The Gift of Giving to Others~Christmas Giveaway Week

I'm back to the blogging world and I have some very special Christmas giveaways coming your way!  I think you all will like the posts I have for this week, but first let me say a few little words about why I think this is going to be a special giveaway week.  :)

This past month (and Thanksgiving day) really made me think about how blessed I am to be alive in this beautiful world that God made for his children.  We are all so blessed to be alive, to have different gifts and abilities, to have unique personalities, to have families and friends that love us and care about us, and most importantly, we have God’s love...  Now, that is pretty special, don't you agree? I have so much and there are SO many people that don't have anything besides God's love, if they're a Christian. 

This is supposed to be the most wonderful time of the year and what a beautiful time of year it is... We shouldn’t be counting our many blessings only once a year, but everyday that we live, every time we breath, talk, and even laugh.  These days are numbered and I don’t know about you, but I want to live today like it’s my last day on this earth.  Let’s encourage one another, pray for each other, make each other laugh, and spend time with our family this Christmas.  This is just a special time of year and a time that Christians celebrate Christmas because of the birth of Jesus (our Savior)!  This is a time that we can give to others...

We love to give to friends and family, but what about your neighbors that don't have gifts to give to their children this year because they lost their job last month, what about the homeless in your community, and what about the sweet older ladies and men in a local assisted living that don't have any family or friends to come visit them?  I want to give to others this Christmas and stop thinking just about myself, my family, and friends.  I also want to take this week and give some gifts to YOU this year, because really and truly you all are the people that make blogging enjoyable for me (and you encourage me with your sweet words too).   Let me close by saying this... Please think about encouraging one another this Christmas, give to others in need, and try give spontaneously too (It makes it all the more fun!).  Also, this is a way that you can try to spread The Word with others, just to make it even more fun.  :)

 

Check back tomorrow for the first giveaway of the week!  Oh, and I don't think you're going to want to miss it either.  *wink*

 

Blessings,

Emily

Thankfulness ~Days 25-30

Saturday ~{30 Days of Thankfulness}-Day 25

I'm thankful for my little (and very awesome) brother, Andrew.  Don't get me wrong, Andrew can get very (did I say very?) talkative sometimes, but I love him so very much.  He loves to help around the house, he does great yard work with Daddy, he likes to tell me all the new facts he's learned about computers, historical places, big architecture buildings that he finds on Google... Although, I confess most of the time I really don't understand the parts about the computers... He makes me laugh with his funny jokes, he still tells me "Goodnight" at bedtime, and he always is there to help make the day more enjoyable.  I love him and I'm so glad he is in my life. :)

Sunday ~{30 Days of Thankfulness}-Day 26

I'm thankful for shopping afternoons with my wonderful older sister.  I'm also very thankful for the happy, fun, encouraging, beautiful sister that God has blessed me with.  Katie might be busy with school and work right now, but she is still my sister and I love her sooooooooooo very much.  I thank God for all the days I've had (and will have) with her in my life.  She is so special and I'm really not sure how to write down all of the special memories I've had with her.  :)

Monday ~{30 Days of Thankfulness}-Day 27

I'm so thankful for the wonderful Mom that God has given me.  She is a beautiful, fun, happy, strong, and encouraging lady.  She guides her children in the way they should go, she teaches us, she helps us learn, she loves us, she prays for us, and she is the best Mommy I could ever ask for.  Thank you, Lord for making her my Mom!  I love her so very much!  I'm also SO thankful that Mom is being healed before our eyes and that she is doing so well.  She only has one more Chemo treatment and she is now able to drive with her right arm!  It's a huge praise report and we are so thankful for the news.  You can read Mom's recent report on her blog HERE.

Tuesday ~{30 Days of Thankfulness}-Day 28

I'm thankful for all of my friends that call and encourage me, pray for me, send me emails just because they're thinking of me, tweet back to me, give me sweet hugs when they say goodbye, come over and spend time with me, laugh with me, sing together with me, friends that say whatever they're thinking just to make me smile or give them a weird look, friends that dance around the kitchen with the music playing in the background, and friends that invite me over to have movie nights or take pictures together...  Thank the Lord for friends!  I love you guys and I'm so thankful for you. :)

{Picture from Google Images}

Wednesday ~{30 Days of Thankfulness}-Day 29

Thanksgiving

For each new morning with its light,
For rest and shelter of the night,
For health and food,
For love and friends,
For everything Thy goodness sends.

- Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882)

Thursday ~{30 Days of Thankfulness}-Day 30

And for the last day of "30 Days of Thankfulness"...I'm thankful for another year full of thanks.  I especially love Thanksgiving because it really makes you look around at your life and reflect on what you are truly thankful for around you.  So, I'll leave you with the question of..."What are you truly thankful for this year?"

