We Have A Winner

Sweetheart drew the winner for the 2nd Anniversary of Pieces From Me. That winner is

DeNiece Barnes

Yeah DeNiece!!! I will e-mail you and get the details for your prize.

Thank you everyone for playing along!

Be Blessed,

Bren

Has It Been 2 Years??

It has been 2 years today that I posted my first time and Pieces From Me was born. In that 2 years, I have shared so much....more than I ever knew I would. Pieces of my life are on every page and I pray my grandchildren will someday look back at them and see the lives of the parents, grandparents, and great grand parents. It has been a fun and special 2 years. I have gotten to "know" so many wonderful people. I have to say my experience in blog land has been 100% positive. Some of my life shared has been happy....some difficult...some have been huge growing experiences.

I have shared my grandchildren.... My children....Holidays....
...and Holy Days.Home school....
And Homemaking....(you know since Pieces From Me was spotlighted on the Home Management Binder.Com website, over a year ago, I have had more traffic daily because of that...at least 1/3 of the hits everyday still come from that site. People want to get organized!)
New friendships have been the most wonderful part of blogging...you all know who you are.
You are all so generous and giving...blessing me and my family regularly....I have shared cooking disasters!!!
And cooking successes!! I love those!You watched me try my hand at gardening....and I am still trying!!Let's not forget all those Tackle It Tuesdays!!

Before:After:You shared our Anniversaries with us.And celebrated birthdays....
and a very special birth.....
I have even mourned the loss of several family members here. You mourned for me and I knew that.
You have waded through my Spiritual thoughts with me...some good, some needing to mature. Past memories have been told and retold.Along with new memories being made....And through this blog, I have been inspired by many of you in so many areas. One the biggest areas has been quilting. I started Pieces From Me as a quilting blog. It did not take long for it to become more than that, as I am a hand quilter, and you know how slow we are. Plus, I have LOTS to say! Still you have shared in the joy of finished projects, and encourage me in those that are still "in process".
To celebrate 2 years here, I want to have a giveaway. Please leave a comment on this post...yes, this post ONLY will be counted in the drawing...and I will announce the winner on June 19th. What? It is that easy? No, of course not....please, in your comment, tell me how you found Pieces From Me..if you remember..and what is your favorite topic here. That will get your name in twice. Also, if you are a follower, or become a follower (on my sidebar), I will give you a third chance. To get put in once, just leave a comment. Remember to leave your e-mail if you do not have a blog so I can contact you. I prefer you do not advertise this giveaway on your own blogs, as I like to honor my readers, (not your readers) with this giveaway.The prize...I think I will give you a choice. A $20 gift certificate to Amazon.com, or a hand quilted table runner in your choice of colors...you pick. I will not be AT ALL offended if you pick the gift card...some people can make a table runner themselves, and others just do not have a need for one. Just leave it in your comment which you would like.

Be Blessed,

Bren

Ta-Dah

Ta-Dah...that is what TJ said as the winner was pulled. Believe it or not there were over 300 entries, though most of you were entered 16 times each! Helped your odds!

Rachel picked the winner, and the winner is......DANI

Congratulations Dani!!! I will get your package together and mailed out right away! Incase you forgot what you won....

Remember the twist??? Yes, there is a twist. Well everyone here wanted to pick a winner, soooo, Kyle, Charlotte, Zachary and TJ all picked a name too.

Julie, Cat, SuBee, and Gudrun will all get a "special" prize picked especially for them. (I will make sure you get something better than a matchbox car!)

All you winners, please send me your mailing addresses. You can e-mail me at healingsense@comcast.net

Thank you EVERYONE for participating in my week long blogoversary celebration!!!

The Answers

You all did so well on the game, but some of you wanted me to list the answers. Here goes:

Day 1

My vacuum cleaners name is Hazel

Day 2

The bags were made by Rachel for her family's Christmas gifts.

TJ stands for Tyler James

Day 3

Charlotte's nicknames are Charlie or Gracie

The Masterpiece quilt is the "thing" I want my future generation to be able to grab when the trumpet calls

Day 4

Sherry influenced me to quilt.

Kyle lit the torch at the Special Olympics Games

Day 5

Zach's caterpillar eyebrows captivated me

Bud's real name is Kim (just like his father)

Day 6

The baby in the picture is my Dad

b. is NOT true. I have never broken a bone

Day 7

The prayer plaque behind my sink, has been in my kitchen my entire life

Joni sent the kids rattle snake tails

Day 8

TJ drew a penguin

Kyle made dirt cake for Christmas dinner

Be back SOON with the results!!!!

Celebration Day 8

I want to thank you all for coming to the celebration of "Pieces From Me". I have had such fun reading all your comments and writing your names countless times!! The drawing will be held tomorrow morning on the actual Blogoversary. I will post the winner sometime in the early afternoon. Stay tuned...there may be a twist!!

Here are your final questions! Good luck to you all!!!

1) TJ drew Grandma a picture of "what"???

2) What did Kyle make for Christmas dinner?

Celebration Day 7

Yesterday was a day of much sunshine mixed with lots of wind and stormy weather too. Look at those trees bowing! At the time I took this picture, there was a tornado just a town away. They also sighted a wall cloud. We had a down pour of rain after the wind and while the sun was shining! The weather has certainly been strange. I think we hit 90 today. I spent some time doing laundry. Remember those cute tea towels with the bird and "celebrate" embroideries on them?? THIS is what they look like out of the dryer.After a hot, starchy ironing, they look better than new. I am not a fan of ironing.I decided to give pie making another try and this time it was VICTORY! Apple pie is a no brainer, but at least it turned out good. Really, that crust recipe is wonderful!!!
Oh, and I wanted to show you Rachel's solution to "no clothes lines".Maybe a bit classier than my deck rail....

