What I am Thankful for this Holiday

This holiday season I am thankful for getting the chance to spend time with family. With all of the military moves we rarely live close enough to any of our relatives and we usually don't have enough time to travel. This year we are only a six hour drive away from half of my family and I am really excited to visit for Thanksgiving.

But enough about me, I want to hear about YOU! What are you thankful for this holiday?

Be sure to blog about your experience and then link up right here with us (linky starts today). The Linky will remain open for a full week, so get those posts ready and come back for some blogging fun!

New Blog Topic and Linky Opportunity

Thanks to those of you who participated in my monthly Lauren Nicole Gifts Linky series! It’s been so much fun reading your blogs and getting to know you! {For those who may have missed the news, here are the deets with the new topic for this month}:

Each month, I will be hosting an original Linky right here on the blog at Lauren Nicole Gifts and the idea is to inspire one another through our posts and obviously, make some new connections! Bloggers that write around a specific topic typically have much to share, so it’s a great way to meet new bloggers as well as post about a topic that you love! And I will always give you at least a one week notice of the new topic so you have plenty of time to write, prepare and linkup!

The next Linky will take place the week of Monday, November 14th and here's the topic: Write about what you are thankful for this holiday season; perhaps it's a special gift, a visit from someone special, a small gesture from a loved one, you name it! Spill it on the blog! Share photos if you wish and be sure to include my blog link within the body of your post and come back here beginning 11/14 to linkup!

Can't wait to read your blogs!

Most Meaningful Gift

In thinking about all the gifts I have received over the years, I have to say that the most meaningful gift I ever received is my husband. He is in the Army and is gone a lot. My husband was deployed to Iraq several years ago. Between training and the actual deployment he was gone for 1-1/2 years. He missed two Christmas holidays, but on the second Christmas I got a phone call letting me know he was coming home on New Year’s Eve.

I had already spent all of that December filling up my front yard with lights, but never turning them on hoping he would be home soon. I am sure the neighbors thought I was crazy because everyday I put up more lights, but my house was the only house on the street that didn’t have any lights on. On New Year’s Eve I turned all of them on….the only colors I used were red, white & blue.

At 2:00am my husband’s flight arrived and at 4:00am his unit marched into the field house on post which was decorated for Christmas. As they marched in the song “I am Proud To Be An American” by Lee Greenwood was playing in the background. I will always cry when I hear that song! I will never ever be able to completely describe the feeling of seeing him march in that night. We were very fortunate that he came home safe and that was the best gift I have ever received. It was the most memorable moment of my life, even more memorable than my wedding day.

Since that day we stopped exchanging gifts and spend the money on doing things together.

Now, I would love to hear about YOUR most meaningful gift! Be sure to blog about your experience and then link up right here with us! Once the Linky has closed, I will be choosing a winner at random from the linked up posts to win $75 to shop my store!!! The Linky will remain open for a full week, so get those posts ready and come back for some blogging fun!

Introducing a Linky and Giveaway for Bloggers

I am so happy to announce a fabulous new Linkup for bloggers! Introducing the Linky that will bring bloggers together through topics of sincere interest to women and moms...this new Linkup should be so much fun!

I’ve been in this business long enough to know that making great connections and cultivating some quality relationships in the social media space is paramount, so I wanted another way to connect with bloggers on a more personal level that went beyond the traditional review/giveaway – I still connect with bloggers and work with them on a continuous basis in this manner, but I want to feel more connected to the bloggers themselves and get to know their blogs beyond that one published post.

Here are the Full Details:

Each month, I will be hosting an original Linky right here on the blog at Lauren Nicole Gifts and the idea is to inspire one another through our posts and obviously, make some new connections! Bloggers that write around a specific topic typically have much to share, so it’s a great way to meet new bloggers as well as post about a topic that you love! And I will always give you at least a one week notice of the new topic so you have plenty of time to write, prepare and linkup!

So, what do YOU as a blogger get out of this Linky? Aside from the potential of meeting some wonderful new bloggers, I will be giving away gift certificates to shop my store, Lauren Nicole Gifts, each time I host a Linky…so basically if you linkup your post, you will automatically be entered to win the giveaway – which is $75 to shop at my store! How awesome is that?

So, we want to ensure we start our first Linky with a handful of bloggers on board – bloggers who are ready to write, post, connect and linkup right here!

First Linky will take place the week of Monday, September 19th and here's the topic: Write about the BEST gift you ever received.

Share photos if you wish and/or describe why THAT one gift was truly something you’ll never forget! Be sure to include my blog link within the body of your post and come back here beginning 9/19 to linkup for YOUR chance to win the first of many Lauren Nicole Gifts giveaways!

So fellow bloggers – are you in?