It's a baby shower! A virtual baby shower!
That's a real thing, I promise. Or at least, we're going to make it a real thing. Because you know what??
The lovely Sarah is having twins!! Like TWO BABIES! At the same time! And how can we not celebrate that?
You know Sarah, right? Sarah runs a blog called Amongst Lovely Things that has been such a blessing to so many people. If you're stopping by from Sarah's place, welcome! Come on in and help us celebrate!
One of the things I love most about the internet (besides the fact that I can shop in my pajamas) is that you get the chance to be friends with people you never would have been otherwise. People who live thousands of miles away. People who make you smile and who inspire you to be better. Sarah is one of those people for me. And I bet if you're stopping by from her blog, she's one of those people for you, too.
When she announced she was pregnant with Posy, oh my heck, I was so so happy that her prayers were answered. Weren't you? And then? Then when she told me she was expecting again so soon after? I cried tears of joy for a woman and her family that I've never even met in real life. And you know what's coming next, right? Then, then she announced that, holy smokes, it's twins?!? I'm pretty sure I walked around with a goofy grin on my face for a good two hours after. I'm smiling right now just thinking about how good God is and how He is working so tangibly in that beautiful family's life. I bet many of you felt the same way. The internet can be a very good thing, right? And the internet lets all of us celebrate together for this wonderful family.
When she announced she was pregnant with Posy, oh my heck, I was so so happy that her prayers were answered. Weren't you? And then? Then when she told me she was expecting again so soon after? I cried tears of joy for a woman and her family that I've never even met in real life. And you know what's coming next, right? Then, then she announced that, holy smokes, it's twins?!? I'm pretty sure I walked around with a goofy grin on my face for a good two hours after. I'm smiling right now just thinking about how good God is and how He is working so tangibly in that beautiful family's life. I bet many of you felt the same way. The internet can be a very good thing, right? And the internet lets all of us celebrate together for this wonderful family.
Anyhow, enough waxing poetic, Mary. Let's celebrate!
Welcome to Sarah's Virtual Baby Shower!
I'm so happy you're here and that we get to celebrate with Sarah and Andy as they prepare to welcome their baby boys into the world.
Here's the party plan...gifts, games, and, of course, giveaways!!
Gift #1:
-The Prayer Calendar-
The first thing I hope to do is so simple but so important. By clicking on the link below you'll be taken to Sarah and Andy's prayer calendar. I'm just gonna go out on a limb and say that having two newborns and a toddler (not to mention three older children) might be a tad, oh, HARD, maybe? Yes, that's a good word for it. Crazy joyful, beautiful, miraculous, and very very hard. If anyone can do it, I know Sarah and Andy can but still, let's cover them in prayer, yes? By clicking on the image and signing up for a day on the Care Calendar, you will be choosing that day to offer your sacrifices, prayers, and thoughts for Sarah and her family on that day. Sign up for an open day, write that day on your calendar and use that day for them spiritually however you can. Whether it's an offering of all the trials and sacrifices of the day, a Rosary prayed, an Adoration hour or all those things, whatever you can offer them spiritually that day, is a gift. I'm hoping we can have every day on that calendar covered and in this way we can have prayers going constantly for them for at least a good two months straight starting when she is full term. So, please please please sign up below!
**If it prompts you, the calendar ID is 151806 and the security code is 5980.**
(Update: You guys are the BEST! All of July, August and September are filled! Please click on into October and look for the days in RED to find an open day! The more prayers the better!)
(Update: You guys are the BEST! All of July, August and September are filled! Please click on into October and look for the days in RED to find an open day! The more prayers the better!)
Aaaand not that you needed any extra incentive to piously offer up your day like the holy saints I know you are, but signing up on our prayer calendar is the first way to earn a chance at one of our giveaways below!
Gift #2:
Gift #2:
-The Diaper Fund-
So buckets of grace? Check. Now how about we give them something tangible? Cuz little babies need things, you know? I know so many of Sarah's readers would love a chance to give them something to help with the babies. And guess what? While many of us are not able to bring them a meal or clean their house or do the enviable task of baby snuggling while Sarah gets a shower, we can still help!
