The "Love Finds You" Blog Party is Here!!!

Welcome, one and all, to the 2nd annual "Love Finds You" blog party!! Today we're gathering around the virtual Christmas tree to start the festivities off right with the traditional pickle ornament hunt! But before we do, grab a mug of hot cocoa while I attend to a few formalities. =)

The "Love Finds You" Series

Let's begin with a quick re-cap (or introduction) to the "Love Finds You" series (published by Summerside Press). I'm going to share my explanation from last year's party:

Now, I realize that some of you may not be as familiar with this series as I am. The "Love Finds You" series is a collection of Christian romance stories set in various places (mainly in the United States) with unique town names and history. The stories range from historical to contemporary and are just as diverse as the towns themselves. The "Love Finds You" series is fun and inspirational, reminding readers that "Love Finds You" wherever God plans it to!

So here we are once again to celebrate this wonderful series and share some Christmas cheer! (If you'd like to read the great interviews from last year, click HERE and scroll down until you get to the 2010 posts.)

The Party Plan

If you haven't yet seen the party page, click HERE or click the button in the sidebar. There you'll find the party schedule and a list of this week's giveaways. As each post goes up, I'll include the links to them on that page, so if you ever feel lost with what's going on during the party, just head over there! Or feel free to leave a comment or e-mail me with any of your questions. =)

The Main Prize Package

As you'll see on the party page, there are going to be some great giveaways this week - starting with today's prize package!

You have the chance to win a $15 Amazon.com gift card and 2 copies (one for you and one for a friend) of Love Finds You in Annapolis, Maryland!

Here are the rules for this particular drawing (please read them carefully!) -

• You must leave a comment on this post saying which country you are from. If you are from the U.S. or Canada, you are eligible for all parts of this package. If you are from any other country, you are only eligible for the Amazon.com gift card (so if you win, another person will be chosen for the books). Hope that makes sense!

• You can gain 2 extra entries by taking the party button and putting it on your blog to help me spread the word. If you've already done so, no need to tell me again as I'll check back on the comments from the original post. However, you still must leave a comment here to be entered in the drawing!!

• You can gain extra extra entries by participating in today's activity, so read on!
  

The Great Pickle Hunt

If you're a long-time reader of this blog, hunting for pickle ornaments is nothing new for you! But for all our new visitors, here's an advertisement from The German Way that will tell you a little bit about the pickle-hunting tradition (click on the image to enlarge):

Basically a green pickle ornament is hidden among the branches of the Christmas tree, and the first to find it receives a gift. (My sister and I enjoy this tradition at Christmastime!) Today 5 pickle ornament images have been hidden in various places on this blog. Each pickle is worth 3 extra entries in today's drawing.

Here are the official rules:

• When you find a pickle image, just leave a comment saying where you found it (you can either describe the post/page or include the URL).

• You aren't limited to finding just one pickle image, so you can claim all 15 extra entries if you find all five pickles. However, if you want to be nice and not hog all the pickle claims, then I'm sure others will thank you. ;)

• I might be a little slow in checking in, but just know that once all five pickles are found, the game is over. (I'll eventually add the names of those who find the pickles to this post once the pickles have all been found.) If people are having a hard time finding the pickles, I might offer a hint or two later on.
  

• Also, please note: the pickle images from the rules post for last December's game and last July's game do NOT count. You will find them (as well as today's post) HERE, which is a link to the posts with the label "Pickle Ornament Tradition." Any other pickle images count, though! ;)

Finally, below is what the pickle image you're hunting for looks like. (But this is NOT one of the five I've hidden; this picture is just an example!)

*All 5 pickles have been found by Melanie, Bluerose, Casey, and Christy! Thank you to everyone who participated!*

In Conclusion...

I know this is a lot to take in! Please let me know if you have any questions, and remember that a lot of the information you need to know for this week is available on the party page. Have fun, and don't forget to come back tomorrow to meet Roseanna White and learn more about Love Finds You in Annapolis, Maryland!

Come Find the Pickles!

Today I have a fun Christmas activity for you in honor of "Christmas in July!" For those long-time followers, you may recall the pickle ornament hunt we had as our pre-"Love Finds You" blog party activity last December. Well, today you have another chance to hunt for those pickle ornaments! ;)

Since I already wrote about this tradition before, I'm just going to repeat some of what I said last time about this neat Christmas tradition.

