BLOG GIVEAWAY...... A PERFECT Christmas Gift for Girls!

Do you have girls?

If so, I've found the perfect Christmas gift!

They're cute.... they're inexpensive....

and they're character building!

They're the

Hearts 4 Hearts Girl Dolls



Each doll has a diary you can read

 on line. Most of the diaries include

prayers and show how God

moves to answer them.

Some only contain stories about how

the girl did something to help

improve the living conditions of herself,

her family or others.

But - the stories could be used to teach

Geography. Missions. Perseverance.

Religious Differences.

(The Christmas Celebrations are different in different cultures and religions)

And MORE. Use your imagination!

PLUS - a portion of the dolls

purchase price goes to help feed, clothe

and educate girls in the country of her origin.

(through World Vision)
And the dolls are not expensive at all.

For my girls, I am choosing the dolls

whose diaries I like best.

The dolls above all mention God

and honor God in their diaries.

 

I originally planned on getting one for

Christmas for the older girls,

but then decided I wanted

Brilyn and Olivia to have one, too.

They are really a little young, but

I'm not guaranteed another Christmas,

so I'll go ahead and give it to them now.

 

I am including with the doll a little

journal, so the girls can jot down

things they are thankful for, and a nice pen.

And a letter explaining why I chose this gift

and what makes it special.

 

I like the concept behind these dolls so

much that I'm offering one as a

Blog Give Away.

 

To enter follow this blog and comment on this post!

For an additional entries

comment on my blog daily. One comment

per post - each comment is an entry.

For a third entry, share this on facebook

and comment that you shared.
For a fourth entry share this blog post
on your own blog if you have one.

And for a fifth entry,

e-mail me requesting a letter to accompany

the doll when you give it to your own

daughter or grand daughter.

 

I'll put the entries in a jar and have a

grand kid draw a name on

September 30th

and announce the winner

on October 1st!

 

And just for clarification, I am not being

paid by Hearts 4 Hearts Girls

or World Vision to promote their dolls.

I simply feel led to share.
 I'm sure I'm not the only one interested
in giving a CHRIST-mas Gift that
encourages a little girl to
have a relationship with CHRIST!



Weaving A Web

I am totally no good at video,

but it is interesting to watch

Charlotte weave her web.

If you look closely you can see the

web coming out of her body.

Once it's out, she uses it to wrap

up her prey....

or to wrap up her sack lunch

as Gracie would say!

Meet Charlotte!

Meet Charlotte!

Charlotte is our pet garden spider.

She's a Wasp Spider.

She is not poisonous and wasp

spiders rarely bite.

 And they're fun to watch!

They're also very educational.

 Here is a close up view!

 Wasp Spiders normally make an egg

sac in August and Charlotte

has already made hers.

 These are two of Charlotte's friends!

What are they doing?

Looking for grasshoppers and bugs.

 Why? To feed Charlotte, of course!

Once they catch a grasshopper,

Grace picks it's back legs off so it can't

get away and we place it on the web.

Then Charlotte spins a web around

it and wraps it all up,

making a sack lunch! She'll come back

when she is hungry and gobble

it up. Charlotte has been in the garden

since May and the girls have become

quite fond of watching her.



At The River



Grandpa took the girls for a

Razor Ride

and where did they end up?

IN THE RIVER!

 And what are they doing?

 Catching FISH!

See?

Oh, Look! Olivia has one, too!



See?

 

And if you get a chance to ask

Olivia about her fish

she'll be happy to tell you,

"Me caught  a fish... ON MY OWN!"

Olivia is very independent and

loves doing things on her own.

 

I think she thinks she's as big as Grace!

Tea Party with Friends!

 

 After our Pool Party

we had a

TEA PARTY!

The girls had a great time!

(Pictured left to right - Grace, Kodi, Caelie, Kayli and Olivia)

We had delicious cookies and treats!

 

And BEAUTIFUL Cupcakes!

Kayli and Olivia loved the puppet show

provided by Kodi and Caelie!

The puppet show was

pretty cute!

This is Kodi - the talented Puppeteer!

And doesn't Olivia look sweet here?

She's such a delicate looking

little thing.

But - looks are deceiving. She's actually

a pretty tough and adventurous kid!

 

And I was so proud of Grace at our

little tea party.

We have been working hard on manners

and serving others before you serve yourself

is a REALLY difficult skill for little

ones to grasp.

Yet - Grace did it!

She also let others choose their

chair FIRST. And Kodi chose her

favorite chair. But - she did not try to

take it away. Then - Caelie chose her

second favorite chair. She did not try to

take it, either.

Then the little girls sat down and we

were all out of chairs.

Oh, no!

(We had only set places for 4 and Caelie dropped in and surprised us)

Where is Gracie supposed to sit?