So buckets of grace? Check. Now how about we give them something tangible? Cuz little babies need things, you know? I know so many of Sarah's readers would love a chance to give them something to help with the babies. And guess what? While many of us are not able to bring them a meal or clean their house or do the enviable task of baby snuggling while Sarah gets a shower, we can still help!
Sarah and Andy have decided that maybe just perhaps they'll be going through a lot of diapers once those babes are born. By clicking on the image below you can help us gift them with a diaper fund at Diapers.com. Any amount is so appreciated and will be a lovely way for us to thank Sarah for the gift that her blog has been to so many of us. Can you go in on this gift with us? Would you consider giving even half of what you would spend on a gift if you were going to a real life shower? How about $10 to cover just one pack of diapers? That would be great! You can do more? Awesome.
(FYI: When you go to check out and it takes you to the shipping page, you have to click on the words Sarah M via Email...it's a little bit unclear!)
(FYI: When you go to check out and it takes you to the shipping page, you have to click on the words Sarah M via Email...it's a little bit unclear!)
And here's some extra incentive...for every gift one of you lovely people give, our family will make a donation to Life Services, a crisis pregnancy center local to Sarah in their name. So you're helping diaper those baby boys AND at the same time helping sweet babies and mothers who need it. THAT, my friends, is a WIN!
(Oh, and of course, even MORE bonus, a gift in any amount gives you an extra entry to win one of our prizes!!) Click the adorable baby bottom below to go in on our gift! I hope to give a few updates in the next few weeks with how much we've raised for them!
No baby shower would be complete without at least one game, right?
This is Sarah at 35 weeks pregnant with twins:
That is one beautiful belly full of babies! Now YOU get to guess just how many inches around this lovely pregnant lady will be at 36 weeks (this coming Friday - woohoo!).
The closest to the mark will be declared the winner and get to name one of the babies! Er, just kidding :) (Sorry, Sarah.) Winner gets bragging rights and I'd love to hand knit this winner their choice of a Simple Newborn Baby Hat (from Ginny's pattern), my Cozy Cabled Earwarmer, or four of my Knitted Wool Eggs. Colors to be determined by winner...and dependent on my stash. Unless you're local. Then I suppose I can offer you free doula services or a batch of cookies or something :)
Place those guesses in the comments!
Game closed, thanks for playing!
This is Sarah at 35 weeks pregnant with twins:
That is one beautiful belly full of babies! Now YOU get to guess just how many inches around this lovely pregnant lady will be at 36 weeks (this coming Friday - woohoo!).
The closest to the mark will be declared the winner and get to name one of the babies! Er, just kidding :) (Sorry, Sarah.) Winner gets bragging rights and I'd love to hand knit this winner their choice of a Simple Newborn Baby Hat (from Ginny's pattern), my Cozy Cabled Earwarmer, or four of my Knitted Wool Eggs. Colors to be determined by winner...and dependent on my stash. Unless you're local. Then I suppose I can offer you free doula services or a batch of cookies or something :)
Game closed, thanks for playing!
CLOSED (Thank you SO much for playing!)
Now the giveaways! We have a few items to give away to celebrate these baby boys!
#1
Our first item that you can win is a baby bandana blanket created and hand sewn by Charlotte at Waltzing Matilda! I know, right?!? She's generous. These baby blankets are so sweet and if you haven't seen some of her work, you can see more details of these most adorable blankets here.
And her Cupcake is pretty sweet as well...look at those cheeks! :)
The winner of the blanket will get to choose either a girl blanket or boy blanket made out of these delicious fabric combos:
Adorable flowers on one side complemented by teal and pink bandanas on the other for the girl...
Vintage travel theme fabric with matching red and black bandanas for the boy. Cuteness.
Thank you so much to Charlotte for donating!
#2
Our next giveaway is from Barbara owner of Mary Devotions! Barbara also blogs at Praying for Grace, Prayerful Beads, and Bless Us, O Lord (she is one talented lady!).