And that's the end of my "30 Days of Thankfulness" posts.  I hope you have all enjoyed reading them!  A big thank you to Katie Dean for hosting it throughout the entire 30 days!  I had a wonderful time posting about the major things I'm thankful for, although I still have a LOT more that I'm thankful for...


Have a blessed Thanksgiving everyone and I'll see you next week!

The Winner of the Oh Sew Stylish Giveaway!

I'm sorry about not posting the winner yesterday like I had said, but our family had a very busy afternoon with preparation for Thanksgiving tomorrow and I wasn’t able to finish the post before going to bed.  Also, Blogger was having some issues and I couldn't format the post very well without difficulties.  Anyway, let’s get on with the fun and exciting part of this post…

Are YOU going to be the winner of these adorable hot pads from Oh Sew Stylish?

I've used Random to pick the winner this time around and the result was #3 out of #54 comments…

And that means that the lovely Jenna from Where the Heart Remains won the giveaway!!!

I personally know Jenna and I’m thrilled that she was the winner. You can check out her blog HERE to get to know her more. Also, (Jenna) I’ll send you an email with some more details on how you will receive your package. :)

Thank you all for taking the time to enter this giveaway and I hope to see you all back in about a week because I’m working on having some other giveaways for the Christmas season in the month of December. Also, thank you very much to my other sweet friend Lindsay, who made this giveaway possible. You are a wonderful friend and I think everyone had a fun time entering to win some of your beautiful items from Oh Sew Stylish. Thank you again for donating them! :)

Please leave a comment for Lindsay if you had a good time, if you love her products, or if you just want to say “thank you” and let her know how special she is. You can visit Lindsay at her Etsy shop HERE or her personal blog HERE. 

Thank you again everyone and come back soon to enter some other great giveaways!  Have a wonderful day!! :)

Love,

P.S. Please leave a comment saying "Congratulations" to Jenna, so we can make her feel very special. :)

Thankfulness ~Days 22-24

Wow, I'm not very good about posting every day, but I am still very thankful!  Really and truly. :)

Wednesday ~{30 Days of Thankfulness}-Day 22

I'm thankful to know how to sew!  I love spending time in the sewing corner creating projects from historical dresses to little girl skirts.  (You will hopefully see the skirts in my Etsy shop soon) I love going out to the sewing room when it's sunny and sit with Betsy (my sewing machine) and make items with my hands.  It's so much fun and I wish I could sew with all of you one day! It makes me feel very relaxed when I'm sewing too.  Thanks to my wonderful sister, Katie I am now able to create in our little sewing corner.  *happy sigh* =)

Thursday ~{30 Days of Thankfulness}-Day 23

I'm thankful for all the blogging friends I've made since I started Practically Pink! I love you all and your comments, emails, and encouraging words that you all send my way. I love having my email filled with your emails and questions, so keep sending them because my life would be dull without your friendship.

Friday ~{30 Days of Thankfulness}-Day 24

I'm thankful for this song...

Have a wonderful weekend and make sure you give thanks!!  =)

In Christ,

Thankfulness- Days 18-21

Saturday ~{30 Days of Thankfulness}-Day 18

I am thankful that I passed my Driver's Permit test at the North Carolina DMV this week.  Thank you all that have prayed for me ever since I started the class this summer.  I can now say that I am the proud owner of a North Carolina Driver's Permit.  Yay!! :)

Sunday ~{30 Days of Thankfulness}-Day 19

I'm thankful for relaxing weekends with my family.  I love grabbing a good book, a warm blanket, and reading during the afternoon.   

Monday ~{30 Days of Thankfulness}-Day 20

I am thankful for these verses about being a servant...

"Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth." ~2 Timothy 2:15 

"Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me." ~John 12:26

Tuesday ~{30 Days of Thankfulness}-Day 21

I'm thankful for prayer.  God is always there to answer prayers.  He has placed so many people in our life to pray for Mom during this journey and we have seen God answer so many prayer requests this past year.  Thank you all for praying for my Mommy!  She is doing really great this week! :)

Until next time,

An Oh Sew Stylish Giveaway!!!

This giveaway is now closed...

 

Who doesn't love a little giveaway?

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*insert crickets chirping*

Exactly..... I don't know of anyone that doesn't!  EVERYBODY loves a giveaway!
So, in the spirit of giving and in celebration of the Fall Apron Swap I've been hosting...
(I'm still hosting it for some people because they haven't received their aprons or they haven't emailed me to let me know what their status is on making their aprons.  If you are one of those lovely ladies, please, please, please, send me a quick email and let me know how it's coming.  Also, please remember that you can buy an apron at the store, if you haven't had time to make one.  Lots of girls are patiently waiting to see their new aprons, so please send me an email if you haven't already.)
...my sweet friend Lindsay and I decided to do a little giveaway together.  Up for grabs is her adorable "Tossed Cupcakes Potholder Set" in her super cute Etsy shop:

Oh Sew Stylish

 Aren't they cute?!!  They would be the perfect item to help you out in the kitchen this holiday season! 