I went upstairs and pulled another chair

from the studio!

But - I am very proud that Grace

was willing to give up her favorite

seat for a friend!

 

Art Party - Pool Party - Tea Party Time!

While Grace and Olivia were here,

we planned an Art Party,

Pool Party and Tea Party!

It was a combined party and a

full day of fun!

My friend Jacki brought her girls

over and we all had a great time!

 Look at Kayli concentrating

on her painting!

 Grace is pretty focused on her

painting, too!

 She plans to be an artist!

 Olivia is painting a

Monkey in a Tree!

(if you look closely, you can even tell what it is)

We painted first and then had

a pool party! The plan was for any

paint left on children to come off

during swim time.

After swimming we had a tea party

followed by more art!

We made cute foam critter puppets!

I didn't manage to snap many pictures

of the pool party, but I did get this one

of Kodi!

Doesn't she look like she's

having a blast?

I'll post the Tea Party Pictures tomorrow!

Grace & Olivia meet Asher!

Grace and Olivia were really

excited to meet their new cousin!

I think it was love at first sight.

Or actually, I think they

were already in love before

they even laid eyes on him!

 Grace and Asher!

Olivia and Asher!

 

Both girls were sweet, loving and gentle!

Having a baby cousin is probably going

to be lots of fun!

Big Sister Brilyn!

I am so proud of Brilyn!

She is an amazing Big Sister!

She hasn't has the slightest

hint of jealousy.

She's protective of her little brother.

And - she's been a trooper at

going to the potty

when she needs to.

Many children regress when

a younger sibling is born,

but Brilyn has been doing GREAT!

She loves her baby brother,

so much!

Can't you just see the love?

We are so blessed to have these

two in our lives and

to have them close by so

we can enjoy them often!



Asher

 

Asher has been nothing but

a blessing!

His name means

Blessed and Happy

and it fits him perfectly!

He's snuggly and sweet

and I think that is a blessing

in itself. We're really enjoying him!

And isn't he just about

the cutest thing you've ever seen?



A Little Tea Party Just For Brilyn!

 While her Momma was in the hospital

after having Asher, Brilyn needed

a little break.

 So, I brought her to my house for a

nap, a bath and a tea party.

(this gave Momma a chance to rest, too)

 But - since had been spending so much

time at the hospital, we had been eating

a lot of quick snacks.

So, I tried to make our tea party a

little bit healthy!

I opened a lunchable and arranged it on

a plate!

 I put fruit in the top portion of

our favorite server.

(This server belonged to my mother in law who passed away just before

Grace was born. Using it often keeps her memory

alive. She would have LOVED these tea parties)

 Brilyn  went for the cheese first!

She actually ate ALL of the cheese

and most of the meat.

She ate a good portion of fruit.

And she licked the frosting off a couple

of cupcakes!

I try to keep these ready made cupcakes

in my freezer at all times.

After all, you never know when

someone might want to party!

What Did Brilyn Find?

Look!

What is it?

What has Brilyn found in the

Butterfly Garden?

Brilyn loves little bugs and birds

and butterflies.

She actually loves just about

all living creatures!

And - THIS is what she found!

A cute little caterpillar!



I is for Ice Cream!

Before the girls last visit

I made several sets up tea party

snacks and put them in rubber maid

containers to have on hand.

We never got to these, but I thought

they were so cute I had to share.

I think they would be great little

snacks for preschool or kindergarten

when the children are learning

the Letter I.

To make the, you just make cake

balls. Then dip miniature ice cream

cones into candy melts and

stick a ball on each one.

Put it in the freezer to set.

Then dip the cake pop into the

candy melts to frost the cake.

Add sprinkles and

whatever toppings you'd like.

I added a little melted chocolate

and an M&M.



Tea for Three

 Grace wanted a candle lit

tea party, so I pulled out a couple

of candles.

(Now, I'm thinking I need new candles sticks)

 The girls put on their dresses and hats

and had their tea.

I don't think little girls ever

get tired of tea parties!

I wonder how much Asher

is going to enjoy

hanging out with these three?

Olivia at Gymnastics

 Olivia goes to gymnastics, too!

And - I am allowed in her

classroom. I can also use

flash photography!

But - for the most part I still

shot from a distance

because I didn't want to distract her.

 She's a climber!

Quite the little monkey!

 She crawls across these things on

her hands and feet.

And she glides around the room

on this.

Her teacher says she's the

best listener in the class.

She follows instructions.

And she has fun!

 



Grace at Gymnastics

 Grace is doing well

at gymnastics!

 She enjoys it so much!

 And she looks so cute out there!

 Adults are not allowed in the

gym, and no flash photography

is allowed, so I can't get

very good pictures.

I have to shoot through a window

from a distance.

But - you get the idea!

She's an adorable little gymnast,

don't you think?