A week between posts.
Busy, busy time in our lives.
So 2 posts in 1 today.
A 2 for 1 deal!
My 100th post, complete with
my 1st contest giveaway.
And my contribution to
Mockingbird Hill Cottage's
"A Favorite Thing" weekly check in.
I started this blog on
September 3rd, 2011.
It's taken almost 2.5 years for me to
reach 100 posts. The first year, I wrote
exactly 35 posts. Ironically, in 2012,
I wrote exactly 35 posts. To date,
for 2013, I have now written
30 posts. I think I'll beat my high
of 35 for this year.
My first contest, complete with a
giveaway is small but manageable.
I hope you'll join in!
I have selected a brand new, tiny
but cute, picture frame. It measures
approximately 2 inches x 3 inches,
with the picture slot smaller. It is ceramic,
with hand painted flowers
and a plastic protector that covers
the photo. Bonus feature: it has a strong
magnet on the back so you can hang it in a
variety of places.
To win, please tell me how long
you have been blogging,
why you started blogging,
how long it took you to
reach your 100th post and
how you find the blogs you love to
read now. Briefly tell me why a blog
catches your attention and what you
like to see to keep reading.
Leave a comment below and
I'll randomly choose the winner
on Sunday, March 3rd, 2013,
the 2.5 year anniversary of this blog.
If it's a sunny day, I may throw in an
extra bonus item to sweeten the deal.
Keep your fingers crossed for
a sunny day in Canada!!
Now on to our next post within the post.
For my contribution to "A Favorite Thing",
the most incredible charity shop purchase
we've made to date.
Special on so many levels.
Almost 24 years ago, our home was
gutted by fire. A fire set at midnight by
our foster child, who had an idea in his
head that if he had come into foster care
because he had done something wrong,
maybe he would get sent home if he did
something wrong. We were getting ready
to have our youngest son at the time
christened on the weekend,
a small baby just 6 months old.
Foster child admired the Christening gown,
worn by many family members and our
beloved children as we laid it out that night.
Hours later, he woke us up to tell us that
the house was on fire. We fled, unharmed
and grateful for the warning. Many of our
precious items (photos, wedding and baby
videos, family heirlooms) were saved or
untouched. But our precious
Christening gown was gone. It was, as the
fire inspector discovered later, the
item that foster child lit to start the fire.
We did have our son Christened, years later,
when our next youngest baby was born. But
we never found another gown, until Friday.
Working a bit later than usual, we almost
didn't make our weekly Friday afternoon
trek to the shop. Sneaking in just a
short time before it would be closing,
we rushed thru, finding a few
lovely items and paying before
they called the closing announcement.
We bid our farewells and
walked towards the door.
And there it was, tucked behind the
wall, a small piece of lace catching my
eye. My husband was almost out the
door and I quickly grabbed his arm,
then grabbed the gown. Silky, creamy
and oh so soft. But as I held it tightly
in my hand, I was sure I would turn the
price tag over and reveal a high
figure. To our great surprise, the
tag read just $20. What??!!
Without question and just a
glance to each other, we rushed up
to the counter. Everyone began to
comment on our "find" and we
beamed! If only they knew what
this beautiful, not a mark on it
gown means to us.
Thanking everyone, we gathered
it in our arms and left the
shop, our hearts beating and
our smiles getting bigger as we
headed towards our home.
It took more than 20 years but
we found our perfect heirloom item.
Our kids are too old but our newest
granddaughter will be the first to
wear this special dress. And from
there we will pass it along to the
newest family members as they
arrive, on the day their name
will be proclaimed as official.
Every family has a story to tell.
Part of ours will be how this
Christening gown came into
our lives. Discarded by another
family, ours saw the precious
meaning behind the lacy,
silky creation.
