We have a winner!

Early this morning I put all (three) of the names for the Pay-It-Forward Giveaway in a bowl and asked BBug to draw a winner. The name she selected was...

Congratulations Aunt Beth!!

I'll get your goodies to you soon and can't wait to see what you come up with for your own giveaway!

Now I feel that I need to add a few disclaimers to the above picture!

1. It was early - like 6:00 a.m. early - and BBug had literally just opened her eyes when I stuck the bowl in her face and said draw a name!

2. The bangs...oh the bangs! We're in the process of letting them grow out and it is not pretty! We're going today to see if the hairdresser can do anything with them short of cutting them off again!

3. She picks out her own jammies. Enough said!

Happy Birthday to Two Special Boys!

Just a reminder that the Pay-It-Forward Giveaway will end tonight. Since there are only three entries so far (ha!) I'll have BBug draw a name for a winner and announce it tomorrow!

July is a month full of birthdays around our family. And today is no exception. Today, this very handsome young man is turning 3!

This is our oldest nephew, "H." His daddy is my oldest brother and his momma is my very favorite youngest sister (in-law)! They're having his birthday party tonight, but unfortunately we won't be able to make it. The 8-9 hour drive thing really puts a damper on the whole idea of just dropping by.

Another handsome young man recently had a birthday as well.

This is another one of our nephews, Kyler. His mommy is Hubby's sister, and my very favorite Florida sister (in-law).

He celebrated the big 0-1 on July 17th and then we all go together this past weekend to party!

His birthday party was at a great park near their house and we were all worried that Tropical Storm Bonnie was going to rain on our parade (party). Bonnie behaved and moved on out in plenty of time, leaving us only the blazing sun and crazy heat to contend with!

Despite the weather challenges, I think it's safe to say that everyone had a great time playing on the playground...

trying out the exercise stations...

BBug has crazy, good balance!

enjoying yummy burgers and dogs prepared courtesy of Uncle Chris...

watching the birthday boy enjoy his cake and enjoying some ourselves...

and just generally enjoying the day...

We're so glad that we got to be a part of Kyler's birthday celebration and so wish that we could be there for H's as well. But as long as both boys know just how much Aunt Tamara and the gang love them, we'll be happy!

Payin' It Forward with a Giveaway

A couple weeks ago Carrie over at Mizell Mayhem had her very first blog giveaway. When I commented on her giveaway I never in a million years thought that I would actually win, so I didn't really give much thought to the one stipulation...that whoever did win had to pay-it-forward with a giveaway of their own.

Don't get me wrong, I don't mind paying it forward in the least. I just worry that whatever I come up with won't be cool enough, or hip enough, or interesting enough for anyone to even care enough to comment for it!

But...I'm coming to terms with my insecurity and moving forward with the giveaway.

The first thing I thought of was this...

I've talked about this book on here before and I can't say enough good things about it. It is truly a life-changing read.

To go along with the book I have some of this...

I've got the moisturizing hand and body lotion, the oatmeal and honey triple milled soap, and the beeswax & soybean wax travel candle - all in Orange Blossom Honey scent.

I'll go ahead and admit that before I bought these I had never used Naked Bee products before, but when I put that little dab on my hands at the store I was in love! It is so soft and smooth, not greasy at all...and the smell is divine!

I'm also thinking of a couple little "extras" to throw in there, but those will just have to be a surprise.

So for now, here is what you need to do to win:

- Leave a comment on this post letting me know you want to be included for a chance to win.

- And if you are the winner, be willing to write your own pay-it-forward post once you have received your package with a link back to my pay-it-forward blog post.

- Create your own pay-it-forward package to bless one of your readers and be willing to mail it in a timely manner.

This giveaway will be open until Tuesday, July 27. Please be sure that I can contact you, so that I can let you know you won.

Our Family of Four

Our family has not had a professional photo made as a group since BuddyRoe's birth (yes, I realize that's almost 2 years ago!). So, after the kids' bestest babysitter ever bought a couple of adorable 4th of July outfits for them we decided it was the perfect time to get those pictures done. We headed to the local JCP and smiled pretty!

I wanted some of each of the kids by themselves...

Crazy Eyes!!

