Prizes for Valentine's Contest

I'm so excited about this contest! Several girls have already sent in entries and I'm thrilled to hear how God is using each of these girls. Keep the entries coming - each time I receive one, my heart does a happy dance. :) I've created a button/picture for the contest which you are welcome to use on your blog to spread the news. If you right click on the above picture, save it to your computer, you can then use it on a blog post. It would make my day if you could post about this contest on your blog (even if you're married or aren't doing the contest). The more girls that know, the better. And if you do post, I'd love to know about it. Send me an email (modestpatterns AT sbcglobal.net) or leave me a comment. It's always fun for me to visit your blog.

Okay, I promised I would post the prizes. This is the current list, but I'm definitely still open for more to be added. If you have a business or something you would like to donate, please email me (modestpatterns AT sbcglobal.net) so I can let everyone know and link to you.

1st Prize Winner:

• A $35 gift certificate to Marie Madeline Studio - a lovely store with tons of beautiful material, cute and modest patterns, aprons, bags, clothing, and more
  
• One DVD of your choice from the Homestead Blessings series by Franklin Springs Media - a company who provides families with DVDs that encourage the building and strengthening of God-honoring family life (I know every girl will love the Homestead Blessings series!)
  
• A Forever Necklace from Lisa Leonard Designs - one of my all-time favorite jewelry companies (This necklace says "love" on one side and "always" on the other to be a perfect reminder of God's unfailing love for you.)
  
• One sewing pattern of your choice from our store, Fashionably Modest Patterns
  

2nd Prize Winner:

• One DVD of your choice from the Homestead Blessings series by Franklin Springs Media
  
• A $10 gift certificate to one of the following: Amazon, Starbucks, or Barnes & Noble
• A Beatrix skirt pattern from Sense and Sensibility Patterns - Lovely patterns with an old-fashioned flair that every girl would love to have

3rd Prize Winner:

• One DVD of your choice from the Homestead Blessings series by Franklin Springs Media
  
• A $10 gift certificate to one of the following: Amazon, Starbucks, or Barnes & Noble
• Brown Sugar Body Scrub from Practical Simplicity - a store which offers natural skin care products

A Valentine's Challenge/Contest for Single Ladies

Okay, let's face it. If you're a single lady out there, the hype over Valentine's day can be a little too much sometimes. Just about anywhere you go in the weeks preceding February 14th, you are reminded of your status in life. Trusting and waiting on God for a spouse has it's difficult moments, but days like February 14th make it almost painful. You feel forgotten and extremely lonely. Especially when you see that young couple in the grocery store, laughing and holding hands. Or the girl at the checkout with the sparkling diamond ring who happens to be buying Valentine's chocolate. Or your friend (who is younger than you) walking into church with her husband and a beaming face. Yes, for some of you, it is a day you dread.

When I was still just fresh out of high school, I was given the responsibility of organizing and planning our church's annual Valentine's banquet. I can't begin to tell you how much fun I had doing it and the joy it brought me to be able to bless others on that day. There was no time to think of myself as I was too busy thinking about how to best encourage all the couples who attended. The job of planning and organizing the annual banquet every February became my job (along with help from my brother and dad) and it was and still is something I look forward to every year.

It was through this experience that I realized Valentine's day didn't have to be so bad after all. I even began looking around for more opportunities to bless others during that week. The next couple of years found me offering to babysit children so their parents could go out on a much needed date, planning a Valentine's party for one family's children - giving their mom an afternoon to herself, and making Valentine's cookies for people. I found that the more I gave of myself to others on this day/week, the less I thought about the fact that I was still single, waiting on God for a spouse.

So....I have a challenge for any single lady out there who reads this post. I am challenging you to find some way that you can give of yourself to someone else this Valentine's day. It may be writing an encouraging note to a widow, babysitting someone's children for free to allow the parents a date, doing something to encourage the single girls in your life, planning a special dinner for your parents, or making Valentine's cookies with your little siblings. The list can go on and on.

But wait -- there's more to this challenge! Our desire is that each of you trusting God for a future spouse would be greatly encouraged and inspired, so we are turning this challenge into a contest for all the single ladies out there. So get your thinking caps on and let your creative juices begin to flow. How can you bless someone this Valentine's day? I'd encourage you to pray and ask God what He might have for you to do.

