My First Blog GIVEAWAY!!!!

Giveaway, Giveaway.... I am having my first ever blog giveaway!

So, its no secret that I love JunkPosse jewelry. I have blogged about Tracy and her necklaces a time or two before. :) She has offered again to help Josh and I raise some funds for our travel to Ethiopia. She is donating a percentage from the sales of several of her sweet Africa adoption necklaces to our travel. We are so grateful. SO grateful.

Here are a few of the necklaces she sells... (the giveaway is at the bottom of the post)

Also, If you order a necklace and mark "Bottomly baby" in the notes section, Tracy will include a free pair of earrings!

Africa in my heart found here

Hope for Children found here

Heart For Africa found here

Hands for Africa found here

GIVEAWAY!!!!

Tracy also just created this brand new necklace and it is the big GIVEAWAY!

Its the Ethiopian Angel Wing necklace. ($80 value)

Artistic Tracy noticed that the country of Ethiopia is shaped like a wing... so she created this cute necklace!

Do you like it? Do you know someone who might like it? Then ENTER!

Here's how!

1. You have to blog (write a blog post on your blog about this blog post OR about one or all of the above necklaces!) or facebook (on your facebook page about either this post, or one or all of the above necklaces!)

2. Leave me a comment that you did so.

Shazam! your entered! :)

(if you blog AND facebook about it, you will be entered twice...just be sure to tell me)

Official drawing will take place Saturday, November 21st- 6pm.

I'm nervous. What if no one enters my giveaway?

Please enter my first blog giveaway. :)

just like that, #2.

Ummm. We are now #2 on the unofficial list. And, sadly the family on the unofficial list ahead of us is a family with no blog, so I can't stalk them to see when they get their referral! H & M family, who are you? I need to know. I also need to be the first person you text, email, or call upon receiving your referral. (I joke)

But seriously. #2. unofficial list.

numero 3.

November 28th marks 7 months of waiting for our referral for our baby girl, who will most likely be named Olive. (note Olive, the Other Reindeer book on mantel... thanks Snow family for the sweet gift!)

But the true news here is that we have somehow managed to creep up to #3 on the unofficial waitlist! Wait, what? Can we seriously handle 2 children? :)

It seems we may be in the home stretch of the "wait for referral" stage!

Happy Monkey.

Silas and I went to see Curious George Live last week with our friends Bekah and Jett. Josh and I took Silas to Elmo Live about a year ago. It was not fun... he didn't care and we left at intermission. I was hoping for a better experience this time around. Silas LOVES Curious George. Silas calls Curious George a "happy monkey" :)

The boys were surprisingly excited over the poster of Curious Geroge Live on our way into see him. :)

Bekah and Jett.

Silas and me.

The show starts..... I bust out the cotton candy that I bought at Wal-Mart for 99 cents. (They sell cotton candy at the show for about $6. Suckers, I showed them! Thanks Sherry for the idea) This was Silas' first experience with Cotton Candy... no surprise he liked it.:)

Silas showin Curious George some love.

Annnnnd, I got him a toy. All the other kids were getting one... I gave in.

In conclusion, we made it to the end of the 90 minute show. But, Silas was not interested in the second half. I kept stuffing his face with M&M's and Cotton Candy. :)

White Santa.

This afternoon I got out our Christmas decor, put the tree up, and hung some garland. :) I like to decorate for Christmas early (usually November 1st) ... Its so fun to have Christmas lights on and get in the Holiday spirit. :) Today, as I unwrapped decorations I realized how many white santas and white nativity scenes I have. I need some racially diverse Christmas decor!

Here are a few of my jolly white St. Nicks :

And white nativity scene:

I am on the hunt for some cute brown/black Santas and Nativity scenes. Any suggestions of where to search?

Here is my lone racially diverse Christmas decoration. A gift from my friend Cindy while we were in the process of adopting Silas. :)

First Gift. Today. Water!

First Gift! Everyone give $10 TODAY!

