Forty-one. Thirty-nine.

I thought they were so old.

What did I know?

When my husband smiles, his eyes crinkle. I see his father.

I have my mother’s hands.

Both our parents inching towards their golden anniversary. Fifty years.

It’s a mantle we wear proudly.

He still closes the door behind me in the closet and kisses my neck.

But his socks are still on the floor.

I love that guy anyway.

He sips coffee, tea for me. We write love notes. We grow old together.

For the Mr & Mrs in  your life, DaySpring is giving away FIVE sets of the following to FIVE of my readers today:

[Each set includes: Mr. & Mrs. Mugs, Mr. & Mrs. Memo Pads, I Love You With All My Heart-Sticky Note Set, Mr. Love Notes]

Leave an answer to this question as your entry: How long have you been a Mr & Mrs? 

This giveaway will end on Thursday.

Old Married People {Giveaway} is a post from: We are THAT Family

I  discovered the meaning of troubleshooting the other day.

For hours, I had been knee-deep in printer cords and computer cables, battling a broken modem and a customer service rep, all while trying to print 500 labels with an offline printer.

I was in trouble and I wanted to shoot something.

I’ll be honest: I don’t handle moments like these well. I get frustrated, irritable and whiny.

That’s about the time my  husband walked thru the door. He took one look at the mess (me, not the technology) and went to work.

In less the thirty minutes, he had our Internet back up and everything working perfectly. When he handed me the neat pile of printed labels, I hugged him deeply.

I’m not gonna lie: I was very attracted to him.

He came in from work exhausted from a long day. But he served me because he loves me. It was the single most sexiest moment of the week.

And I simply returned the favor by telling him so. Respecting our hubbies enough to tell them when they bless us is only gonna make him want to love you more.

Today, in honor of Love & Respect, one winner will receive a Union28 Valentine’s package that includes:

• Women’s “I Respect My Husband” Tee (Fitted or Non-fitted Short Sleeve or Fitted Long Sleeve) pictured above
• Men’s “I Love My Wife” Tee (V-neck or Crew Neck)
• 4-pack of “You Rock” Love Notes (blank inside)

Union28 would also like to give a Valentine’s gift to Mercy House: Union28 will give 10% of the sales from all orders received from the WeAreThatFamily community between Thursday, FEB 2 & Saturday, FEB 8^th – simply mention “Mercy House” in the comments area during checkout.

To be entered, tell me how you show your spouse love and/or respect.

Get 15% off your order today with this coupon code: U28TFK15

P.S. what’s your favorite shirt??

UPDATED with WINNER – Congratulations to Shaunta (comment 77)

I Respect Him, He Loves Me {Giveaway} is a post from: We are THAT Family

Psst: Hey you, yes, you:

{Whispering in your ear}  Valentine’s is only 21 days away.

How did that happen exactly? Wasn’t it just Thanksgiving?

I’m going to make it easy for you:

And I ♥ this brand new design:

See? That wasn’t so hard was it?

The Vintage Pearl is my exclusive silver jewelry recommendation. I love the lady behind the business and I love their stellar works of art.

Today, my favorite jewelry shop is giving away TWO $50 gift certificates!

Please tell me what you’d love to give or receive in the comments as your entry.

This giveaway will close on Thursday.

I He♥rt You {Giveaway} is a post from: We are THAT Family

Some beautiful and hard things are happening at Mercy House.

One of our girls left with her baby. We are bringing in several new pregnant girls. Sadness and joy.

The hard times make the beautiful more beautiful, don’t you think?

My home church is working to partner with a Compassion church in Nairobi, Kenya. My pastor is there this week and visited our girls yesterday. My heart lives in that house!

Our girls are being transformed by Christ and it’s beautiful to watch!

We are so proud of the artisans they are becoming, too and we are thrilled to show you our first video:

The Mercy Shop is restocked with beautiful items. Please consider shopping mercy and give a gift that gives twice!

Stay tuned for details about our {Mercy} Home Party Division that is launching in the next few months!

We are thrilled to bring the party to you. We will have two divisions:

• Real Life Parties where you play the hostess and receive a Party Box with the above DVD, invitations, brochures and product to share with your guests
• Virtual Parties for your social media life (blog, Facebook, Twitter)

Today, we’re are giving away TWO SETS of our brand new barrel necklace with matching bracelet, earrings and handmade zipper pouch (our girls can sew now!) to TWO WINNERS. Some of these items aren’t even available in our store!

