The beautiful new GREEN Heritage canning jars and a GIVEAWAY!

You may remember that last year I was taken with the blue Ball Heritage Collection jars.

Well, this spring I was delighted to learn that Jarden Home Brands, makers of Ball brand home canning products, is introducing a new limited edition of Ball Heritage Collection jars in a new color--spring green!  Available in both regular-mouth pint size and wide-mouth quart size, these are "Perfection" jars,  celebrating the 100th anniversary of the the Ball brothers' "Perfect Mason" jar.

Aren't they gorgeous?  These jars pay tribute to the original jars created in 1914 in Muncie, Indiana.  Of course, these jars meet all modern standards for quality and reliability, and after 100 years they are still 100% made in America.

Here are a few ways I'll be using these lovelies in my home this spring.

Of course they make wonderful drinking glasses, and doesn't the green color look great on my front porch?



 For my next party, I think I'll use them to hold cutlery.



And as a simple flower vase, these can't be beat!

I'm in the process of making some changes to my kitchen, including painting my island--you guessed it!--green, so these green jars arrived just in time for me!



Best of all, these green jars look gorgeous mixed with last year's blue jars.  Just look:

Aren't they lovely sparkling in the sunlight?  So pretty that I just had to create a Waterlogue from the photo:

I know you're going to love these as much as I do, and I'm thrilled to be able to give away a case of these jars to one of you!

Here's what you can win:



Just follow the simple instructions and enter via Rafflecopter.  If you're reading in an email, click over to my blog to enter.  Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway


**Disclosure: Jarden Home Brands provided me with a case of these jars to preview and will provide a case to the giveaway winner.  I received no compensation for writing this review, and all opinions are strictly my own.

Sunday Soul Care

Today I am thanking God for spring and all that it signifies. Won't you join me?

With love to you, my friends--

Not your typical Spring Break

I could have titled this post "A mom's gotta do what a mom's gotta do."

Or "What it looks like when a mom gets to do something really special."

Or "Why I'm still not over my jet lag."

No matter what I called it, this is what I would show you:

That's one of my favorite photos from Spring Break.  As you can see, it's taken in a modest restaurant.  But this modest restaurant is in East Asia, where I went to visit my oldest son.

The last time I saw him was August 13 of last year.  Here we are just before I put him on the plane, when I was valiantly fighting back tears:



Truthfully, I didn't go all that way to see more of the world.  I wasn't dreaming of international travel.  I didn't need to rack up frequent flyer miles.  I just wanted to see my son.  I wanted to catch a glimpse of what he's doing, to share a bit of his life.

Somehow it doesn't seem like that's it's been too long ago that my son and I looked like this:



But as you might guess from my floral pajamas, this was taken was 1991, and at that time Will was utterly dependent on me for everything.  I'll be honest: during my time in East Asia, I felt almost as though our roles were reversed.  Since I knew nothing of the language or the locale, I was pretty much dependent on Will for everything.  And God bless him: he took awfully good care of his Mom.

The end of my week in Asia brought a big treat.  Before I came home, Will and I got to fly to Beijing, China, where neither of us had ever been.  The very best part of that trip?  Driving out to the countryside and taking a little climb:

And here's my favorite.  I instagrammed this photo with the caption: "Hard to beat climbing the Great Wall of China with your firstborn." 

 

Later, Will instagrammed the same photo.  His caption? "Great Mom. And a wall."

For that, my friends, I'd fly a long, long way.

Have you ever traveled a long distance to spend time with a loved one?  I'd love to hear about it!