Look at Eli!!...and sponsors

If you've been following me for a bit, you know about my little brother, Elijah, who's two. He's a trouble-maker, chief of mischief, sometimes-naughty, cutie-patootie, little boy. And we love him to pieces.

Well, the other day, something happened to him. Something big. (bad? well, you'll have to judge for yourselves)

He was eating dinner and pretty content...

Then, he gave a gasp--he was changing!

My dear sweet little brother was changing into his very own Mr. Hyde!!

(scroll over and look at his cute face)

(none of these were posed, btw.)

Just had to share these darling pictures. Isn't he a funny little kid? Such a ham too...man, is he adorable or WHAT! (is it alright for me to say that? I'm his sister, but even if I weren't...he's a cutie-patootie.)

Okay...onto other things....

Some of you may have noticed the "Lovely Sponsors" bit on the sidebar...if not, well, go look. If you have, then I'll confirm it. It's true. I'm accepting sponsors for Aspire now.

okay. I'm not going to be all weird about it, but I'm doing it for a few reasons...

1. It'll (hopefully) highlight some awesome shops/businesses
2. It's a nice thing to have.

Basically, to promote your shop/business, I'll place a button on my sidebar for a small fee. Note the small. I'm not going to be charging $400 monthly...of course not. Only $399. See? I'm so generous. (I'm kidding, obviously.)

You can contact me HERE to talk about sponsoring/prices.

Just a little blip to let you  know. ;-)

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Remember to enter the giveaway! Click here to win some FABULOUS prizes! :-)

Revamping Four :: Planting Chums :: You're gonna wanna check this out...

First of all...a new name. Planting Chums seems to be a much better title...it's way better than just plain old FOUR.

Secondly, a new button. (for those of you who already had the button, it should switch automatically)

Thirdly, for the last three weeks, there are gonna be some sweeeet giveaways. Did I say sweet? Because I meant it. I'm tempted to enter myself into these giveaways. (just kidding. I won't, but man, I wish I could.)


For this week (16th-23rd) we've got these awesome items...

Tricia, over at Tricia Richner, has offered to give away this fun journal--personalized with whatever name you want. Her stuff is super cute and I'm really loving the fun colors of this journal--definitely says VIVID to me. (and can that bow be ANY more darling?)
Her products are hand-made, unique and incredibly adorable. You can purchase monogrammed note-cards, special greeting cards, journals, diaries, and other misc. And, she has very reasonable prices for such incredible items!

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Then, Lauri at Photography and Cupcake Toppers is giving readers a choice of winning any 5x7 print in her store OR a set of her ADORABLE cupcake toppers.

Look at those gorgeous colors! Can you imagine putting that up on your wall? Those flowers are speaking to me...mmmm...so clean and beautiful. Her photography is fresh and gorgeous. The details you can see in the flowers is incredible, and her colors are very distinct and bright.

Some of my favorites

These things are super cute! How much fun would it be to have those at a birthday party? The little scalloped edges add a distinct, unique touch to these creative and adorable toppers. Perfect for a party--vintage and fun, baby. :-)

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For some more photography goodies, QuirkandHappenstance is giving readers a choice of ANY print in her shop. I'm loving both of the ones below. Vintagey and beautiful. She's somewhat newer on etsy, and doesn't have as many products yet, but the ones that are there are lovely. The soft feeling to her photos gives them an added boost of interest.

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Lastly, leopard33 from Marchese Creations, has offered to give away THREE of her gorgeous jewelry products. Her handmade items are super lovely and perfect for any occasion. You can either win two sets of earrings or a gorgeous bracelet.

Her work is detailed and intricate and the colors are soft and dreamy. The cute little green earrings add a little quirkiness, while those blue flowered ones are downright lovely.

This bracelet is another of her gorgeous and unique designs. The beads on one side and the chain on the other give it a funky, yet still elegant feel, while the flower and its adornment complete the piece. What can I say? It's darling. 

I love all of these gorgeous items!


So here's how you enter to win them...

MANDATORY entry:

1. Follow Aspire and leave a comment saying you are (or already do)

EXTRA entries:

1. Put my button on your blog
2. Put the Planting Chums button on your blog
3. Tweet about this
4. Put a blip on Facebook

 

BONUS (+5 each) entries:

1. Post about these giveaways & Planting Chums on your blog
2. Post about the weeks topics and add your link to the mclinky (this only applies to this COMING weeks topic. The food one does not entail giveaways. The topic will be posted on the 16th, and you can post about it and link up anytime from then to the 23rd. Make sure to LEAVE a comment on THIS post saying you did.)

For each entry of the above, tell me what you did in a SEPARATE comment. That way I can make sure I get down all that you did. (make sure that you comment for each one that you do--and make sure that its on THIS post!)  Logistically I want to make sure that I've got it right.  :)  Thank you!