Now, this is going to be really easy this time around.  You have three way to enter the giveaway.  =)

1.  Comment and let me know what your favorite thing is to cook during the holiday season.

2.  Post about the giveaway on your blog.  (Leave the link in your comment.)

3.  Post about the giveaway on your Facebook (or Twitter).  Let me know.  =)

I think that about sums it up!  Oh, the giveaway will close on November 22nd at midnight (EST) and I'll announce the winner on the 23rd.  Have a wonderful day!  =)

Many Blessings,

Free Christmas Cards-Shutterfly

I just saw on my friend, Leigha's blog that Shutterfly is offering free holiday photo cards for bloggers like me and you.  I thought some of you might want to know about it with Christmas coming around the corner. .

As all of you know, I love taking pictures and I'm very happy to use any coupon codes to get some pictures free when I get some printed.  They can get very expensive, but Shutterfly is a great company to get your pictures developed.  They are even shipped right to your door! I love Shutterfly so much, especially because their website is easy to use and they have a fast picture uploader.  :)

Shutterfly has many beautiful card designs, but I think my favorites are:
HERE,  HERE, HERE, and HERE...

Also, HERE is a link to all of the religious related Christmas card designs.  It's lots of fun to browse through all of the beautiful designs and try to picture your family picture in the card.  You should go have a look, but first if you're interested in making a short blog post of why you love Shutterfly to receive your 50 free Christmas cards, sign up HERE!

Blessings,

30 Days of Thankfulness- Days 15-17

(Photo from Google Images)

Wednesday ~{30 Days of Thankfulness}-Day 15

I am very thankful for our brave soldiers that are fighting right now for our freedom in America.  They leave their families for months, sometimes years to fight day and night for our country.  I can not say thank you enough to these brave men and woman.  So, if you are reading this right now and you have a loved one on the battle field right now, know that I am one of those people that thinks and prays for our soldiers safety.  Thank you to all of the veterans, soldiers, and all of their families.

Thursday ~{30 Days of Thankfulness}-Day 16

"For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. It teaches us to say "No" to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope—the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good. These, then, are the things you should teach. Encourage and rebuke with all authority. Do not let anyone despise you." -Titus 2:11-15

Friday ~{30 Days of Thankfulness}-Day 17

I'm thankful for Friday movie nights with my family. Tonight, we're watching Pride and Prejudice (made in 2005). I love this movie! :)

These are some of my favorite quotes from the movie...

"You must go and see him at once, Papa! There is no need, I already have..." ~Mr. Bennet

"Mrs. Bennet: Have you no consideration for my poor nerves? Mr. Bennet: You mistake me, my dear. I have the utmost respect for your nerves. They've been my constant companion these twenty years."

"A Mrs. Bennet, a Miss Bennet, a Miss Bennet, and a Miss Bennet..." ~Pride and Prejudice

"What on earth have you done to poor Mr. Darcy?"~Charlotte...

"I have no idea." ~Elisabeth Bennet

Have a wonderful weekend, everyone!  =)

In Christ,

Scarf Tutorial: That Fancy Look

Have you ever wondered how to tie your scarf like the other ladies in Walmart?  Well, watch this video that I made to find another neat way to make your scarf go from boring to fancy in just a few quick steps.  Make sure you turn the music off at the bottom of this page before you start it, though.  Enjoy and please leave me a comment if you would like to see more videos like this one on Practically Pink in the future.  =)

Also, thank you Michelle for asking the question and inspiring me to make this tutorial.  You can visit Michelle and her sister's blog HERE.  =)

Much Love,

Thankfulness- Days 12-14

Sunday ~{30 Days of Thankfulness}-Day 12

I'm thankful for the time I had to spend with my Daddy this Saturday.  His brother gave us two tickets to the ECU football game and it was my turn to go with Daddy.  We had lots of fun together, laughed, talked, cheered for the Pirates, and all in all had a wonderful time together...

Well, we had fun until it started to rain, the wind picked up, the sun went down, the Pirates lost the game, and then we had to walk about eight blocks to the car in the pouring down rain. I actually walked to the car with a blanket on my head. Let's just say it was interesting and I don't think I'll ever forget that time we had together. I'm so thankful for my Daddy. I love him so very much and life would be totally different without him. Here are some more pictures of the fun times we had at the game:  

Monday ~{30 Days of Thankfulness}-Day 13

I'm thankful for a joyful house to live in and people that make me laugh.  Laughter always can brighten gloomy days even when we might be down about something.  Let me encourage you with some verses that make me happy:

"This is the day the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it." ~Psalm 118:24

"A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones." ~Proverbs 17:22
"You will go out in joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and hills will burst into song before you, and all the trees of the field will clap their hands." ~Isaiah 55:12

"So with you: Now is your time of grief, but I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy." ~John 16:22
 

Tuesday ~{30 Days of Thankfulness}-Day 14

I'm thankful for inspiration from little children like Rhema Marvanne who is a 7 year old Gospel singer.  She has a heart for the Lord and you can definitely tell in this video.  Check out her website HERE for more songs and music videos.  