Every day, 4500 mothers bury their children due to contaminated water. They are forced to sustain their families with a diabolical liquid that contains both life and death. This lack of clean water is the leading cause of death in underdeveloped nations. And it just doesn't have to be!

So as we gear up to scurry through department stores and browse endless catalogs in search of new jeans, Tonka Trucks, gadgets and dolls....we are pausing. We are pausing. And today, November 13th, we are buying water. Clean, life-saving water.

$10 will provide one person in Africa clean water for 10 years. It will literally change and possibly save someone's life. A mother. A child. A brother. A grandfather.

We are rallying together for a cause. Clean water. One day. $10. Asking everyone to let this be their first gift. Let water, let life be their first gift of the season.

Click here to be directed to the secure donation site of the highly recognized, non-profit, charity: water (then click Yellow Donate Button) All donations are tax deductible, and 100% of your donation will go to clean water solutions in West Africa.

Fail.

I missed two days. I fail.

My excuse: I went to Kansas City with some friends for the

weekend... just girls, no kiddies or husbands. Much fun was had.

(see, fun. we got cupcakes)

detox.

Silas T. is on TV/Movie Detox. And our house is happier.

Instead of movies, Silas is doing more of this, which is nice.

Water

I've talked about Jody Landers before... Sweet Jody and the Water For Christmas team. Last year you may remember $10 Fridays leading up to Christmas. Water For Christmas was all about getting people to give $10 every Friday to build wells in Africa with charity: water. (and last year over $100,000 was raised!)

Well, this year Water For Christmas is doing it once.

$10

24 hours.

November 13th.

I can't wait to see what is raised on this 1 day...

Jody is currently in Liberia with charity: water seeing first hand all the amazing things that charity: water is doing to get clean water to people without. Check her.

Water For Christmas also has some great things for sale on their site.... ALL the profits go towards water!

They also have this here site on ETSY selling cute things... Again, ALL the profits go to water!

Crisis Averted.

I am a girl who can most often be seen wearing jeans. I love jeans. But, this fall season I have become super edgy. I have gotten into the skinny black pants/leggings. SO edgy, right? :) I know, its not edgy. I am kidding.

Anyway, I was sort of loving wearing my black legging/pants with boots... either my grey sweater boots, or brown sweater boots, or brown leather boots.

Then earlier this week I saw that Oprah was going to be on how your shoes and accessories can make you look slimmer. I am a sucker for a show on how to look slimmer, so I recorded it and watched parts of it. Oprah and her team of stylists talk about how your shoes/boots MUST match the pair of leggings you have on. She stressed this statement at least 3 times.

I got a complex and started thinking I was so 2001 with my brown shoes/black leggings combo. So, I went to a styling professional... Julie Beeler. :) Julie Beeler knows her fashion. She disagreed with Ms. Winfrey and now I am back to loving wearing brown shoes with my black leggings. My boot crisis was averted.

Day 4... Check.

The Chandelier.

Before we moved into our first house we bought this chandelier at an antique store... We put it in our bedroom and loved it. But, we could not deny that we missed the breeze of the not-as-cute-but-functional ceiling fan.

We took the chandelier with us when we moved and I knew I wanted to put it in our girls bedroom. During the move, one of the sockets broke. So I took it to a chandelier repair place. Simple enough. They looked at it, suggested I replace a few other old things and told me the price per each replacement piece. A few days later I went to get it. I thought I knew what I would be paying.... But, I was mistaken. Apparently the price I was told initially did not include the cost of labor. Yikes....labor is a lot!

(the chandelier in our girls future bedroom)

After I reluctantly told Josh what the cost to repair the chandelier was, we both decided that it is our first family heirloom to pass on. :)

(Her empty, not yet decorated bedroom)

Silas and baby girl, we may not have large trust funds for you to inherit, but you can fight over who gets the antique chandelier.

Your Welcome. :)

Did I just do an entire blog post on a chandelier? Yes, yes I did. 30 posts folks, 30 posts.