Are you ready for
Celebration Day 7???
Here goes....

1) What item has been in my kitchen my whole life?
(that would have to include my Mother's kitchen)


2) Who sent my children rattle snake tails?

You guys are getting so good at using that search box, maybe I should pull it out of there!! Just kidding! Tomorrow will be the last questions and the last chance to gain more entries. I am hand writing your names and putting them in the basket with each correct answer! The winner will be drawn on Monday. Remember, NONE of your guesses count unless you first comment on the Celebration post. So far that has been done. I am so excited about the people who have participated. I did not ask you to promote this drawing on your blogs, because I really want a "friend" to win the prizes. At this point anyone who is entered is considered a friend and I would be thrilled with any name drawn. I "know" all of you! Ok...Ready, Set, Search!!!

Celebration Day 6

That is about how it feels!!!!!

So....I heard the word "easy" more than once yesterday. I guess I am going to have to make things a little harder....Are you ready???

1) Who is this???

2) Which of the following is NOT true.

a. My nickname is Bunny.

b. I broke my arm on the school playground at 7.

c. I have a potty mouth.

d. I use to be an Avon Lady.

e. I am GREAT at reading a map.

Tough enough?? Remember your guesses don't count unless you have already commented on the first Celebration post. Only 2 more days of questions and then the BIG DRAW! Do you even remember the prizes??? You guys are all a blast to party with!

Life Lessons and Celebration Day 5

The above picture is my dream. Charlotte and I walking through a meadow, hand in hand, sharing our hearts and creating loving memories for her to take into adulthood.

The picture below is my reality.Let me explain. First, I want to clarify that is not a picture of Charlotte. It is a random picture off the net. What in the world is she doing??? She is sucking Redi-whip out of a can. Like always, I am getting ahead of myself.

I am the kind of person who has no trouble accepting constructive criticism. I am also the kind of person who has no trouble accepting a compliment. If you tell me you admire my quilting, I graciously accept the compliment. If you comment that my floors or sink are beautifully clean, I will smile on the inside and the out. The clean floors, shiny sink, or hand quilting do not define me though. There is, however, something that has been very difficult for me to accept. Since I started blogging and sharing our story of adoption and trauma, I have had SO many of you tell me how wonderful I am . How blessed my children are and how you are amazed at my willingness to do what I do. I get a lump in my throat when I read these comments. Not because I am being humble or choked up at the sweetness of the complement, but because I know it is not earned. I have made no secret of the fact that I struggle and continue to struggle daily in raising my daughter. Somedays I do it kicking and screaming all the way. I have failed more times than I have succeeded, and I wonder what Charlotte's opinion would be. Since blogging, my own opinion has changed. How? Through a life lesson I learned from another blogger. I have been reading Cheryl's blog Coppers Wife for a very long time. You all know how I feel about her wisdom. I "look" at her Dani and yearn for my Charlotte to possess a portion of the virtues this young lady has. Then I think about Corin, Dani's older sister, who is married, and raising a family of her own, and doing it with such honor and integrity. I have spilled many tears in prayer for my own daughter as I have such fear she will be unable to raise a family. The stress and fear I carry regarding this child of mine is a burden that has been almost unbearable. This was not a burden the Lord wanted me to bear, but one I took upon myself, none the less. It changed me, and not for the better. I lost my joy as a parent where this little girl was concerned. I woke up most mornings knowing the day would go sour as soon as Charlotte's feet hit the floor. I am not shining a very positive light on myself, I know. But it is truth. One day, all that changed. I had bought a can of redi-whip for a special dessert. I can not tell you why, but I was completely horrified when I went to use it and the can was sucked dry!!!! Charlotte had, in less than a few hours, snuck into the frig various times and emptied it. I guess it is a falsehood that you get high huffing redi-whip, cause she seemed fine. Now why this would shock me is baffling cause the girl has stolen, horded and gorged since day one. If you have read my Face of Trauma posts you know I "get it". It still felt like I was personally violated (against everything I know to be true). That evening, in an exchange of e-mails I shared the redi-whip fiasco with Cheryl. I got back a reply I had not expected. I can not remember exact wording, but I will tell you Cheryl and both her daughters laughed for days, sharing their own "sucking out of the redi-whip can" stories. Laughed?? What is so funny about that??? I stepped back and looked at it from outside my own self-pitying reality. OH MY GOSH!!! It was funny!!!

Then Cheryl shared a story about a mom and a daughter. At a potluck meal, the daughter was helping the mom clear up the food. She (the daughter) went to put the redi-whip back in the frig. The mom said, "WHAT are you doing?? You know better than that!! Bring that here!" The daughter brought the can over to her mom and gave her a full squirt of redi-whip right in the mouth and then took one herself. "NOW, you can put it away!"

While reading that e-mail, my heart melted. Poor Charlotte would never experience that kind of interaction with me if I continued in the same uptight thinking. I decided right there that whatever Charlotte's future was, is out of my control. Her future belongs to God and to herself. Her present, however, was, and is, within my reach. We still have issues, but I am constantly reminding myself to have a "redi-whip" mentality! And I just saw they are putting Cool Whip in a can!!! WOOHOO!

I have learned alot from so many of you and want to take this opportunity to thank you all. And thank you Cheryl, Corin and Dani for helping this uptight Mommy loosen up a little!!

Are we ready to party???

Celebration Day 5

1) What captivated me about Zachary?

(Zach picked this question. He loves it when I tell him the story of how he "captivated" me)

2) What is Bud's real name?

If you didn't know my family before, you sure do now!! Remember, you need to comment on the Celebration post for your answers to count.