Make sure to visit each of the generous Etsy sellers and check out their products.  They're amazing!  Let's up their traffic and thank them!  See? Told you the giveaways were sweeeet. And you could win easy-peasy. ;-)

FOUR :: week one (food loves)

<br /> <br /> <a href="http://manyrandommusings.blogspot.com/search/label/Four"><img vspace="none" hspace="none" alt="4 - Four Fridays of CONNECTIONS (forging friendships)" src="http://i617.photobucket.com/albums/tt255/ElvishAuthoress/4.png" /></a>

For more info on Four, click HERE

For the first week of Four, we're going to celebrate all that we love...food wise, that is. Is there a food that you absolutely love? Crave? NEED? (and yes, Mom, Coffee counts).

For my food love...well, it's not a big surprise, but I'm a big peanut butter and jelly fan.

There. I've said it. Now please don't laugh. (okay...you can laugh a little bit) It's honestly true.

I know that there's all those people who don't like peanut butter and jelly (shame on you.) But then again, there are all those people who do. Alright, I don't know many, but just pretend that I do...humor me.

I'm not exactly sure why I like the taste of pbj so much. There's something about that rich, creamy peanut butter along with the sweet jam that makes me feel all contented and safe. I always eat around the crust in order to have that pure, undefiled sandwich to enjoy.

AND (for all you non pbj lovers) peanut butter has some good protein, so if you make a sandwich, you can get a good, fulfilling (not to mention tasty) bite to eat. Plus that little bit of jam makes it sweet and delicious...am I convincing you yet?

But the reason why I love peanut butter and jelly goes a lot deeper.

I never liked pbj sandwiches until we purchased the Jif peanut butter. Y'know that rich, yummy, utterly irresistible peanut butter that's oh-so-good? Well, before that, we purchased some health organic peanut butter. Nothing against healthy peanut butter, but when it comes to pbj's, you gotta have the real stuff.

And the real stuff doesn't have a layer of oil on the top that you have to mix in before you spread the gritty substance over your bread.

My mom, however, was not going to buy that peanut butter. (have you seen the labels?) Until my dad asked.

You see, when my dad had cancer, he came up to my mom one day when she was going to the store and went, "Rae, could you just do me a favor? Could you just buy me a jar of JIF?"

My mom answered, "It's gross! It's bad for you--it's terrible!" However, my dad really wanted it, and he had some good memories of growing up eating that peanut butter.

My mom didn't want to buy it--but she really felt that she needed to submit to his wishes. To respect his authority as the head of the house. Even if it meant dropping the Pro-Organic peanut butter status.

And [JIF] peanut butter sandwiches were one of the only things my dad could eat then...

...and that's why I'm a DIE-hard [JIF] Peanut Butter & Jelly fan! :-)

I'd love to hear what your food loves and cravings are! Just join the fun and link up below. Make sure to bloghop around--forge those friendships, baby. ;-)



AAAND...#17, Ab's post Heavenly Cinnamon Rolls

4 - Four Fridays of CONNECTIONS (forging friendships)....All the INFO here! :-)

<br /> <br /> <a href="http://manyrandommusings.blogspot.com/2010/04/4-four-fridays-of-connections-forging.html"><img vspace="none" hspace="none" alt="4 - Four Fridays of CONNECTIONS (forging friendships)" src="http://i617.photobucket.com/albums/tt255/ElvishAuthoress/4.png" /></a>

Study the button closely. Getting an inkling here? Got an idea? Know what 4 is? Do ya? Do ya? DO YA? (see any resemblance to Dory here?)

Okay. I'll tell you.

Four is four weeks of fun taking place every Friday from April 9-April 30 (although, feel free to link up anytime before the next Friday). Every week, a different theme will be highlighted for you to post about that week.

For example, this week is your food love(s). So come Friday, put up a post detailing what one of your food loves is. Why do you like it so much? Is there any particular meaning behind why you like it? Have any special memories with it? Why that particular food?

Then, all you have to do is link up anytime before next Friday, and start bloghopping. Note the subtitle, "Forging FRIENDSHIPS." We want to cultivate new blogging buddies here! This should be a fun thing to build relationships with other like-minded chums...and maybe you'll find some really great new pals. :-)

I sure hope so!

So this Friday, I'll put up this weeks topic, and you can post away, link up, blog hop, and have fun! Makes some new friends and maybe share a few laughs.

'Cause hey, this is gonna be a blast. ;)

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To those of you who prayed for me and my voice, thank you so much. I was not able to sing on Sunday, but somehow, it helped to give me a different view. It was hard and I did ache, but God gave me a peace--my mom talks about it in the bottom of this post of hers.

When we win, and when we lose

Today has been a whirlwind of a day. Voice gets better, voice gets worse. Voice gets better, voice gets worse. Voice gets better, voice gets worse...and so on.

At the moment, my voice is better, but I don't think that I'll be able to sing. That's just from right now. God could work a miracle tomorrow morning, but He already has.