I hope you all have a blessed day filled with pretty fall leaves, a little breeze, sunshine, and cold weather. What are you thankful for today? =)

30 Days of Thankfulness- Days 9-11

Well, I guess my life got busy again...  I'm sorry I didn't post last Thursday, Friday, or Saturday but life has really and truly been very busy (crazy) around here.  I'll start with the Thursday (Day 9) and I hope to be able to get caught up and back on track with the "30 Days of Thankfulness posts later this week (I hope to get caught up by tomorrow, but we'll see).   Oh, and just so you know... (Sarah-Anne) I have back-tracked this post to November 6th.  =)

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Thursday~{30 Day's of Thankfulness-Day 9}

I'm thankful for the ability to be homeschooled by my own wonderful mom in the comfort of my own home.   I've always loved sitting in the house with a warm fleece blanket wrapped around me while I read school books.  If I were in a public (or private) school I wouldn't be able to do that.  I also love that this year I can watch my History lesson with my little brother right beside me.  I wouldn't be able to do that in a school room unless he was actually in my class.  I also get to spend time with my family and have a great relationship with them because I'm with them all day.  I don't have "homework"  after I get home from school because I'm already home.  I get to help make lunch and eat at my own kitchen table and I don't have to eat in a loud cafeteria.  I can name so many more things that I'm thankful for on this subject, but let's just leave it right here: I'm thankful to be homeschooled so that I can learn at home and have the wonderful blessing of being taught by my very wonderful (and smart) mom.  =)

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Friday~{30 Day's of Thankfulness-Day 10}

I'm thankful for this verse.... "Come, let us sing for joy to the LORD; let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation.  Let us come before him with thanksgiving and extol him with music and song.  For the LORD is the great God, the great King above all gods.  In his hand are the depths of the earth, and the mountain peaks belong to him.  The sea is his, for he made it, and his hands formed the dry land.  Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the LORD our Maker..."  ~Psalm 95:1-6

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Saturday~{30 Day's of Thankfulness-Day 11}

I’m thankful for life in my body.  I feel very privileged to have had another wonderful day to live for God.  He  must still need me here for something...

I have a healthy body to live in:  legs to walk with, eyes to see God's beautiful world with, hands to use for God's glory, ears to listen with, and a voice to talk with, share the Word, and encourage people with. I’m so thankful for being healthy.

Have a wonderful night, everyone!

Another Thankfulness Post- Day 6-8

I'm sorry I didn't post on Monday or Tuesday, but life has been crazy around here.  I was planning on posting yesterday, but I didn't have time before I left to go over to Moriah's house.  Oh, and last night we had our Bible study at Miss Lorraine's house.  It was so nice to spend time with Moriah, Sarah-Anne, and all of the other girls last night.  We have such a wonderful time studying the books of the Bible together.  That's enough excuses, let's get on to the main reason that you're reading this post.  :-)

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Monday~{30 Day's of Thankfulness-Day 6}

I'm very thankful for the opportunity to be the Featured Feminia on Feelin' Feminine's website for this month!  Jocelyn (the owner of FF) asked me last week if I would like to do the interview and I didn't even have time to think about it before I replied to her email.  I was so excited!  I spent the next day composing my answers, reviewing/ editing my Word document, and walking around the yard (and neighborhood) with Andrew as he took some pictures of me for the cover.  Here is the final picture that Jocelyn picked out for it. 

Thank you again, Jocelyn for interviewing me! You can read the interview HERE if you haven't already seen it and please check out all of the other articles on the website too.  I'm sure all of the ladies that wrote for Challenging Femininity this month would love some comments on their posts. :-)

Also, here are the other pictures that Andrew took of me: 

He was a wonderful photographer and he had a wonderful time helping me with some different "posing" too.  Thank you again, Andrew! :-)

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Tuesday-{30 Day's of Thankfulness-Day 7}

I'm thankful for the freedom to study God's Word together with friends without having to hide away.  I'm so blessed to live in America and I'm so very thankful to be able to learn more about Jesus and what he wants for His children.  :-)

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Wednesday-{30 Day's of Thankfulness-Day 8}

I'm thankful that I read this verse the other day... "Because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. I say to myself, “The LORD is my portion; therefore I will wait for him.” The LORD is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him; it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the LORD..."  ~Lamentations 3:22-26

Have a blessed night, friends!  :)