It's a BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION!!

The TDIPT Mercantile is celebrating its 3rd birthday

and we invite you to join in the celebration!

It's hard to believe that 3 years have passed since opening day of the TDIPT Mercantile, and to celebrate, we are having a fabulous giveaway in honor of the grand event!

All of the prizes have been generously donated by our fabulous TDIPT artists. The celebration will begin on February 28th at 10:00 pm (ET). This is also when the 1st of the month artists will present their new offerings on the Mercantile for March. You will have until 9:00 pm (ET) time on March 21 to get your entry in for the drawing. The winners will be drawn at 10:00 pm on March 21!

There are 3 ways to enter the drawing:

1. Purchase an item from the Mercantile (either from the 1st of the month artists or the 15th of the month artists) and we will enter your name for each purchase you make.

2. If you are already on our mailing list to receive the TDIPT newsletter, you are automatically entered to win. If you are not signed up for the newsletter, please be sure to sign up on the Mercantile or on our TDIPT Blog.

3. If you are signed up as a follower on the TDIPT Blog, you are already entered to win. If not, please be sure to sign up to become a follower.

We hope you will join us for this festive occasion! We appreciate your loyal patronage and support of the artists of TDIPT Mercantile!

Birds of a Feather...

The TDIPT group is having a launch currently on Ebay

and I've managed to make something to play along...

I call this piece

PRECIOUS CARGO

Mama and her designer backpack come packed full of wee babies, just waiting for the next worm to fill their bellies!

This is the first listing I have put on ebay for a very long time and it will load up Tuesday evening. When you have a minute, I would invite you to look me up on ebay - it will be a 5 day list, ending Sunday evening.

Also, just enter TDIPT in your ebay search to see all of the amazing handiwork from so many incredible artists!

Hurry Sully

Saturday was a baby shower for my niece, Cheyenne - what a wonderful gathering of her dear friends and family. Everyone is so anxious for Sully to enter our worlds ... and lavished so many beautiful gifts for mama and the baby.
The house was packed with ladies - and a grand time was had by all!
Thank you Chey and Darb, for letting us be such a part of this... we can't wait for Sully to be here!

We love you both so much ♥

The Mom's are making sure everything is perfect and ready for the festivities and the guests!

Anna is Chey's best friend - she had another baby shower for Chey just a few weeks prior and found the most adorable vintage decorations for Sully's room ... if you look closely, you can see alot of the things in her cubbie below.... love you Anna! You are so precious to me ♥

The house was packed to the rafters... I dont know how we could have fit another lady inside - but I'm sure we could have if need be :)

Chey and mom, Julie .... and below, Chey seems like a natural already, juggling baby and drink simultaneously. BTW, those are cloth diapers on the baby and what she is going to use for Sully. Baby Things have really changed so much since the last baby shower I went to - it's amazing all the helpful items out there for mom! Needless to say, I got "enlightened" !!

An awesome "bear" rug for Sully.... Chey's cousin Shelby and I were really veying for that one!

A Bassinette that had been gradually filled over the last 2 years by Grannie Annie (above) ... it was all wonderful!

It was a great day for everyone - great work, Julie, Aunt Alisa and Shirley!

Peabody

Meet Peabody - my latest offering on the TDIPT Mercantile.

Love how this sweet fella turned out, with his blue ticking body and warm & natural jacket!

Be sure to check out Peabody and all the other amazing artists offering on the Merc! You won't be disappointed ♥

No Words Necessary

Just Stay

A nurse took the tired, anxious serviceman to the bedside.

"Your son is here," she said to the old man.

She had to repeat the words several times before the patient's eyes opened.

Heavily sedated because of the pain of his heart attack, he dimly saw the young uniformed Marine standing outside the oxygen tent. He reached out his hand. The Marine wrapped his toughened fingers around the old man's limp ones, squeezing a message of love and encouragement.

The nurse brought a chair so that the Marine could sit beside the bed. All through the night the young Marine sat there in the poorly lightedward, holding the old man's hand and offering him words of love and strength. Occasionally, the nurse suggested that the Marine move away and rest awhile.

He refused. Whenever the nurse came into the ward, the Marine was oblivious of her and of the night noises of the hospital - the clanking of the oxygen tank, the laughter of the night staff members exchanging greetings, the cries and moans of the other patients.

Now and then she heard him say a few gentle words. The dying man said nothing, only held tightly to his son all through the night.

Along towards dawn, the old man died. The Marine released the now lifeless hand he had been holding and went to tell the nurse. While she did what she had to do, he waited.

Finally, she returned. She started to offer words of sympathy, but the Marine interrupted her.

"Who was that man?" he asked.

The nurse was startled, "He was your father," she answered.

"No, he wasn't," the Marine replied. "I never saw him before in my life."

"Then why didn't you say something when I took you to him?"

"I knew right away there had been a mistake, but I also knew he needed his son, and his son just wasn't here. When I realized that he was too sick to tell whether or not I was his son, knowing how much he needed me, I stayed."

I came here tonight to find a Mr. William Grey. His Son was killed in Iraq today, and I was sent to inform him. What was this Gentleman's name?

The Nurse with Tears in her eyes answered, Mr. William Grey..............

I know this was just a story but it made me realize how God can use even me to be Jesus with skin on ♥