To enter this contest:

1. You cannot be married. This is for single girls only.
2. Send us an email (modestpatterns AT sbcglobal.net) with the following information:

• Name, age, email address
• A paragraph (or more) telling us about what you did/are going to do to bless someone else (be sure to include pictures if you took any)
  

All entries MUST be submitted by 11:59 CST on February 16, 2010

After February 16th, we will choose first, second, and third place winners from among all the entries. Winners will be chosen based upon the creativity, time, and effort given. The more time you spend planning and working on this challenge, the more likely you are to win. And since I know you'll want to know the prizes...let me just say, you definitely want to enter. :) I will post a list with the prizes later on this week, but for now, here is a list of some things that will be included in at least one (if not all) the prizes.

-a Franklin Springs Media DVD of your choice from the Homestead Series
-$10 gift card to either Amazon, Starbucks, or Barnes & Nobles (your choice)
-a Forever Necklace from Lisa Leonard Designs
-something special from Marie Madeline Studios
-Sewing Patterns

So... get busy! :) And get the word out! Tell your friends, post about it on your blog/facebook/twitter, and send people our way. The more entries we can get, the better. We're hoping to post at least some of the entries on our blog for everyone to read (that's why pictures would be so much fun to have).

Lastly, if you have a business and would like to donate something as part of the prizes, we'd so love to hear from you. Email us (modestpatterns AT sbcglobal.net) within the next few days so we can link to you when we post the list of prizes.

"Give, and it will be given to you." Luke 6:38

Special thanks to my sister, Crystal, for coming up with the idea for a contest like this. Some of you may remember the Valentine's contest on her Biblical Womanhood blog a couple of years ago. Since she no longer has Biblical Womanhood, she graciously allowed me to "steal" her idea for my blog.

I Love Being An Auntie

Yesterday I took my camera along with me to my sister's house. We had great fun taking pictures and even though the girls wanted to do "silly pictures", I managed to get some decent ones as well. These are some of my favorites.I didn't even tell her to sit like this. She just sat down in front of the fireplace, looked at me, and I snapped a picture. My oh-so-sweet Silas! Okay, I know Kaitlynn doesn't have the cutest smile in this one, but I think it's absolutely darling. Isn't she cute?
I've been having great fun using an online photo program. Here's proof:And more proof!I love being "Auntie Gretchen" to five (almost six) little ones!
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And just because I can't keep a secret...I have tell you that we have a special contest planned that I will be posting about early next week. This will be especially for single young ladies. I'm super excited about it ~ so check back soon!

And the Winner Is...

After collecting all the entries for our pattern giveaway, we randomly selected a winner:

Aliisa (www.klahnfamilyblog.blogspot.com)

Congratulations, Aliisa! You should have received an email from us earlier today.

Thank you to everyone who participated! You all are such a blessing to me.

I'm So Blessed!

Not every husband leaves a sweet love note under the pillows for his wife to find while she is making the bed after he leaves. Nor will every husband lovingly (and readily) wake at any hour of the night because his wife needs his comfort. I seriously have the most loving and kind husband in the entire world. God has blessed me far beyond what I deserve in giving me Joe for a husband. Every single day, I fall more in love with this wonderful man of mine. I'm hoping that sometime in the future I can share with you all our story and how God brought Joe and me together after seven years of waiting (and wondering!). Looking back, I'm so glad God wrote the story and not me. He's given me so much more than I could have ever hoped for in a husband!

Only One Day Left!

Photo taken while driving to Big Sur in California a few weeks ago - it was one of the most glorious sights I'd ever seen!

"The heavens declare the glory of God;
the skies proclaim the work of His hands.
Their voice goes out into all the earth,
their words to the ends of the world.
In the heavens He has pitched a tent for the sun."
Psalm 19:1&4

Just a reminder that our giveaway will be ending tomorrow. If you have yet to enter, be sure to do so. And pass the word along to your friends so they can have an opportunity to win this pattern!

Links of Interest

It's been rather quiet here the past day and a half ... partly because I've been sick and haven't felt like using the computer and partly because my husband was home all day Monday because of the holiday. We had a relaxing day on Monday and I so much enjoyed spending quality time with Joe. We celebrated our last day of "break" with a movie and ice-cream in the evening (although only Joe ate the ice-cream because I was sick and couldn't justify putting unhealthy things into me!). Today, though, I'm feeling like I'm on the road to recovery and with the semester starting back up, I'm looking forward to life returning to a somewhat "normal".
Before I head to bed, I just had to let you know about a couple of links that I know you'll love.

