Ladies! I think a Friday afternoon deserves a celebration. We’ve almost made it through the entire work week! Woo hoo! We can see the light at the end of the tunnel. This is always the hardest part of the giveaway because we’d love to gift all 3,911 of you, but alas, we cannot, which I guess is what makes a giveaway so fun. With that said, join me in celebrating our SIX beloved winners for this fabulous giveaway. Believe me when I say we here at the office are coveting each of the gifts and almost threw a fit when we realized we couldn’t enter the giveaway ourselves. We love fun stuff like this just as much as you do!
So, without further ado, congratulations to…
Grand Prize Winner: Cara Koski
Second Prize Winner: Ansley DuRant
Gift number 3: Victoria Gelberg
Gift number 4: Kim Tipton
Gift number 5: Anne Dailey
Gift number 6: Leslie Wood
If y’all would please email me (Lindsee) at [email protected] with your mailing address we willl get these prizes to you ASAP. We love y’all so very, very much. Thanks for playing along. Hope you each have a beautiful, fall weekend!
DEAR SIESTAS! THE MERE THOUGHT OF YOU IS MAKING ME GO ALL-CAPSY.
It has been FOREVER and then some but I have been thinking about you. I know I haven’t been in this here blog-space much recently but I can assure you that I’m still at LPM. My days are full since I’m working and going to school part-time. AGAIN. Yes, again. Somehow even when I vow to walk away for good, I end up right back in the classroom in some capacity. This time around I’m working slowly on a M.A. in Biblical Languages at Houston Baptist University. When I’m not researching something for a project at LPM, I’m taking a Greek class in the Septuagint and a Hebrew readings class in the Joseph narrative. Oh, and how could I forget to mention Winston Jeffrey Fitzpatrick?! A little over a year ago Colin brought home a baby rottweiler and our life has never been the same since (even when I desperately want it to be!). Winnie is SO, SO bad but we love him madly.
Here is W posing in my dining room. Or demanding a filet mignon cooked over medium, I’m not really sure.
Here he is again furious about having to wear his birthday hat:
But really, enough about us.
I want to talk about YOU and a fall giveaway we are doing because we love you and appreciate you.
Now, I should mention at this point that if you are one of those people who is SO OVER all the talk about pumpkin-flavored anything, then you will want to run for your life.
RUN FOR YOUR LIFE.
Do I have a faithful fall remnant?
This weekend we had our first legit “cold-front” here in Houston. It was even down in the forties one night. Glory be! The crisp cold air in my lungs got to me in the best way possible and, of all things, I wanted to cook. There’s just something about fall that always brings me back to the kitchen. Nothing better than listening to a little Norah Jones or The Civil Wars with the windows cracked open, cool breeze dancing through the house, while a chili or stew simmers on the stove. I thought just maybe fall might do the same for some of you so the grand prize winner will get a red Le Creuset signature round dutch oven (red not orange like the one on the box).
I love it passionately and do not want to let it go. I even enjoy posing with the beloved dutch oven:
The second prize to be claimed is a $100 gift card to Pottery Barn because, let’s be honest, Pottery Barn during the fall season is heaven on earth:
Gift number 3 includes an amazing decorative pillow, fall flower arrangement, and Hill Country Home candle.
Gift number 4 includes a fun little clutch from Anthro, a scarf, several pairs of boot socks, and some gorgeous MAC makeup in fallish colors.
Here is Lindsee modeling the scarf. Love her and she can work a scarf better than anyone I know:
This MAC stuff is tough to photograph but fantastic (includes three eye shadow kits and two lipsticks in shades of Russian Red and Viva Glam III).
Gift number 5 has a bunch of fun stuff: Cook’s Illustrated Fall Entertaining magazine, kitchen towels, mulling spices, Hill Country Home candle (again this is one of my faves!), autumn cupcake decorating set, beautiful engraved silver dish, Trader Joe’s Pumpkin bread mix, and more.
Gift number 6 comes with a fun autumn welcome mat, potpourri, decorative kitchen towel, and my favorite ever mulled apple cider candle. DIVINE.
Here is Mom sorting out all the gifts. Isn’t she cute?
So dear friend, for a chance to win one of the six prizes, please leave a comment with your first and last name and tell us something you love about fall.
We love you so much,
Melissa
(Lindsee not pictured here ONLY because she was out of the office when we snapped this photo)
What I love about Fall is that to me it is a time when the trees with their amazing colors look like they are worshiping the Lord and singing “Glory to God in the highest” I am continually awed by God and His creativity.
I love breathing in the cool air in the mornings as I run.
My favorite thing about fall is spring is not too far away. My next favorite thing is Thanksgiving is coming along with Christmas, Christmas music, and decorating!
I love everything about fall. The cooler temperatures. The glory of God in the changing colors. Hunting season. Crockpot cooking.
I love the cooler weather, football games, and fall colors.
I love writing the this on my chalkboard every October 1st: “Golden leaves depart from trees to tango with the autumn breeze. Dear October, teach me, please, to age with such apparent ease.”
LOVE the fall! It reminds me home and hunkering down, curling up. A sense of retreat and quietude.
