One of the Greatest Gifts I've Ever Received

I was playing around on facebook several months ago when I noticed that Rachael Rossman, an incredibly gifted artist, had a giveaway on someones blog called The Modchick. I have been a fan of Rachael's work the moment I saw it floating around on the Internet! When we lost our beloved cat, Pepper, there was a part of me that hoped we would someday be able to get a portrait of her. Never, in my wildest dreams, did I ever expect that I'd actually WIN a Rachael Rossman portrait of my choice!!!

When I saw the contest at Modchick, I thought "It won't hurt to at least try." So, I entered the contest. Lindsey's question to answer for the contest:

"What do you love most about your pet?"

Since we no longer own a pet, this was my response:

"We had a beautiful cat that passed away last year. Pepper was my best friend, always by my side for fifteen years. Her loss is still incredibly hard at times. I’m just now able to consider adopting another cat into the family. Still, I miss my furry, grey, hemingway feline!"

Ever since I found out that I actually won this giveaway, I have been in a state of shock. Tears of joy have flowed from my eyes numerous times today. This is a dream come true. I immediately got in touch with Rachael. She asked me to send her two to three of my favorite photos of Pepper. The one Rachael chose was my absolute favorite. It is a picture I was fortunate enough to take when Violet pulled Pepper up into her lap. Violet called out to me, "Mommy, look! Pepper's sitting in my lap!!!" It was obvious that Pepper didn't just jump into my precious little girl's lap. There was a great deal of maneuvering to get her there. And I'm pretty sure it was against Pepper's wishes. But that cat was amazingly sweet and let Violet have her moment of joy. Here is the original photo...

Rachael did an amazing job. Right?

This painting means the world to me and I will cherish it forever! Thank you Modchick for hosting this giveaway. And thank you Rachael for providing the artwork. Words cannot adequately express how much I love my painting. Thank you, thank you from the depths of my heart.