Fulfilling Family Traditions at Northwest Arkansas Mall -- Win a $200 Shopping Spree!! #NWARK

This post was compensated by Northwest Arkansas Mall. All opinions are honest and are my own. 

Hands down, this is the very best giveaway I've ever held here at Hope In Every Season! Northwest Arkansas Mall has given me $200 in gift cards to give away to one local winner! After you've read all about me and Lynzie's fun shopping day at the mall, be sure to enter to win this awesome prize package! (By the way, my favorite scent at Bath and Body Works is Sweet Pea---you know, just in case you win and are feeling extra thankful...)

Lynzie and I braved the Black Friday crowds and headed for Fayetteville last Friday morning! My mom and I had a tradition of shopping on Thanksgiving weekend every year for several years. Now that we're so far away, I'm continuing on the fun with my own daughter!

In fact, our family has several Christmas traditions that make our celebration unique to us. I was able to fulfill all my family tradition shopping plans at Northwest Arkansas Mall!

Every Christmas Eve, the kids open Christmas pajamas. We try to have at least two kids in matching sets, so we have several sets of twinsies running around. We found these super cute and very soft jammies at JC Penney's. It was so hard to decide between the Hello Kitty design and the cute elf ones. I ended up getting the elf ones for both Brenna and Kynthia. Liam has some boy ones to match so it will be perfect!

Penney's also had flannel sets for older boys on a great sale. I got Cainan the red plaid set.

Another tradition involves our decorations. Each year, the older girls get a new decoration to add to their collection that they'll someday take to their own homes. Lynzie collects nutcrackers, Selah collects snow globes, and Avalon began collecting Christmas bells this year. There were so many adorable nutcrackers to choose from at JC Penney. I ended up getting Lynzie the one pictured at the bottom right as she said it reminded her of a British soldier. I surprised her with it this morning and she was thrilled!

Our third big tradition is ornaments. Each family member gets a new ornament each year and I write their names on the bottom of them so they can take them all with them whenever they move out on their own. It's so fun picking out a special ornament that pertains to each child. This Angry Birds one from JC Penney is perfect for Elisha who really enjoys the game.

Francesca's also has several really cute ornaments like this Sock Monkey elf and Melody's Choices has an amazing selection of delicate ornaments in lots of styles.

After we'd finished up with our traditions shopping, we decided to start hunting for gifts! Avalon has wanted a Jessie the Cowgirl doll for a couple years and we found the perfect one, along with a matching hat for Avalon, at JC Penney. She's going to be so excited!

A stop in to Forever 21 brought squeals of delight at almost every rack! Lynzie decided to begin looking for a Christmas dress. We looked...and looked...and...

...stopped by Bath and Body Works to check out the Christmas display! They're always having great sales and their holiday scents are so festive. Lynzie's hoping for some peppermint-scented lotion and body spray this year.

Finally, we found the perfect dress---back at JC Penney! This gorgeous black dress is just right for Lynzie's vintage style. It's a perfectly elegant look for her.

Our shopping day was both productive and memorable. I'm so glad we had the opportunity to hang out together and share our love for shopping, as well as our love for giving!

Northwest Arkansas Mall has graciously given me three gift cards, totaling $200, to give away to one local winner! Want to win? You must live within three hours of Fayetteville. If you do, check out the Rafflecopter widget below to enter the giveaway. 

Note on Rafflecopter: the widget might take a couple minutes to load. Also, because so many of my dear friends will be entering to win, please understand that Rafflecopter is a completely random computer-generated tool. I have nothing to do with the choice of winner--and I couldn't pick a favorite if I tried! 

Good luck and Merry Christmas!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The Homemaking Party: Meaningful Gifts from Willow Tree at Family Christian #FCBlogger

This post has been compensated by Family Christian. All opinions are mine alone.

Welcome to the Homemaking Party! Have you been busy shopping like I have? I love buying or making gifts for the special people in my life. A season of giving---what a wonderful thing! Are you familiar with the Willow Tree collection at Family Christian? I've been buying these beautiful pieces as gifts for years. They're so special and there's a scene for every important person in my life!

It's hard being away from family during the holidays---and especially hard for me, being away from my mom! I love to send her gifts that are meaningful and that show her how much I love her. I've been sending her Willow Tree figurines for years because their beautiful simplicity touches her heart and reminds her of how much I care.

I bought her this one a few years ago when I had one of the babies---Liam, maybe? I think we were living apart then, as well, and I thought it would be special to have something she could see every day. Even if she couldn't see us every day.

