It's that time of year

I just love this time of year! I have many fond Christmas memories from my childhood and I never knew how much it would mean to me to begin to build memories like those with my own family. I feel especially blessed this year to have Bryce to share the season with. And this year we're beginning a holiday tradition of opening our home for Christmas weekend to ALL of our friends and family. I'm so looking forward to a house full of family, friends, food and laughter - what more can you ask for for Christmas?!

One of my fondest Christmas memories from childhood is our annual trip out to Elgin, TX to the Elgin Christmas Tree Farm. This year, on our way home from a great Thanksgiving trip to Louisiana and then Houston, we made our little family's first annual trip to the very same farm from my childhood. So much of it was just as I remembered, from the hay rides to the hot chocolate and eventually, after much searching, walking and deliberating, to the discovery of the "perfect" tree.

We opted to carry Bryce (poor decision?) so he could be a part of the action. He really seemed to appreciate it, despite the wind and chill, as you can see here.

And after a long, long hunt - we finally found it!

And so Caleb went right to working cutting it down for us.

And Bryce and I snapped a quick picture with our tree before Caleb hauled it back to the farm entrance so they could shake out the loose needles, bag it and measure it. At 8' 6" it fits perfectly in our living room and it may be a little crooked and have a couple bare spots but the memory is just perfect.

So now the endeavor to get the tree decorated, the outside lights up and the indoors festively adorned has begun. I'm determined to take it slow and enjoy every second.

In the meantime, I also had the opportunity to get our Christmas cards ordered today. We ordered them from shutterfly, who have some great designs at pretty reasonable prices. I can't wait for them to arrive - not only so I can turn them around and get them right back out - but so I can see them too! Here's a sneak preview:

With Love Chartreuse Christmas 5x7 folded card

Make a statement with custom Christmas cards at Shutterfly.

View the entire collection of cards.

I am forever indebted to Candi (Candi Coated Photography) for the adorable pictures on the cards. She did an amazing job of capturing our family despite unruly wind and a cast of clowns. If Candi hasn't taken a picture of you and your family yet you're missing an opportunity to capture a moment in time perfectly. You can check out Candi Coated Photography on Facebook too! Thank you, Miss Candi - we love you!!

The Amazing Bryce-anator!

We are thrilled to announce that Bryce won the Preemie Power Photo Contest today from Hand to Hold!! I'm not even completely sure what all he won but here he is at the event in his new cape flying above his bounty of loot!

Bryce was such a good boy! He met his first clown and got his first balloon animal, a courageous orange lion. He also met lots of other preemies who were cute and so amazing - little babies who've been through more in their short lives than most people will ever have to endure. I'm grateful for this wonderful organization which will provide Bryce a community of others he can relate to as he grows up and finds his way in the world.

Thanks again for all of your support and I'll be sure to tell you all about his many prizes once we've had a chance to go through them ourselves.
Sent on the Sprint® Now Network from my BlackBerry®

Oh the Anticipation!

Today is the day we find out how Bryce fared in the Preemie Power Photo Contest. No matter what the celebrity judges think I know Bryce is, and always will be, our super hero!

Don't forget that November is National Prematurity Awareness Month. Which is why Hand to Hold is hosting the Preemie Power Photo Contest. The idea is that we can help raise awareness about prematurity by celebrating some of our local preemies, our "preemie superheros."

Today is the Preemie Power Event which is celebration of Hand to Hold's first birthday, a family friendly fall festival and where we'll learn the winner of the photo contest.

Thanks to all of you who support us by keeping up with the blog, sending us sweet comments, voting and spreading the word about prematurity. I can't imagine where we'd be without all of the support of our friends, family and friends of friends, family of friends, friends of....well, you get my point.

Check back later today for the final results and have a wonderful Sunday!

Final Plea

Okay, so today is the last day to get a vote in for Bryce as Super Preemie...and it's the easiest vote you'll ever cast! Promise.

Literally two clicks is all it takes. No sign up, log in, survey or any of that junk. Just click the link and then click the "Vote" button.

You don't have to have a Facebook account and you can vote from every computer, cell phone, Ipad and Iphone you can get online with. But you can only vote from each once per day and today is the last day.

Bryce was stuck in 8th place for the first week or so and then bumped up to 7, back to 8 and now has been steadily in 6th for the last couple of days. But there are winners for 3 age categories and those categories are all jumbled up in the ranking on the website so we're not sure just how close Bryce actually is to winning.

Please take a second to vote for Bryce and raise awareness about prematurity at the same time. Heck, it can even be your good deed for the day!


Here's the link:

http://wildfireapp.com/website/6/contests/65899/voteable_entries/9898644?ogn=website&order=votes


And finally, here is your prize for your much appreciated vote(s):

Bryce's First Year in Images

I'm working on a video for Graham's Foundation to demonstrate the meaningful work they are doing to support the parents of micro-preemies. A lot of organizations do work for children, babies or other worthy causes but few, if any, concentrate only on micro-preemies.

Needless to say, as Bryce himself was a micro-preemie, this is a cause near and dear to my heart. And I'm so happy to have the opportunity to do something for them.

While familiarizing myself with the cool online software they have available to them, Animoto, I took the opportunity to quickly put together a short video about Bryce's short life.

Bryce Alexander - Bryce's First Year in Images

I hope you enjoy it as much as I have. I tear up a little every time I watch it. It's funny how time heals even the deepest wounds. I think I've mentally blocked so much by patching up those wounds with the sweet kisses and toothy grins I'm blessed to now be able to enjoy every single day.