It's more of a miracle for me. I was feeling so anguished about not being able to sing, and I was just in a lot of emotional pain. I was in tears and down in my room, just talking to God and trying to find that peace that I needed. That's when that line from Facing the Giants came to me--right after they lost the big game, when they're super down and upset and angry. Their coach tells them to stop kicking themselves, and that they played a good game, and then one of the players speaks up.

"Coach is right guys. When we win, we praise Him. When we lose, we praise Him."

And that's what I'm gonna do. That's what I'm doing. I may not have my voice, but I can praise Him. I may not be able to sing, but I'm gonna praise Him. He is mighty, and powerful, and just, and holy, and loving, and PERFECT--and I will praise Him.

I gave it my all--on the rehearsal, I had a blast. It was a huge blessing and I was just filled with this joy and life and vividness. I couldn't wait for Sunday. And these past few days, I've been keeping quiet and doing pretty much everything that I can to regain my voice. But I still don't have it. And I'm beginning to realize that it's okay, and maybe even a blessing.

I am still in pain. I love singing in church, and I was so excited for Sunday. The song that we were singing was something special, and I began to feel like we could use it to impact someone. It's hard to know that I probably won't be able to sing. It's hard to know that I won't get to proclaim that truth through song--that He is RISEN. But it's not about me. Even if I don't sing, it doesn't matter. God will use something else--it just wasn't my time at the moment.  Maybe, just maybe, God will use my lack of voice in the most surprising of ways.

And even though I'm in pain, I do feel this peace. I'm realizing that this is part of His plan and that somehow, it's all for the best. Even if I can't completely see it right now.

I will keep praising Him though--voice or not.


I would still appreciate your prayers--they mean a great deal to me.

Still waiting and a Prayer Request

The fixing part of my laptop is taking a little longer than we thought, sooo...I probably won't be posting about Four tonight...but, hey, now you have something to look forward to this weekend, right? ;-)

Also, I would really appreciate it if you'd all pray for me. On Sunday, Seth and I are going to be singing in church. Thursday, we had a practice (which I gotta tell you, was amazing)...but today I ended up partially losing my voice. I've been resting--not talking at all/the bare minimum)--and drinking lots of fluids. But prayer is something that I would be so grateful of right now.

We're gonna be singing I Will Rise by Chris Tomlin, and I've been really praying that when we sing, we'll have God work through us. But I need to actually be able to sing....so I've been praying for that now too. Then my mom suggested I put something up here, asking for prayer, so I am. I can't tell you how blessed I'd feel if you'd all pray for me right now.

And I will rise, on eagle's wings, before my God, fall on my knees...

What rhymes with samspurring, Sneekie-Peekie at FOUR, that's right, I'm TWEETING! and I'm gonna "nudge" you over to my momma's blog...

Wanna know what I've been doing for the past few hours?

I'll give you a hint...it starts with a "t" and ends in a "ing"

...

Still don't have it? Let me put your mind at ease...it rhymes with "hamsmirring" and "ranlirring"

Okay. I'll tell you...

...Transferring. (see how it rhymes?...somewhat?)

For the past hour or so, I've been transferring all of my files off of my laptop and onto my dads. Long story short, there's a bug in some software on my computer, and to get it fixed, we gotta wipe out the entire hardrive.

So, I mean, I could just erase all of my files, right? It would be less time consuming and hey, who cares about pictures like this

or this

Elijah...acting goofy. He felt the need to be a baby again, despite the fact that he'll be three in August. Is it because we were AWWing him? Or did he really need an excuse to take a nap? I'm going to go with the former...considering he's a cute little ham. ;-)

Okay, I care about pictures like this. That's why I took the time to go through and transfer alllllll of my files. Aren't you proud of me? No? Well, you should be. I need a little sympathy here! Come on now bloggie friend--where is my support group? Isn't that what this is??

Aspire - Celebrating Beauty. Living Vivid. Complete with Support Group.

Okay, getting a little silly here. I'm thinking it's the lateness...and a strong craving for something funny. One good thing about transferring these files is that it gives me an excuse to stay up and write a post. Hee hee...

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Okay, so you probably all remember the blog giveaway I just had. Based on the positive feedback, I thought, why not do another?

Soooo...I did...but not quite...

...you'll see tomorrow! ;-)

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Just as the title says, I'm TWEETING. I haven't put up one of those cute little buttons that says "Follow me!" or "Tweet me!" yet, but I will...as soon as I find one that's REALLY cute.

Until then...I'd like to give you all a nudge (more like a SHOVE) over to my twitter to click the follow button.

Oh? Did I say that on here? Yes, yes I did.

After all, follow me here, I'd love to have you follow me there. ;-)

LINK

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Lastly, I'm gonna give you another "nudge" over to my Momma's blog...she wrote a post today that I know you're gonna love.

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NOTE: I won't be updating about the FOUR till tomorrow night...because I'll get my computer back then, and it'll take me awhile to re-transfer all my files.

Wait. Re-transfer? 
MORE transferring?
Oh no....here we go again....