“We Have A Winner Wednesday!”

The winner of this week’s contest is…drum roll, please #4..Tiffany Bellah, Orange County, CA!!!!

She is the lucky recipient of a couple’s registration to the April, 2010 FATJEF IV in Rancho Cucamonga, CA.

Congratulations, Tiffany!  We’ll look forward to seeing you there!

Just remember…

YOU could be the next lucky contestant on ” We Have A Winner Wednesday!”

please direct all further complaints and comments regarding this contest to Mads Haahr, Dublin Ireland.

For this week’s contest and fabulous prizes….please read on.

It is my distinct privilege to introduce you to this brilliant, entrepreneurial, fantasticly

is that a word?!…it is now

mom, Lauren Miller of:

Click on her banner and it will take you to her Etsy page…

where creativity and visual stimulus abound!…

Her soap creations are nothing short of amazing!

The colors!…

The creativity-combined-with-real-life-scents…

Take the art of hand washing to a whole new level!…

At least at our house…

where admittedly, we could possibly need to get out more!

When packages arrive from Lauren, Son #5 calls a hiatus from all current activity.

Here at the Helms, thanks to Sunbasilgarden, we have happy hands!

Let’s face it…

It’s the little things in life that sometimes matter most…

Or as Lauren’s tag line says,” Because life is too messy to not use happy soap!”

I don’t gravitate to bar soap…

please remember: 5 Sons + 1 Hero Hubby = 6 Males…

This is not a bar soap equation.

This fact being clearly stated regarding bar soap…

Let me be perfectly clear.

Lauren’s soaps are NOT just bar soap…

Any more than Etsy is “just another place to shop.”

Etsy is a place to buy and sell all things handmade.

I love it.

I can support really smart, innovative people…

never leave the drive way…

Not have to take any “little Sons” to the women’s restroom in a crowded mall because no “big Sons” came along…

And I get one-of-a-kind, “where did you get that?” things!

I’m in…

This week’s winner will not only get 3 of Lauren’s beautiful, handmade wonders…

but will also receive the joy of “finding things out!”

I hope you become a “Smartypants” with your kids in tow!

We are still posting our comments under the initial prize post for each week...i.e. this one.

With the “rules” firmly in place…

Part of excellent social leadership, involves the key components of…

community involvement and stewardship.

Here, at “The Most Wonderful Time of the Year”…

Let’s “test” your knowledge of this organization…

those of you that regularly default to customary fill in the blank, true/false knowledge acquisition are cheering…

Others of you are possibly sweating…profusely.

A TEST?!

No one told me that was TODAY!?!?

The Salvation Army has historically had great taglines over the years…

“Caring is Sharing.”

“Heart to God and Hand to Man”…

(Lauren and I want you to have “happy hands”, wherever you live in this amazing country!)…

See how thematic I can be?!

Over the next week, simply post the answers to your research…

All in one post, please, and you will be entered to win 3 custom soaps!

For the “other” posting days, simply return to this original post and comment…

Even if it’s just that you read the post…

It still counts as an entry.

More on this incredible community organization to come…

Ready, set, go!…

You Smartypants, you!

1. Who was the founder of The Salvation Army?

2. In what country did it originate?

3. Where was the first kettle placed?

4. In what month and year?

5. By whom?

6. What is the purpose of placing kettles?

7. During WWII, what did The Salvation Army typically give to soldiers?

8. True or False? Santa sometimes rings a bell at a kettle.

9. True or False? The Salvation Army has orchestras as well as bands.

10. True or False? The Salvation Army is a church.

11. What is the motto of The Salvation Army?

12.  Counting the upcoming 2010 Rose Parade, how many consecutive years has The Salvation Army marched in the Rose Parade?

Thank you for playing!

For some points of clarification…
1. I, Teri, moderator, founder, and conceptual creator (pretty impressive, huh?!) of TommyMom.com…

cannot win the prizes that are being given away.

I’m stunned to think that you could even begin to assume that I am running my blog

the way the Federal Government is attempting to run our country.

2. I am not choosing the eventual winner of said prizes. Random.org is.

If you go to Random and even briefly read the defining factors of this site, you’ll realize that you’re in good hands.

Mads Haahr, the creator at The School of Computer Science and Statistics at Trinity College, Dublin Ireland, kindly offers you the definition of true random numbers.

This school prides itself (and I’m quoting here) on its name being an “innovative and energetic centre for study and research.”

I slept considerably better after I internalized this information…

but I didn’t come up with those adjectives to describe what I personally saw there.

I searched their website for a gift shop that offered cute, chic, designer pocket protectors…

There wasn’t one.

I can confidently say, that I doubt Mads learned his multiplication tables watching SchoolHouse Rock in the 1970′s…

Just remember, wanna-be-winners, to go to TommyMom’s Monday Post each and every post day

of any ” We Have a Winner Wednesday” giveaway week…

Then you will be automatically entered for each comment you leave.

If you forgot and left a post on Wednesday of this week…

I’ve got you covered…

It might be helpful to review your days of the week from Core/Love of Learning phases for future giveaways…

Just being helpful…

Because I want for all of you to win…

and yes, the rest of the country will benefit from future prizes…

Not just Southern California…

although we’d love to have you visit for the FATJEF!

In finishing up the “Festival of the Trees” series of thoughts…

I want to share with you what we did the day we took it all down…

As I was saying…. ( so many posts ago!…)

Familial buy in is huge to reinforce family identity and a sense of belonging…

The Festival committee begins wrapping the trees for delivery and dismantling the pens promptly at 4:00 p.m.

on the Sunday following the week of the event.

We took the entire family in for this “extravaganza”…

So we could all see the trees together…

And Sons #1-#5 could make numerous trips to the car with stuff we needed to clean up…

At times, they’re convinced it’s why we had them…

For strength in numbers when we need manual labor done…

The Mission Inn is a historic landmark in Riverside, California.

I am well aware that not all of you live here…

The point is, what do you have in your area that could be meaningful, inexpensive, family fun…

That promotes holiday spirit?

Their lights and decor during the holiday season are famous…

They are two blocks from the Festival of the Trees.

Just look at the atmosphere of celebration, fun, and community that was going on…

We had a ball!

And…our mission was accomplished…

Our older children saw the value in serving the greater community good…

Our Core and Love of Learning children “can’t wait to help spray paint” for next year, and loved the trees and family fun!

This really is a freeing way to pursue education…

I am blessed…

What are you doing as a family to get ready for the upcoming holidays?

pssstt…Go to Monday’s post to comment! You can link above…