Although I live in Florida, I enjoy fall because the humidity level does go down a bit. We can go outside without being slapped in the face by the heat! Can occasionally open windows and turn off the air. But…most of all, I love the fact that the holidays are coming. Time spent with loved ones and enjoying all that God has blessed me with. I cannot even imagine what my life would be like with the Lord and fall is a good time to reflect on the past year and think about how I can improve my relationship with Him going forward. Also, with grandchildren…who could not love celebrating the birth of our Lord?
I live in MN. Fall is my favorite season for so so so many reasons. But one in particular is when I drive down the road and lots of leaves are blowing all around on the street. That’s it. HA! Nothing fancy, but it warms my heart!!
It’s the PUMPKIN! I absolutely love pumpkin in the Fall. Pumpkin candles, pumpkin spice, pumpkin bread, pumpkin decorations, homemade pumpkin playdough for my preschool class and who can forget the pumpkin pie…Pretty sure I could come up with a fabulous pumpkin dish to serve in a new gorgeous Le Creuset Dutch oven!
For the last 3 years, I lived and served overseas in China with the organization English Language Institute/China (ELIC). Because the temperatures in China are pretty extreme, I didn’t get to fully experience fall while there! I’m now back in the States for a short furlough, and I’m absolutely LOVING the changing colors in the leaves, all the fall festivals and activities going on, pumpkin and peppermint-flavored coffees, cute boots, colorful scarves, and precious time with friends.
The love the colors, coziness, smell of fall. I love the time bonding with family during the holiday season.
I love everything about fall- the changing of the leaves and the beauty of the earth at this time of year (reminds me of how great God is!) the smell of cinnamon in almost every store I walk into this time of year, the cool air- eventhough I don’t like to be cold, I love being able to go outside in jeans and a sweatshirt and not have to be totally bundled up,Thanksgiving, the colors and tastes of fall, hayrides, soup, chili, hot apple cider, days off from work to spend with family and friends and the fact that the next season brings Christmas which is my absolute favorite!! I adore fall- it is my favorite season!
Running over freshly fallen leaves and hearing them crunch beneath my feet on a crisp fall day. Giant Honeycrisp apples are a close second.
Fall is my favorite time of the year because God uses the trees as His canvas to paint the most beautiful landscapes! Every leaf becomes a flower. No human artist can duplicate autumn the way He can.
Fall is my absolute favorite season for way too many reasons to list. I love wearing hoodies & jeans, sitting by the fireplace, and right now I especially love reading all the reasons everyone is thankful!
I love fall, because all God’s natural colors are vibrant and people stop to enjoy His beauty. Fall show us that lives are changing (like leaf colors), that we fall in life, but God brings forth a new sprout in His timing/season, that we are to gather and give thanks for all our many blessings. Fall sounds like a painful word, but it is a marvelous word/season to embrace in solitude & gratitude with our Lord and Savior. May we all be abundantly blessed, thankful, and shine the glorious season we call FALL. In His love and mine I give thanks for your ministry and for being such a great steward of His word <3
I love the sound of leaves crunching under fall boots. I’m like a kid trying to stomp on as many of them as I can.
I’m in Virginia visiting my sister who just had her fourth child…she finally got her girl! And the leaves here are gorgeous! I love the colors of fall. And baking pumpkin bread. So yes, the colors and smells of fall are like none other. Blessings!
I love sitting by the fire, warming my toes while I do my Bible study or sitting by the fire watching a good football game or sitting by the fire reading a story to the little ones. Notice a theme here?
After moving in September, from San Antonio to Washington state, we were able to experience a true fall! I love how God’s creation reveals itself, one changing tree, previously unnoticed, at a time. It’s just a picture of God changing routine into exceptional.
The leaves are MAGNIFICENT this year! I walk outside and marvel that He gives us this delight just because He can!
Bethany Thrower
I love fall for all the beautiful colors with the leaves changing. What an amazing display of God’s beauty and creativity!
Also, this year I LOVE fall b/c it’s when I GOT ENGAGED!!! After 35 years of waiting, God has given me a wonderful man!!! 🙂
I absolutely love walking in the crunchy leaves here in Nebraska and all things pumpkin to eat.
Hugs to you.
Linda
Fall makes me think and feel such warm, good thoughts! To snuggle on my favorite chair with a blanket, cup of my favorite coffee, and my Bible & Bible study! Then to have a pot of soup on the stove, simmering slowing and filling the air with delicious smells….ready for the next cold front to head to Texas! Love the fall and love you all at LPM!
Fall overwhelms my senses and gives me an extra feeling of closeness to my Creator God. The sounds of walking through the leaves and the geese flying over are like new music…makes me want to play my piano when I get home. The smells surprise my nose and make me want cook something warm and yummy. The colors? Well, they send me straight to my sewing room, trying to quilt the colors I just saw on that beautiful oak tree down the street. Yup, in the fall the Creator makes me want to create! I love the closeness the two of us share when October rolls around!
I love the change of seasons because it reminds me of the sovereignty of God. I also love yummy homemade soups, baked apple crisp, cozy lite candles that smell like apples and cinnamon, pumpkin bread, warm sweaters, boots, and time with my family sitting around the fire hanging out.
