My first Give-away

I'm not really sure how to do this. I know I don't have the following that professional bloggers do. But I recently purchased a book that I want to share. Here's why:

A year a and a half ago, we welcomed Rhys David into our lives. He was a blessed two and a half pounds smaller than his brother at birth, so we just knew we'd overcome the largest hurdle just by having a much less eventful birth experience than we had with Gabriel.

J/K

Sweet and precious though he was, Rhys did little but eat all night for his first few months of life. It's probably a rookie mistake, but I always answered his insistent cries quickly - and usually with food - because I didn't want him to wake his brother. So my littlest love was more than halfway through his first year of life before I required that he learn to self-soothe. See, G's childbirth had been a flurry of unexpected activity followed by a few rough nights at home and then a self-scheduled infant who let me sleep three hours between nighttime feedings. We fully expected a similarly large child who'd give us trouble at the hospital and then go on to regulate himself fairly quickly. I did, anyway - even though I told myself that no two kids are the same and I wouldn't expect R to be just like G. I hoped for it fervently, but it just didn't happen. So frequently, after eating frequently all night, R would be wide awake by four or five in the morning. And even after I'd get up with him, feed him, and get him back to sleep, he'd only stay asleep if he was laid on his tummy across my lap - not on my chest while I rested on the couch, not in the Moses basket, and not in his crib or Pack and Play. Only on my lap while I sat upright.

So after feeding and burping R during these frequent early mornings, I'd trade the Boppy for the laptop and see what was happening on Facebook, email , and friends' blogs. And that's when I met PDub. In my half-asleep state, I'd frequent my friend and former co-worker Rhonda's blog to find out what her own two boys were up to, what God was doing in her life, and occasionally what she was cooking. She once linked to a recipe on Pioneer Woman's website, and I fell instantly in like with Ree Drummond. In her Confessions archives, I found a fellow city girl who'd grown up with certain goals in mind that changed when she met her now husband. She lives in the country homeschooling four kids while her husband works cattle, and she loves it!

It was like the clouds had parted. I read her love story - funny, unexpected, and terribly romantic - and began to remember my own. And what more can I say? Being able to read about and relate to this woman I'd never met but felt like I shared so much in common, about how happy she was with the life she never expected to have, about surviving all the work and tiredness that comes with having four children (especially when they're in the fussy infant stage) - it woke me up. Every day I had to get up with Rhys, I knew I had P.W. to look forward to.

Perhaps and maybe even probably I should have sought solace in God's Word. I could have used those early mornings to memorize Psalms and hide them in my heart. But I have no doubt God lead me to P. W. He met me where I was - in my tired, be-bathrobed state, and used her wit to give me hope.

And now for the fun part: I'm giving away a copy of Pioneer Woman's newly released love story, Black Heels to Tractor Wheels. I'll check my blog over the course of today and tomorrow to see who's commented and thereby entered my "contest." You can also enter to win by liking or commenting on FB. I'll write down the names of people who've liked and commented tomorrow evening and pull a name out of a hat at random to determine the winner.

There's a string attached, though. When the winner has finished reading - and loving - Black Heels, I'd heart it if you passed it on to someone who needs a little hope in their lives right now.

Love and stuff, Q