The Tradition

The advertisement below featured on The German Way website gives a brief description of this Christmas tradition:

The basic idea is that the parents hide a pickle ornament in the tree, and whoever finds the green ornament among the branches and other ornaments receives an extra gift! In our family, though, we have more than one pickle ornament, so my sister and I both have a chance to win a prize. It makes the game a little less stressful that way, I'm sure. ;) Plus, my grandparents hide pickle ornaments for us in their tree, too, so I think it's safe to say we've been rather spoiled!

The Hunt

Now it's your turn! I have hidden three pickle ornament images in three different posts on this blog. They could be anywhere on this site, so you'll have to hunt carefully! Just remember: The pickle images are on this blog (Seasons of Humility), and you won't find them in any links that take you away from this blog.

Each pickle is worth 5 extra entries in whichever drawing you entered when you completed the survey. (If you haven't completed the "Christmas in July" Survey, click HERE to fill that out first. You must complete the survey in order for these extra entries to count!)

There are three pickles out there, so there are 15 extra entries available! If you don't want to be entered to win either of the books (Surrender the Dawn or 5 Conversations You Must Have With Your Son), you can choose to give your extra points to someone else who is entered in one of the drawings.

The Rules

• When you find a pickle image, just leave a comment saying where you found it (you can either describe the post/page or include the URL).

• You aren't limited to finding just one pickle image, so you can claim all 15 extra entries if you find all three pickles. However, if you want to be nice and not hog all the pickle claims, then I'm sure others will thank you. ;)

• I might be a little slow in checking in, but just know that once all three pickles are found, the game is over.

• Also, please note: the pickle image from last December's game does NOT count. You will find it HERE. Any other pickle images count, though! ;)

Finally, below is what the pickle image you're hunting for looks like. (But this is NOT one of the three I've hidden; this picture is just an example!)

*Update: All the pickle ornaments have been found! Congratulations to Sara and Michelle for finding the three images and getting those extra entries!*

Setting the Mood with a Pre-Party Activity!

Tomorrow is the official first day of the "Love Finds You" Blog Party here at "Seasons of Humility!" The excitement is building!!! Are you ready to party?

To help kick-start the festivities and celebrate the holiday season, I thought it would be fun to share a Christmas tradition with you. It involves a pickle ornament and extra gifts, so read on to find out more!

The advertisement below featured on The German Way website gives a brief description of this Christmas tradition:

The basic idea is that the parents hide a pickle ornament in the tree, and whoever finds the green ornament among the branches and other ornaments receives an extra gift! In our family, though, we have more than one pickle ornament, so my sister and I both have a chance to win a prize. It makes the game a little less stressful that way, I'm sure. ;) Plus, my grandparents hide pickle ornaments for us in their tree, too, so I think it's safe to say we've been rather spoiled!

Anyway, would you like to try your hand at pickle hunting? I've hidden three pickle ornament images here on the blog somewhere. They could be on one of my pages, older posts, or right under your nose! But just to clarify--they are only on this blog. You won't find them in any links that take you away from "Seasons of Humility."

What is the extra gift you're aiming for? Whoever finds a pickle image first and tells me in the comment section where it was found gets 5 extra entries in the drawing for the grand prize package (to be described tomorrow on the first day of the party)! That means that if you happen to have extra time and somehow find all three of the pickle images before anyone else, you could get up to 15 extra entries in the drawing!!! Or there could be one person with 10 extra entries and another with 5 extra entries. Or three different people could end up with 5 extra entries each. You get the idea!

Believe me--the grand prize package is going to be awesome! So don't miss out on this chance to gain extra entries in the drawing! Plus, it's always fun to be the first to find something. ;) Don't forget that in order to get the extra entries you must say where you found the pickle ornament image on my blog (you can say what page/post or you can give the URL). Feel free to leave a comment if you have any questions (or if you are in need of some hints...), as well. There are three images, so that means there are three chances to win! Here's what the image looks like (but note that this is not one of the three images you are supposed to find--this is just an example):


Happy pickle hunting! And remember to stop by tomorrow to join me for the first day of the "Love Finds You" Blog Party!!!

*All three of the pickles have now been found. Congratulations to Bluerose and Casey! Thank you for joining in the fun!*