Fall is my favorite season…not that Houston has much of one! However, I did get my fix of cooler(cold!) weather on a vacation to Colorado earlier in the month. Loved every minute! Great hair too and I know you know what I mean about that! Kim Tipton from Cypress, Texas
Be still my harvest-loving soul–What don’t I love about Fall? Roads framed with sun-glistening flowers–Golden-rod and Blackeyed Susans–my faves!Candy-Corn…need I say more? Pumpkin spice in pudding, snack-bars, pies, muffins, bread, and marshmallows!! Chili was a newbie for me this year…made my first pot! Yummy!! Bright orange clothing & accessories, decorations and spicy candles celebrate autumn in style. But, nothing can compare with the artistic license God takes with His creation. Even with the hinderance of the sin-curse, His talent for making the world beautiful turns everyday nature into a heart-stopping masterpiece. Thankful & Blessed Big Time!!
I love walking through the crunchy leaves with my kids.
I love fall. It’ a time where we focus more on giving thanks, enjoying the autumn colors, the beauty of the cooler days, and all of the yummy comfort foods. God is good!
WOW, what is not to like about Fall!
God, gives us amazing colors, cool breezes, glorious Sunrises and pink Sunsets. The air is crisp and the Fall flowers in there bright oranges, yellows, rusts and purples. Oh and, the Liquid Amber trees here in California are amazing in the Fall. I think I cry and dance for the Lord more during the Fall because of all the beauty He shows me. God is so so good to me that He would do all this for me.
I love the cool crisp freshness in the air and the beautiful colors of the leaves. Only God could make something so breath-taking.
Also, on October 23rd, I celebrated my 2 year anniversary of my liver transplant. I am so greatly blessed!
I love the cooler temps and the sweaters and boots that come with them!
I love the colors of fall, we drive to Amish Country just to look at all the beautiful leaves on the trees! God is so good! I love the smell of pumpkin and apple cider. God’s creation is absolutely breath taking!
Happy Thanksgiving to all!!!
For Him
Sarah
Something I love about fall? The crisp weather and the rich colors of the leaves. Keats said it best: “Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness.”
I love bundling up in a scarf, boots and a jacket and stepping outside to feel the cool air on my face and breathe in the scent of autumn. That first moment outside is perfection!
I love the fall colors, especially the leaves!!
I love the brillant colors and cool temperatures, the dusky scent of the leaves and a burning fire in the fire pit as we roast marshmallows and snuggle up. I love the scent of cinnamon and apples and chocolate chip cookies and how coffee tastes even better when your nose and toes are cold. Most of all, I love that God thought of it all.
I love fall because of PUMPKIN SPICE LATTES, which I happen to be drinking right now. Also the leaves changing, and mountain fall festivals – those are the best!
What I love about fall?? The fact that it’s cooler which means wearing more clothes–which of course means covering up more fat! Sorry! That’s bad, isn’t it? But I also love that even though things are dormant and looking “dead,” God is still working a miracle in those living things. And we will see the fruit of His hand in the spring! It’s a great time for reflection!
I love fall because it reminds me of the Master Painter who just loves to show off His creation in different colors!
My name is Kelsea McCrary, and I love fall because it gives us a breath of fresh new life, a break from the humidity that is Louisiana…and it’s so lovely to run on a cool, crisp morning before work, watching the sun stream through the trees. There’s something beautifully rejuvenating about fall.
We love fall in our house because we love fresh beginnings – the new school year begins in September for us here in Canada. We celebrate Thanksgiving in October so the gathering of family and great food are a great kickoff for the fall when we start to enjoy walking in the changing colours and putting a log on the fire. My girls and I have great fun dressing in layers with jackets, scarves and boots of all kinds so we welcome the cooler weather.
I love the changing of the colors of the trees. It’s like God is using his paint brush to show his hand in nature. He’s able to make a beautiful landscape and he’s able to change our lives into something beautiful!
I love fall – the hot chocolate, hot apple cider, sweatshirts and sweatpants, going for a walk with leaves crunching under my feet, the fantastic smell of some apple-cinnamon dessert baking in the oven, cold windows…..I love it all!! It is my favorite time of the year.
I love fall with its colorful leaves and cool air, sweatshirts and sweaters, and soup!
I love fall because of the smells that only fall can bring.
Also I love snow so I know it is just around the corner:)
Having lived in Ft Myers Florida for the past 7 years I forgot what glory fall brings
However, God directed me back home to take care of my elderly, both very ill parents
I have taken on the huge challenge of taking them out for a ride (challenge because of dealing with a walker, wheelchair and oxygen and them) to look at the changing of the leaves and listening to their commits as if seeing the leaves for the first time. They are never out except to go to the doctor so getting them out to see God’s glorious perfect was great. Palm trees and hit weather just doesn’t have the same feeling as fall in Ohio!
I love everything fall! It is my favorite season!!The cool weather, beautiful colored leaves that smell so good and crunch when you walk on them. Pumkins, apple cider,soups and homemade breads and jellies. Praising God for it all!