I Make The World Better

Uh oh.. Its only day 2 of this challenge and I am already struggling. I need to get it together. :)

This post has been a post in waiting.... I Make The World Better is a sweet sweet little children's book that was made and published by Danielle and Tommy.

The picture book is written in English and Amharic... And it is full of sweet Ethiopian faces (Including Silas T) :)

This is a picture of Silas' page... He is the "I recycle" poster child.... which is pretty ironic actually. We aren't the greenest family on the block... we have really good intentions though. And do recycle, just not everything we should. :)

All the proceeds of this book go to water charities. You can purchase the book and read more about their organization, I Heart Adoption, by clicking here.

ROOOOOAAR!

I saw this at Stacies, and I decided to do it. You should too. It will be fun, I think. This is a perfect way for all us washed up bloggers to get back into posting. :)

30 posts in 30 days.

This year I got Silas a lion halloween costume. I think he is a pretty cute little lion. Josh thinks I got him a baby-ish costume... he actually called it a "wussy lion" costume. I might baby Silas a little, but he's my BABY. :)

We did Chili dinner, fun drinks, delicious apple crisp, and trick or treating with some friends. It was really fun!

CUTE boys... Grey, Eli, Atticus, and Silas T.

Me and my lion.

ROAR.

See you tomorrow. Here. Again. :)

Accessorize For Africa

Do you live in Central Oklahoma? If yes, then you should come....

Christmas is around the corner! Come with your Christmas lists and shop Ugandan Paper Bead necklaces and earrings, homemade aprons, Sseko Shoes made in Uganda, Africa notecards, and Christmas gift tags!

If you are interested in coming, let me know and I will email you the location.

Bring friends!!!!!

*much thanks to Emery for making the cute invite!:)

HopeMongers

HopeMongers is LIVE today! Hopemongers is a micro giving organization created by some of our friends Sam & Wendi Henry. The Henry's also happen to be co-founders of Red Letters Campaign.

Check out the website... check out ALL the amazing projects you can participate in by donating $10 to. The projects are completed through organizations like Amazima (Katie Davis), Living Water International, Children's HopeChest, and Agathos. Some really great projects like

hiring teachers in Rapha, Uganda

Garden seeds and supplies in Bukaya, Uganda

October Medical Care in Kamuda, Uganda

a well in Bambela, India

vitamins for undernourished chidlren in Soroti, Uganda

a well in Bayaha, Haiti

We are participating in providing October School Lunches to Rapha, Uganda

256 children in the Rapha Community attend Rapha Primary School. These children live in abject poverty and are not able to provide for their school lunches. For this reason, the children must sit on the hill waiting while other children eat lunch each day. Providing for this school lunch program will enable Rapha Primary School to feed EVERY child who attends school a nutritious lunch. For many, this will be the only meal they eat that day.

and Land for a Community Garden in Bukaya, Uganda

Amazima (Katie Davis) desires to provide the children in our education program an opportunity to learn to garden and farm, a skill that will be useful for the rest of their lives. Fortunately, the children’s two longest holidays are during crop season. The children would be able to come work and learn during the day and once crops grew, take them home to their families. Land - $1,000; Seeds, hoes, shovels - $1,000; People served - 500 children

and a Hiring A School Counselor in Otuboi, Uganda

Otuboi Secondary School is a boarding school for teens, many of whom are finding freedom and security here after years of running from the LRA. After years of abject poverty, abuse, fleeing the LRA and at many times suffering as abducted child soldiers, these children need not only an education but hope and healing. YOU can provide that through a counselor to help them work through these issues and find freedom.

Find a Project. Give $10. See the Impact.

HopeMongers

P.P.P.

Silas' 1st Fall.

Silas' 2nd Fall.

His 3rd Fall... he is getting so big!

We went to Parkhurst Pumpkin Patch and loved it. It is out in the country and was actually quite pretty, which in my opinion is hard for Oklahoma to be... at least Central Oklahoma. No offense Okies.