• This easy heart garland by Rae is an adorable (and very creative) idea for leftover felt! I don't have any felt on hand, but may have to go buy some just so I can make up one of these for Valentine's day. Seriously, they're that cute! And they're not hard to make either. I would so love to see more people posting creative ideas for easy crafts like this as these kinds of things make my day!
• You'll definitely want to check out this post over at Marie Madeline Studios for easy instructions on how to make a sweet pleated skirt for a little girl. These skirts look like they would be super easy to whip up in an afternoon.
• And don't forget that our giveaway is still going on. If you haven't posted about it on your blog, added our button to your site/blog, or subscribed to our blog, you can still do so to earn extra entries! Click here to read more.
  

In other news...just so you know, don't try to vacuum off the loose hairs on your cat with your vacuum sweeper, or you may end up like this. Trust me. I learned the hard way. (This was only a portion of the consequences.)And lest you think me foolish for even thinking to try that, someone once told me that this was the best solution for ridding cat hairs from your house. "Just vacuum your cat off every day." It wasn't until after I tried it that I realized their cat must surely have been declawed. Ahem...enough said.

Sewing Project Completed!

I promised I would get out my sewing machine again and even though I have had the machine out for a week, it wasn't until today that I finally got a chance to use it. Joe was gone the entire day today so it was the perfect opportunity to sew. I decided to make some pajama shorts with my camouflaged material using this pattern. Many years ago when I was taking sewing lessons, my teacher used this pattern with the class to make pajama pants. The pants were HUGE on me and became almost a sort of a joke in my family. So, when I pulled this pattern out today, I decided to try and size it down a bit when I cut it out.Holly thought I was playing hide-and-seek with her and I had quite a frustrating time trying to get her off of the pattern pieces long enough so I could cut the material. After sewing them up, I realized that they were still way to big (the crotch was especially really low), so I ended up doing some modifications. Below is the finished product. They still aren't exactly as I would have liked them to be, but I feel good about getting my machine out again since it's been so long.Just a reminder that our giveaway is still going on so make sure you enter!

So...Joe and I Went Shopping

...and came home with this!!!

Yes, an adorable, super cute, playful, sweet, cuddly 3-month-old kitten! I am soooo excited!!! Joe and I have been wanting to get a kitten ever since we've gotten married (I've wanted an indoor cat for as long as I can remember). So much so, that one of our favorite pastimes is to watch those YouTube videos of cute kittens and cats. Seriously. (Lest you think we spend our time watching kitten videos, let me assure you that even though we enjoy watching them, it is something we only do on rare occasions.) :)
A few days ago, my dear wonderful hubby surprised me with the sweetest letter ever and ended it with the promise that he was going to get me a cat. I was elated! After much research, we headed to our local humane society today to pick out the perfect cat. "Holly" was the first cat we saw and I immediately fell in love with her. We spent time with all of the other cats and kittens, but "Holly" was the one we kept coming back to.
So we brought her home with us. She's a beautiful gray calico color and I love her personality. We aren't sure what we're going to call her yet ~ Joe has some pretty crazy suggestions. :)

For those of you that have indoor cats, I'd love to hear suggestions or tips you might have for us.

Another Pattern Giveaway!

Guess what?!? It's time for another pattern giveaway! This pattern from The Paisley Pincushion includes directions for the beautiful skirt and blouse pictured above. Complimented with ruffles, the blouse is scoop necked, short sleeved, and includes buttons down the front. The lovely circle skirt has a waistband and zipper. Pattern is for Ladies' sizes 4-22.

If you would like to be entered to win this pattern, leave me a comment below with your email address (annonymous comments will not be counted).

For additional entries:

• post about this giveaway on your blog
• subscribe to our blog
• grab my NEW button for your blog or website to receive an additional 3 entries!
  

(And be sure to leave a comment letting us know if you do any of the above!)

The giveaway will end on Thursday, January 21, 2010. We will randomly pick a winner the following day.

There's No One Else I'd Rather Spend A Day With

"There is no more lovely, friendly and charming relationship, communion or company than a good marriage."

~Martin Luther

I'm Doing A Happy Dance...

