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Growing up, Easter was a time of pretty dresses, Easter egg hunts and the hint of spring. It was my grandmother who picked out a pretty dress for me to wear on Easter morning. It was my mother who curled my hair and offered a chocolate bunny and other treats.

Once I had my own children, I looked forward to picking out a nice dress and suits, but also as a follower of Jesus I wanted my children to focus on the real meaning of the holiday. From the time they were young instead of picking out an Easter basket filled with all the treats, my husband John and I purchased a Christian book, video or music CD for each of them—something they could continue to enjoy throughout the the year. Something that would remind them of Jesus’s love.

This Easter our new baby girl is just one-years-old. I thought about different resources that I could give her, and then I found the perfect one: a DaySpring’s Recordable Storybook: Bedtime Prayers and Promises. If you’ve seen some of the recent Hallmark commercials you know what I’m talking about. Recordable Storybooks are ones that you record your voice (or someone else’s) and your child can hear the story read by someone they love whenever they flip through the pages.

When I first got the idea, I just assumed that I’d record my voice, or John and I would record our voices together. Then I got to thinking … this would be a perfect gift to include another person who loves Alyssa that lives far away, and I knew the perfect person.

You see, Alyssa joined our family through adoption a year ago. Alyssa has been a joy and a gift to our family. We’ve also enjoyed a relationship with her birth mom. We share our lives through photos and by sending weekly updates, but how much more special it would be if Alyssa’s birth mom could record her voice in a beautiful storybook!

I love this idea because it reminds Alyssa’s birth mom that we appreciate her and the gift of life she gave us. It will also help Alyssa to be familiar with her birth mom’s voice so in the future when they talk over the phone or see each other Alyssa will understand she’s talking to someone who cares and not a stranger.

How about you? Do you have a special child in your life who’d you like to share Bedtime Prayers and Promises with? If so, I’m going to give you a chance to be blessed!

I have TWO copies of Bedtime Prayers and Promises to give away. You can win by sharing a comment (short or long!) in this post. Please share:

I will draw TWO winners next Tuesday, April 12^th. I’m drawing it early so that if you don’t win you have plenty of time to purchase your own copy! They are being sold exclusively through Christian retailers.

But wait …. I’m also going to be giving away a THIRD copy of Bedtime Prayers and Promises to a random tweeter. Post the following, and I will draw a winner from all who tweeted.

You can post this as many times as you’d like for more chance to win … as long as you don’t drive your Twitter friends crazy 🙂

May you and a special child be blessed this Easter!