Ornament Swap/Birthday Celebration

I am participating in "The Enchanted Forest" Ornament Swap! It's hosted by Yarni Gras! over at Yarnigras Swapper Spot. Signups close on October 31st, so if you think you might want to join in, hurry here to check it out!

We had a nice birthday celebration for Miss B and Charlie. Sunday afternoon we took them to our local mall and let them choose their own gifts from their favorite stores. Then we took them to dinner.

Tuesday morning they showed up wearing these sweaters which were chosen at different stores and donned that morning without prior agreement. We never realized that they were doing the "twin thing!" When they were little, I didn't dress them in identical outfits but in things similar to what you see in the picture that follows. Up until now, I haven't realized how much bigger than Miss B that young man is getting to be!

Then yesterday, on their actual birthday, they exchanged the gifts they'd chosen for each other. It was so sweet to me how each of them thought about & chose (with their own money, no less) something special that they knew would be appreciated. For dinner last night, I fixed something that Miss B especially likes and made a caramel apple cheesecake that Charlie requested. It was quick though, so that we could do our normal Wednesday night stuff (youth group, nursery, choir, etc...).

I'll leave you with a picture of the cheesecake....Enjoy!

Pay It Forward

Amy over at Obsessive Creative Disorder is hosting a Pay it Forward event. Following are the rules, copied straight from her blog:

"Who doesn't love new, beautiful, unique handmade items? How about if you could get that new, beautiful, unique handmade item for free? How about if you then shared your talents with others? Now I know that last one sometimes makes people nervous...but I know there are enough of you out there that are up to the challenge. So please, read on and leave a comment. For all bloggers who leave a comment with blog address or email on this post and commit to do the same pay-it-forward on their blogs I will do the following:
1. I make no guarantees that you will like what I send you. But you may be pleasantly surprised.
2. What I send will be made just for you, with love, by my own hands. You'd be surprised how much of our personalities come through online.
3. I will complete all gifts this year - 2009 (scary I know!).
4. I will not give you any clue what it’s going to be. It will be something made in the real world, that you can touch and feel, and not something cyber.
5. I reserve the right to do something strange. It may be weird or beautiful. Or it may be monstrous and annoying. If you find it truly horrendous, just let me know. Perhaps you'll send it forward to someone who will absolutely love it.
6. In return, all you need to do is post this text on your blog and make 5 things for the first 5 to respond to your blog post (one for each).
7. Send your mailing address - after I contact you to confirm. I am willing to post overseas (I am in the US)."

So that's it. Leave me a comment and, if you are one of the first five, I will send you a gift handmade by me just for you. In return, you must link to Amy's blog (and to mine), post the original rules, and agree to send a handmade gift to the first 5 people who comment on your post.

Sounds easy, doesn't it? And fun? My favorite rule is #5 which (paraphrased) says "If you don't like it, I'm okay with that. Give it to someone else who will either abhor it also or could very well have worse taste than you and absolutely love it!"

Game on!
Leslie

Gift Exchange!

I am participating in my very first gift exchange and while I'm a little nervous about it, I'm also excited! I've been seeing these swaps/exchanges every so often while surfing my favorite blogs and each time I wonder how to be a part of one. So I'm thrilled to be "in" on the ground floor. To learn more about this particular exchange just click the button on my sidebar! I'm looking forward to putting some goodies together and meeting my receiver. Thank you Alexis of My Mama Made It for hosting this exchange!

Leslie