Barbara has generously donated two items for our shower.
The first is a hand embroidered, hand sewn brown scapular made out of 100% wool felt. On one side is the Sacred Heart of Jesus and on the other is the Immaculate Heart of Mary. I love that embroidery!
#3
The other item donated by Barbara is an Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Tenner Rosary!
This tenner rosary is made with 6mm Swarovski sky blue pearl Ave beads and an 8mm Swarovski cream pearl Pater bead. The Pater bead is capped with bronze caps, and the beads are set apart with 4 mm Swarovski bicone crystals. They are hand wire-wrapped with 22 gauge bronze wire. The crucifix and Our Lady of Mt. Carmel medal are solid bronze, hand cast from vintage pieces. On the reverse side of the the image of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel is the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Isn't it just beautiful?
Thank you so much, Barbara!
#4
Onto our next prize! A copy of Rebecca Frech's recently released book Teaching in Your Tiara - a homeschooling book for the rest of us!
I may have flipped through devoured the pages of this brand new copy a bit but only so I could tell you that it is a GREAT resource for the homeschooling mother. It is practical, real, encouraging and all in all a great resource for the newly homeschooling or just sorta thinking about homeschooling parent. It flew to bestseller in its category on Amazon and has great reviews. And you can win it here!
Oh, there's more...
#5
We LOVE these children's books and I highly highly recommend them. They are books that set your child up for a lifetime of understanding virtue and purity using allegory and beautiful illustrations. (And they're effective, too! Just the other day we were talking about how we shouldn't just let anything into our brains and it's important to be discerning with what we see. John Paul's eyes lit up and he declared, "Just like in The Squire and the Scroll!!") So, yup, we recommend them :)
For our sixth prize Jessica at Shower of Roses has graciously donated a St. Therese the Little Flower journal for one of our winners!
This journal is meant to be a guide to spiritual journaling to aid in daily meditation and is filled with illustrations and quotes from St. Therese. Sounds lovely, right?
#7
Also from Jessica is a set of 4 Father Lovasik Books and 4 Coloring Books: My First Catechism, The Works of Mercy, The Gifts of the Holy Spirit, The Sacramentals of the Church, ABC Coloring Book, Coloring Book about the Rosary, Stations of the Cross, and Everyday Prayers!
Last one! Ruth from Loreto Rosaries has offered us one of her St. Gerard Rosary bracelets! This is the same bracelet you may have seen Sarah wearing in some of her photos.
This St. Gerard rosary bracelet is made with Amazonite, Rose Quartz and Snow Quartz gemstones and the Pater bead is capped with antique brass bead caps. The bar and toggle clasp is antique brass and the 7/8" long St. Gerard medal is solid bronze and are hand cast from antique pieces. The reverse side of the medal has Our Lady of Perpetual Help on it. St. Gerard is invoked as a patron of expectant mothers so I think this is the perfect item to round out our giveaways!
GIVEAWAYS CLOSED!
The giveaways will be open through July 12 (the day Sarah is officially 37 weeks and full term! Great job taking care of those babies, Sarah!) and I'll announce the winners here and notify by email. The Diaper Fund will be open indefinitely, though, so feel free to keep on giving ;)
Thank you SO SO much for being a part of our celebration for Sarah and Andy and those delectable baby boys. (I know, I know, we haven't seen them yet but really. Have you seen their other kids? Those twins will no doubt be scrumptious.)
Oh, and baby boys? You have one special mama. Thank you for sharing her with us! We can't WAIT to meet you!
Don't forget: Use the box below to enter for the giveaways!
Oh, and baby boys? You have one special mama. Thank you for sharing her with us! We can't WAIT to meet you!
Don't forget: Use the box below to enter for the giveaways!
I'm local and if I win a prize I'd like free doula services. I only have one requirement: if you see anyone holding scissors within a 100 ft radius of me you karate chop them. Even if they are opening mail or doing origami. Should be a cushy gig. :)
ReplyDeleteDone. I could even bring John Paul's sword but that may give them ideas.