How many Bottomly's does it take to figure out how to open the gate? We were all three stumped as to how to get into the petting zoo. We struggled with the gate for quite a while. Then we pushed on the gate and it opened. Technology.

Oink Oink.

Neigh. Neigh.

hop. hop.

I love Silas.

Farmer Silas.

Cutest farmer I have ever seen.

oh boys.

Us- Fall 2009.

(When does the day come when you ask your child to look at the camera and smile and they actually do it... looking forward to that day)

And, she will (hopefully) be with us next Fall!

"School" pictures

Silas started mothers day out this year... he goes two days a week and I L-O-V-E it. It is a win-win... Its good for him on many levels and it is great for me, also on many levels. :) (mothers day out programs are everywhere here and very normal. I don't think they are everywhere though... for example, my homeland Iowa. Dear Iowa, you should have mothers day out programs.)

At "school", they take Fall pictures. I had pretty low expectations for the pictures, but did order the cheapest thing on the form, a picture magnet, for memory's sake.

I actually just swiped these pictures off the picture takers website. Is that illegal? I mean... they are grainy, and it's not like I am going to go make copies of them or anything. So, please don't call the picture police on me.

It's a first in Silas' life..... His first "school"-ish pictures.

*my only request of his teacher, Ms. Chrissy, was that Silas' collar be up. I like his little collar popped.

I think they are funny, but that is possibly just because I am his mama.

Sseko

Have you seen these shoes? They are by Sseko Designs. My friend Gina emailed me about them and they are cute AND profit Ugandan women!

Here's a bit of their story:

The Ugandan school system is designed with a nine month gap between secondary school and university. These nine months are intended to allow time for students to earn money for tuition before continuing on to university. However, in an impoverished and male dominated society, many of these young women struggle to find fair work during this time.

Sseko Designs hires recent secondary school graduates for this nine month period to live and work together, while earning money that will go directly towards their university education. These women will not make sandals forever. They will go on to be doctors, lawyers, politicians, writers and teachers that will bring change and unification to a country divided and ravished by a 22 year-long war.

Sseko Designs is a for-profit enterprise that recognizes the power of business and responsible consumerism to support sustainable economic development, which in turn affects a country's educational, justice, and health care systems. The goal of Sseko Designs is two-fold: provide university tuition for these promising young women through a sustainable monthly income, while also contributing to the overall economic development of Uganda.

Although consumerism makes many empty promises, responsible and proactive consumerism has the ability to change lives. Like the lives of Mercy, Mary and Rebbecca.

Every sandal has a story. This story has only just begun, but with your help, it will be a story of hope, success and change

The shoes come in solids and pattern and look really cute. Read more about Sseko Designs on their website... there is more about their story, the women that are benefiting from the sales of the shoes right now, and their blog. Check it by clicking here.

addendum: the straps are all interchangeable! Even better!

Yellow & Pink.

I am slowly starting to think about Olive's room. It feels a little different the second time around. Silas' nursery was such a big deal to me, and I am feeling less concern about Olive's. Sorry Olive. I do want it to be sweet though. A sweet girly room.

I currently love this bedding. I have never before thought I would choose the color yellow. But I love this pattern. It feels a little 60's vintage to me. Love. (minus the elephant pillow)

I really want to make this little diddy. Isn't it cute? I actually planned to make it tonight via this tutorial. I went to Hobby Lobby to buy all the supplies earlier today. But, there was one thing I needed that I couldn't find. I asked a worker to help me and she was not helpful. Silas was with me and was getting antsy. So, we left.

I also love this look. Easy and cute.

And I love this print.

and this one.

I find myself spending more and more time on crafty blogs and websites these days... I love Ohdeedoh. Does anyone have any crafty blogs or sites you love that I need to know about? :)

4.

4 months down! (actually almost 4 and a half) Yee haw!

Sadly, thats all I have to blog about right now.

Buuuut, Kebebtsehay, Moses, and Children's Home Ethiopia sponsors... news of our sponsor communities first ever orphanage trip to Ethiopia is coming SOON!