...because our living room got a new addition on Saturday! This piano has come to reside at our house, much to my great delight. It's been five looooong months since I've had a piano, and being a piano teacher, church accompanist, and musician, this has been pretty difficult at times. (Lying awake in bed, unable to sleep, because my fingers/hands can't stop moving to a song in my head, wishing I could hop out of bed and run to a piano...or sight reading music for a church service because I had no piano to practice on...) God gave me a wonderful surprise by providing this beautiful clavinova for our home over the weekend. I'm so happy to finally have a piano in my house. Every time I see it, my heart does a little happy dance. Can you guess what I'm going to be doing all week?
And I thought you all might like to see a picture of my latest organizing project. Yes, those boxes have more books in them. I'm trying to figure out which books I want on the little bookshelf and which ones go to storage. Can you tell that my hubby and I love to read? Maybe one day, we'll have more space to devote a room to be our library. Considering the fact that Joe bought me six books for Christmas, I'm pretty sure by that time, we'll have plenty of books to fill an entire room full.

YouCanMakeThis.com Contest

I just found out about a contest that YouCanMakeThis.com is currently having which I thought I'd pass along to you all. From now until January 24, 2010, submit a picture of something you have made using their ebooks or patterns, and you'll be entered to win one of four prize packages worth $100 each! I'm sure some of you have used patterns from their site recently and since it doesn't take long to email a picture, this is a great opportunity. For those of you who have yet to purchase an instantly downloadable pattern from them, this would be the time to do it. You can find out more information here on their blog.

If you've never visited YouCanMakeThis.com, you definitely should check it out. You name it - they have it. And their children's patterns are adorable. Plus, if you sign up for their newsletter, you'll receive an online video plus eight ebooks all for free! Click here to visit.

Recent Photography

It has been a very full week here ~ I've been over at my parent's house every day this week for most the day taking care of my younger siblings as my Mom is out of town. Joe also started school back up this week which is keeping him extremely busy. It's amazing how so little gets accomplished when I am gone until late afternoon. I'm hoping that next week will allow me some time to do a giveaway on here and possibly get my sewing machine out. In the mean time, I'm thoroughly enjoying re-decorating my youngest brother's bedroom while I'm over at my parent's house.

Below are some favorite recent pictures I've taken. They are of my adorable new nieces (that I gained when I married Joe).






And last, but not least, one which my brother-in-law shot of my sweet Joe and me while we were watching the sunset by the ocean. I loved how it turned out!

I Need Ideas!

You see this material? Yes, it's camouflage. Yes, it's pink. And yes, it's flannel! Soooo, I have two confessions to make:

• I love pink camouflage. (Interestingly, though, I can hardly stand the sight of regular green camouflage - yuck!)
• This material has been sitting in my closet for over a year now.

When I came across it (again) a few days ago, I knew it was high time for me to finally use this material and sew something. The fact that it's flannel seems to narrow down my options as to what I should sew quite a bit. But, I thought that maybe some of you could get your creative juices flowing and give me some ideas. I have a couple ideas, but nothing really brilliant.

So, that's where you come in. I'd love to hear ideas from some of you as to what YOU would sew/make if you had this material on hand. Any thoughts?

Welcome 2010!

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas! We surely did...although it was different than expected. We had planned to fly out to California on Christmas Eve where we would meet up with family. But God had different plans. A howling snowstorm visited us that afternoon and our flight was canceled (just moments before we arrived at the airport, mind you!). Five long hours and many phone calls later, after standing in long lines, talking to more people than I cared to count, checking every available flight, dragging heavy suitcases back and forth across the airport numerous times, with major headaches, we found ourselves leaving the airport. In a car. To go back home. Tears, frustration, extreme disappointment was all we could feel at that moment. There were no flights we could take because all the airlines were booked until New Year's Eve - yes, you read that right - an entire week later.

Needless to say, it was one of the most frustrating experiences that has ever happened to me/us.

But, the story didn't end there. God surprised us with a Christmas miracle. My in-laws gave up the weekend to drive us to another airport eight hours away where we were able to catch another plane to California. God is so good! It was amazing to see how it all turned out better than we could have ever hoped for.

We had an amazing time with family and enjoyed the fabulous weather and beautiful scenery. I managed to take about 700 pictures! Here are some of my favorites (without being edited as I haven't had time).A real lemon tree! We brought a couple of the lemons home but haven't tried them yet as they are ripening.Sailboats and more sailboats! I liked how this next picture turned out just by using a setting on my Nikon camera.We spotted about four red starfish once when we were out climbing rocks by the water. This one was so beautiful that I couldn't resist taking a picture.With my Prince Charming - I couldn't ask for a more wonderful man to be my husband! So there's a glimpse into our trip. I'll definitely be posting more pictures as I get them edited.
Until next time...