Value per set: $40

If you’d like to be entered, please watch our video above and leave a comment with your thoughts on it!

This giveaway ends Thursday.

Mercy House {Video} & {Giveaway} is a post from: We are THAT Family

My home is filled with art.

But I’m hardly a collector of rare and expensive art. I only have one criteria:

Art hanging in my home must be meaningful.

Some of it is handmade, some of it is store-bought, but every piece means something to me.

When I walk by, I want to be Inspired. Reminded. Encouraged.

I want my home to be a sanctuary of peace and inspiration.

That’s why I love Show Off Arts! They show Him off:

Today, this beautiful company is giving this popular FAITH, HOPE, LOVE set to one very blessed reader!

Visit their online store and tell me what piece of art inspires you. Leave a comment on this post to be entered.

This giveaway ends on Thursday.

Show Off Arts {Giveaway} is a post from: We are THAT Family

UPDATE: Congratulations to Megan {{Millions of Miles}}! Comment #12 has randomly been selected as the winner of this giveaway.

—–

I love it when I can use my blog for good.

It’s appropriate since that’s our word, too. Randy is taking his years of experience as a graphic and web designer and launching his own business to help support ministries and non profits with design, as well as regular people who are trying to do good in the world.

“My goal is to come alongside my clients and truly understand their needs so that i can provide them with a clean, useful, and personal product.  design is my way of investing into ministry and hopefully making a difference,” -Randy Doleman, DC.

Today, Doleman Creative is offering

- 3, one-hour consultation settings in which we will discuss mission, goals, branding, needs, and promotion

- custom website design or redesign of existing website (hosting & domain fees not included in giveaway)-$1000.00 value

Pin It
Download Faith Printable

Doleman Creative {Giveaway} Plus a Freebie! is a post from: We are THAT Family

I made my first Snapfish photo book! Your suggestions were amazing and I took your overwhelming advice and made a book about Mercy House.

I love the way it turned out and I can’t believe I was so intimidated to try it. It was easy and took just a couple of hours from start to finish.

I was simply amazed at how user-friendly the tools are.  Snapfish’s new photo book enhancements make it easy so you don’t need to worry about a long process. They also have a new feature that designs the book for you. I decided to try it on my own since I wanted the book to be chronological.

It starts with my first trip to Africa, the day Maureen and I met. And ends with a picture of all our rescued Mercy House girls and their three (so far) babies!

I cannot wait to send a copy of the photo book to Maureen in January with some bags we have going over to Kenya. I’m also going to keep a copy for our Mercy House table at events and I loved the idea of using the book as fundraiser… Y’all are so smart.

Here’s a peek (these are screenshots from my book that’s being printed right now):

The day we met in Kenya, Africa: March 10, 20110:

Less than a year later, our dream becomes a reality (with fundraising in America and a full staff, beautiful home and vehicle in Kenya):

Summer 2011: We spent life-changing time in Africa with our staff there:

The best part of the story: our five pregnant girls who needed to be rescued:

The story is just beginning….

Whether or not this book wins the Snapfish contest, this social media love story in pictures is priceless.

Disclosure: I am being compensated by Snapfish for my participation in the  ”Your Creative Lens on Life” Holiday Campaign.

The House That Mercy Built {My Snapfish Photo Book} is a post from: We are THAT Family

I sort of have this thing about clean floors.

And when the days of my life (and work) get chaotic and feel out of control, I take it out on my floors.

Yes, I’m a compulsive sweeper slash vacuum cleaner user.

I may have Mount St. Laundry in the background and 429 things on my to do list, but I always start with my floors. It makes me feel better.

You’d think with this compulsion gift, I’d have a really top dollar vacuum cleaner. No. We usually just replace our cheap, worn-out one with a mediocre one every year or two.

Y’all: my floor cleaning dreams have come true. When Oreck asked if they could send me their newly released Magnesium (top of the line vacuum) to try and keep, I might have cried a little. I might have also spread dirt on the floor in eager anticipation. Oh wait, I have a hubby, three kids, a dog, cat, two half-alive hamsters and a fruit fly infestation, I don’t have to add “make house dirty” to my list.

I was grocery shopping when the Oreck Magnesium arrived. My hubby took it out of the box, assembled it in a few seconds and put it next to the Christmas tree. I think that’s called Brownie Points.

