special welcome to all those who commented for the first time...

Read for free...

Reading is a pretty big thing around our house. Without a doubt, the majority of the reading going on these days is with Lindy. Lindy loves to be read to and look at books. From day one with her, we have encouraged this activity. That's Don reading to her on our second day together in China.

I love to read but don't read as often or in the same manner as I did before we brought Lindy home. I just don't seem to have the time or energy. Do you hear me on this one?

Before Lindy came home, I used to love to devour the latest Mary Higgins Clark novel or be swept away as I read Nicholas Sparks. However, now I read snippets of devotional books, consider yummy recipes in cookbooks as I plan menus (does that count as reading?), and look for tips in parenting books. I also am trying to be more dedicated about reading my bible. Okay, okay, I also spend time reading blogs, which brings me to my next subject--the fun part.

If you're reading this, there's a pretty strong chance you spend some (or a lot of) time reading blogs, too. I am going to treat one reader to a Barnes & Noble gift card. All you have to do is leave a comment by SEPTEMBER 15, 2008. Don't know what to say??? Tell me what your favorite book is...tell me what you're reading right now...tell me what you like to read...tell me your favorite author...tell me the worst book you've ever read...tell me how you'd spend the gift card...introduce yourself if you've never commented...tell me ANYTHING...It's really pretty easy.

Lindy will choose a winner on September 16th...

Until then, happy reading.