DeleteI just love this! Thank you so much for setting it up, Mary!
ReplyDeleteI am reading Rebecca's book and loving it... and I've been homeschooling for 10 years!
ReplyDeleteAlright- time to guess the belly circumference. Deep breath: 64 inches. Did I win yet????
ReplyDeleteSqueeeeee!!! WHAT FUN!!!! :) Mary, you are so awesome.
ReplyDeleteIt's been a crazy couple weeks in our home and I just emailed you a couple prizes for the giveaways this morning. If you can add them great, but if not I will be sure to help spread the word! Thank you for hosting this for Sarah! I can't wait to "meet" her twins. So exciting!!!
ReplyDeleteOh, and I am going to guess 62". Thanks for hosting this Mary!
DeleteFun virtual showers... Very cool. I'll guess your belly size, but I'm horrible with measurements.
ReplyDeleteOkay I'm going to guess 67 inches...my teenage daughter would like to guess 102 inches (LOL). This is fun!!!!! I'm a sucker for baby showers!!!! And just want to add, I was a total dork on the checkout at diapers.com, like I had to call the 1800 number and everything and in the end, I indeed was proved to be a dork (HA) but did it! Oh it is a Monday rainy morning here! THANKS for doing this for her! Go babies!
ReplyDeleteEhrmagherd, I couldn't figure it out either! The part where you have to choose the "delivery method" TOTALLY threw me off. You are not alone!
DeleteWere the choices vaginal or cesarean? (Ha! Rimshot, please?)
DeleteAnyhoo, sorry it's confusing!! should I clarify in the post? What should people choose when they're confused?
Ba-dum-CHI! (that's the sound of the drums when there's a punchline...you know what I mean)
DeleteWhen you go to your cart to checkout, I think normally it has options like "ship to home, ship to store...." etc. so it's obvious what you're supposed to do, but in this case there's only one option and it says "deliver to Sarah's email." So you get there and you're like "Yep, that sounds good!" but you don't really know you have to CLICK on it to move on to the next step. Anyway, hope that makes sense. I eventually figured it out, but was totally about to email tech support or something :)
Okay, I hope I did the diaper fund correctly. I got stuck on how to get to the checkout part. I finally clicked the email to Sarah and, TA-DAH, I got to the payment part. It looks like I wasn't the only one.
ReplyDeleteI don't feel so bad now ;-).
Well, this will totally solidify my status as materialistic heathen... but I figured out the donation part, but I COULD NOT figure out how to sign up for a prayer day. (help!) Also, I'm corn-fused about how to sign up for a prize... do I just comment here, or do I have to do something in the box above? Sorry to be a pain and to make more work for you, Mary :(
ReplyDeleteWhat a great idea to do this!
No problem! When you click on the prayer calendar image, it will take you to the Care Calendar home page. There you'll have to enter the codes underneath (Calendar ID is 151806C and the security code is 4563). That should take you right to the calendar. On each date there is a place you can click that says "prayer day." (Green is taken, red is not...I think we're already into next month (yay!) so you may have to click into August to find an open date!) Just click one of those red days and it'll let you sign up.
DeleteFor the prizes: right in that box above on "Sign up for Sarah's calendar" you can click and just follow the prompts. You have to sign up for the calendar to "unlock" the other entry options, I think. I hope that helps!
I know it's kinda confusing but it was the best we could come up with for a virtual shower :)
Oh, and if you want to take a guess on Sarah's belly, leave that in the comments...that's just for the prize from me (I won't tell anyone that I've already promised you some of those eggs ;)
DeleteI had a problem with "cookies" with the calendar . . . need to change the setting on my computer!
ReplyDeleteOk, I guess 67 inches! That is tough though, because she looks teeny to be pregnant with twins!
This is such a great idea Mary!
I guess 65 inches. I'm so bad at these types of things!
ReplyDeleteEvidently I had a problem with "cookies" too, but it still let me sign up, once I figured out that the red days were taken!