!!!!!! I call it love.

I might never stop vacuuming.

Here are my favorite things about the Oreck Magnesium Vacuum:

• It’s incredibly light-weight (a very good thing for my neck).
• It’s feels like it’s self-propelled. Seriously.
• It sweeps up floors and carpet with two speeds.
• It’s small, sleek and sexy. (Yes, I used the “s” word).
• The swivel head reaches the small village of dust bunnies that live behind furniture.
• The cord is really long and I only have to unplug once on both floors of my house.
• And probably my favorite part?? It’s so easy to use, even a child can do it. And does [insert evil laugh here].

Example:

And the best part? Oreck is giving their amazing Magnesium Vacuum to one lucky reader today! Value: $499.99

Introducing the lightest, full-powered upright in America. With its extremely strong, durable magnesium frame, the Magnesium™ packs all the power you expect from an Oreck vacuum — so much power it feels like it’s self-propelled on most surfaces. The two speed Quickswitch™ on the back of the vacuum enables you to move smoothly across all floor types using appropriate power levels: high for carpets and low for hardwoods and tile. It’s even gentle enough for fine Oriental and Persian rugs. Additionally, the large high-performance rear wheels with cylindrical wheel bearings give the Magnesium maneuverability, making it easy to push through high-pile carpet. Best of all, it lays virtually flat for easy cleaning under furniture.

To enter: Please visit Oreck.com and come back here to tell me one thing you learned about the Magnesium vacuum.

For an additional entry, you can  tweet that you’d like to win the @oreck vacuum that @wearethatfamily is giving away.

The giveaway winner must be a resident of the U.S. 48 contiguous states.

Please note: Oreck Corporation provided the prize for the sweepstakes but is not the sponsor of the sweepstakes.

A Girl’s Work is Never Done {Amazing Giveaway} is a post from: We are THAT Family

He was on his way home from work.

I was stirring soup in the pot, holding the phone between neck and shoulder, stepping over my youngest and her “spy doll center” under my feet.

You know the normal mom stuff.

We were talking about nothing and everything. Not a day goes by that he doesn’t call me. Sometimes we just enjoy the silence on the other end. Sometimes the call is about connecting, not communicating. But not in a gross way. We just like each other. A lot.

He asked me to hold. And then I heard the muffled, “here you go, I have an extra bottle of water. Oh, wait. I also have a blanket in my car. Your welcome. Stay warm.”

And then he was back to me, as if nothing happened.

“What was that about?” I asked.

“Oh, nothing. I just saw a homeless person and remembered I had that blanket from the park in the trunk. I hope it okay. It’s about to get cold,” he said guiltily.

He sees a need, meets it, and then pushes it off like it was nothing.

He doesn’t give to be seen. He doesn’t tell of his generosity. He does it because that’s the kind of man I married.

We’ve been together a long time. We know each other very well.

And yet, he surprises me every day, inspires me to live for others and challenges me to do things that go unnoticed.

I’m a better woman, mother, wife because of him.

And that’s why I own enough of these for almost every day of the week. I want the world to know that I love my husband. I want people to know he rocks.

I want them to know the kind of man I married.

Today, Union28 wants you to proclaim your love for your spouse. They are giving away TWO of these cute long sleeve shirts!

Tell me why your hubby (or wife) rocks and what shirt you’d proudly wear!

This giveaway ends Thursday.

The Kind of Man I Married {Giveaway} is a post from: We are THAT Family

I sort of fell off the buying wagon with the busy year we’ve had.

This week when I got out some Christmas decorations, I opened the container. I was happy to see some holiday hand towels that would make nice teacher gifts. But other than that? It was empty.

Y’all: I have to Christmas shop now.

Good thing there’s a store in my garage. Ha!

This just reminded me that it’s good to put thought into saving, planning ahead and being intentional with buying. It not only saves money, it saves time.

I thought your comments on the post about the American Express Blue Cash Card were very interesting. It was good to know I was in the grocery shopping ballpark with other families like mine.

And now for the winner of the : I’m happy to announce that random tweeter:

UPDATED: Since the first winner never responded, here’s another random winner: Jessie C who, tweeted: http://twitter.com/#!/tcarolinep/status/138882571550466048

Cash Back {Winner} is a post from: We are THAT Family