Pretty Girl!

Silly Face!

Handsome Boy!


And some of them together...

Platypus Lips!

Sweet Smiles!

Best Friends!


And even though I hadn't thought of it (I know, shame on me) the photographer suggested at least one of Hubby and I without the kids...

And finally, we got some of our family of four...

A Few of My Favorite Bible Verses

I'm linking up with Kelly over at Kelly's Korner today for 'Show us Your Life.' Today's theme is favorite Bible verses. These are just a few that I really like.

Romans 8:28

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

Proverbs 3:5

Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.

Jeremiah 29:11

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

Psalm 55:22

Cast your cares on the LORD and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous fall.

I'll admit that I'm particularly fond of these last two because at any given moment you can count on BBug busting out in the songs about them...although she does say "Cast your chairs" rather than cares!

I'm So Excited!

Why, you ask, am I so excited? Well let me just tell you why!

There are actually two reasons. The first is because Carrie announced the winner of her give away today, and it was me! That's right folks, I actually won a bloggy give away! I'm so excited to get all of my goodies...



Now I have to hurry up and come up with some fantastic (I hope) stuff to pay-it-forward with! Stay tuned for that, it should be up in a few days.


The second reason I'm so excited is this...


We joined some friends for fireworks on the 4th of July, but because the weather was less than desirable we ended up hanging out in the house all night. Their two oldest children (a girl who's 5 and a boy who's almost 3) share a bedroom and they use what would be the other bedroom as a playroom. Well, let me just tell you what...Miss BBug was completely smitten with the idea!


Monday afternoon as we were cleaning her room she told me that she wanted to share a room with BuddyRoe. My initial response was something along the lines of "Yeah right." But the more I thought about it, the more I thought she might be on to something. You may remember me mentioning that we had transitioned Buddy to a big boy bed. Well, that didn't work out so well. Oh he liked the bed just fine, he just didn't like being in there by himself anymore. So we had to go back to a crib. Only now at bedtime instead of just laying down and quietly going to sleep (which he's done his entire life) he screams bloody murder until we go get him. And I'm talking hours he'll scream!


At the same time BBug has slept in her big girl bed for a long time now, but it's always a fight to get her to go to sleep at night. She has a hard time winding down and she gets scared by herself. So, for the past two nights we've let Buddy sleep in BBug's big girl bed with her...and it actually seems to be a good idea!


They've both gone right to sleep without a peep...actually last night I walked in to check on them and he was curled up against her with his head on her shoulder asleep. She was still awake and when I walked in she looked up at me and said, "I'm keeping him safe."


Melt.My.Heart!


Anyway...it's working out really well so far, but we don't want them sharing the same bed forever and moving his crib and her full-sized bed in the room isn't an option space wise. So I've been looking at other alternatives. I thought about a trundle bed, but it just didn't tickle my fancy. And I thought about bunk beds, but BuddyRoe is a climber/jumper so that just had disaster written all over it! Then I came across this...

Photo Courtesy of Dear Daughters

And I was in love! I love the simplicity of it, and the extra storage space it will give us! The white rails in the picture are just toddler guards (which we have).


I immediately sent hubby an email with the picture and said, "Can you make this?" His response was sure, as long as it will fit in the room. Which it wouldn't! Well, stink! Why does he always have to burst my happy little bubbles?


But fear not, I decided that if it wouldn't fit just the way they had it, I could make it work another way. So last night I pulled out some yarn for measurment and laid out the room. If we make it an L-shaped frame for the bed instead of one long one one it will fit perfectly! And it will give me the extra storage space underneath!


We have a busy weekend planned, but Hubby and I are going to try to go ahead and get started on it so we can transition all of the rooms over soon. Keep your fingers crossed that all goes well with the construction of the bed and the new sleeping arrangements!


I'll have before/after pictures of both rooms when we finish (probably a couple weeks out)!

4th of July, Family Style

We spent the 4th of July at NahNah & PopPop's new house this year, along with my brothers and their families, my cousins and their families, my aunt (obviously my parents) and a few friends. I still haven't recovered enough energy to talk about it, so I'll let the pictures speak for themselves (and yes, it's a lot of pictures!)...