ReplyDeleteI'll go out on a limb and guess 70". I am sure I would get rotten tomatoes thrown at me if Sarah weren't such a cute gigantically pregnant gal!
I would have loved to have been in on this, to donate something, all the prizes look lovely!
I never guessed the circumference! I'm going to go with 68".
ReplyDeleteI'm going with 66 inches
ReplyDeleteI'll guess 70 inches
ReplyDeleteGosh, if folks hadn't already guessed figures in the 60/70-inch range, I would have NO idea. I even held my 6-month-old to my belly and had my daughter measure my waist. Lame? Totally!
ReplyDeleteI'm going to guess 70 3/4 inches. Sarah, if you're only, like, 42 inches around, please PLEASE forgive me. ; )
And thank you, Mary, for this beautiful online baby shower. May God bless you & yours, and may God bless all the pregnant mommas!
I'm going to way under-guess you all and go with 50 inches. She's a tiny lady and the usual full-term baby is 40ish inches, right? Anyway, love your blog, Sarah. And great idea, Mary!
ReplyDeleteI am going to guess 47 inches:)
ReplyDeleteHow about 58 1/4 inches? ;)
ReplyDelete52 inches!
ReplyDeleteYou are a sweet online friend--although I've only been reading Sarah's blog for about a month and I want to throw her an online baby shower! She seems to nice and her blog is such an inspiration. :)
My guess is going to be 51 inches. =)
ReplyDeleteMary, just an FYI - you have the code you are sharing for the calendar as the coordinator code. I can tell from the C, plus it shows everyone's e-mail and number to anyone using the code. In your original care calendar set up email it should have sent you a code, (probably the same without the C) with a different password for the rest of us to use. That way everyone isn't sharing their email and phone number with anyone who can read the blog.
ReplyDeleteOtherwise, awesome idea! Love it! So nice of you to throw this!
59 1/4 "
Eek! Fixed that! Thank you for letting me know!
DeleteI'm going to be wild and say 85"! I have no idea how big that is in real life, but it's a nice "round" number. ;-)
ReplyDeleteHmm..I think I'll say 60"! Sarah, you are looking amazing!
ReplyDeleteI am going to guess 63"! Such a cute pregnant mama!!
ReplyDeleteMy guess is 48 inches.
ReplyDeleteoh my gosh...um,,,74? Did anyone guess 74? The prayer calendar is FULL, wah! If you open up another month, I'm happy to sign up! I know it will be waaay past the due date, but I bet there will still be many prayer worthy days in the coming months. :)
ReplyDeleteJust opened up another month! Oh yes, the more prayers the better...especially in those first few months of having newborns and a toddler!
DeleteOh geez! I have NO idea how big any pregnant woman, myself included, can get. I'm gonna guess and say 68 inches. Great idea ladies! I know there was a bunch of ladies, myself included, who have been inspired and touched by Sarah who wanted to give back to her in some tangible way. Thank you for making that happen.
ReplyDeleteThis is wonderful, Mary. Congrats to Sarah and family! My guess is 57 inches. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteI'm guessing she'll measure 46" today. Go Sar! (Mary, thanks for this virtual shower - it is a great treat!)
ReplyDeleteMary, will you please open the prayer calendar for October? For some reason I can't get past the 2nd. Thanks for the opportunity. Blessings!
ReplyDeleteI opened it this morning through November 2nd so it should work? Let me look into it...
DeleteIt looks like it's working if you click on the "next month" button til you get to October. A couple others have signed up for the new dates so it should be working for you! Let me know if you try again and still have trouble!
DeleteMy guess is 51 inches. Sarah you look fabulous!
ReplyDeleteNikki
Mary, what a great baby shower!! I also couldn't figure out the prayer calendar though...but I will be definitely praying for Sarah and those little bundles anyway!!
ReplyDeleteSuch a fantastic idea! What fun. I will guess 66 1/2 inches. Can't wait to see the little darlings. Many Blessings!
ReplyDelete