These I bought for her on other occasions, like her birthday or Christmas, I believe. They're very special ways to commemorate an important event, as well as to just say, "I love you". 

This Willow Tree Nativity is my DREAM SET! I was admiring it in Family Christian in Fayetteville last week. I think I need to start collecting the pieces for this. I've been drooling over it for a good 10 years now!

Do you have any pieces of the Willow Tree collection? What are your favorites? You can find Willow Tree at Family Christian and even have your gift sent from them straight to your loved one---just in time for Christmas. Check out their collection and pick out the perfect figurine or two for your special person.

Thanks for stopping by the Homemaking Party! Be sure to link up all your great posts and tell me about your Christmas plans in the comments below!

Blessings!



Linking with:

Hungry for God...Starving for Time -- 5 Minute Devotions for Busy Women

Today I'm hosting author, Lori Hatcher, as she features an excerpt from her new book, Hungry for God...Starving for Time, 5 Minute Devotions for Busy Women. Check out this sneak peek and then make sure to visit her giveaway for a FREE KINDLE loaded with Christian books!

Facetime: God, I'm having a bad hair day. What can I do to feel better about myself?

As I prepare for a speaking engagement, I begin praying far in advance. I pray for God to give me the message he wants me to share. I pray for each person who will attend, that God will encourage and equip them. I pray for the event planners, that the Lord will provide everything they need and give them wisdom and creativity.

But on the actual morning of the event, I pray for something quite different.


I pray for a good hair day.

Sometimes God answers, and sometimes he doesn’t.


If you were completely honest, you’ve probably done the same thing. 

Tell the truth. Didn’t you pray to be zit-free on your wedding day? Or bloat-free for your high school reunion? Or 10-lbs. lighter for the family photo?  

There’s something about being in front with all eyes upon us that reduces us to bundles of adolescent insecurity. Having good hair, blemish-free complexions, or flat bellies won’t make us into something we’re not, but they do help us feel a little more confident.

So what should we do if, despite our best efforts, we’re having a bad hair day?

1.  Remember that “man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart” (1 Sam. 16:7). We can rest in the confidence that we are beloved and beautiful. Knowing God thinks we’re lovely because of what’s inside our hearts, whether our locks lie down or let loose, should put smiles on our faces that are much more beautiful than our marvelous manes.

2.  Don’t schlump. We should raise our chins, put on our best smiles, and look people in the eyes. Chances are we’re the only ones who are aware of the cowlick that won’t cooperate or the muffin top above our waistlines. If we act as though we wish we could crawl under the rug, however, even those who have no idea that our hair didn’t turn out right are going to sense something’s wrong. We need to put on our game faces and press on!

3.  Concentrate on others. Before long, we’ll forget we had a tussle with our tresses. When we take our eyes off ourselves and place them squarely on someone else, we gain perspective about what truly matters. A side benefit to this is that if we concentrate on helping others feel comfortable, confident, and cared for, THAT’s what they remember about us, not our crazy coiffure.

4.  Remember that true beauty isn’t determined by what our bodies look like, but by what our spirits look like. “Your beauty should not come from outward adornment,” says 1 Peter 3:3-4, “such as braided hair and the wearing of gold jewelry and fine clothes. Instead, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God's sight.”

 So tomorrow, whether it’s a good hair day or a bad one, let’s greet the world with a smile. We’ve got Kingdom work to do!

How about you? What tends to unravel your self-confidence? Leave a comment below and join the conversation.

If you enjoyed this post, you might like "When God Looks You in the Eye, What Does He See?"

 

This devotion is an excerpt from Lori’s new book, Hungry for God … Starving for Time, 5-Minute Devotions for Busy Women.

You want to connect with God, but in the craziness of life, it’s just not happening. You want practical, biblical answers to situations you face every day, but you don’t have hours to pore over Scripture.

You need a resource that answers the questions you’re afraid to ask out loud. Questions like:

• Is my situation hopeless?
• If God already knows what he’s going to do, why bother to pray? 
• Why have you allowed this to happen to me? 
• No one appreciates what I do. Why shouldn’t I quit? 

Each devotion begins with a Facetime question and ends with a biblical answer wrapped in a modern day parable. Like a spiritual power bar, Hungry for God … Starving for Time is packed with enough scriptural nutrition to get you through the day. Wherever you are—in break rooms, carpool lines, or wherever you can snatch five minutes of quiet reflection—Hungry for God … Starving for Time, 5-Minute Devotions for Busy Women is for you.