Virtual Baby Shower WINNER ANNOUNCEMENT

On Monday I announced our 10 finalists for the Virtual Baby Shower Grand Prize. To refresh your memory, here is the list:

1. Amanda H. (#10, #11)
2. Crystal A. (#27, #26)
3. Angela V. (#37, #33)
4. Katie M. (#39, #35)
5. Amber K. (#41, #38)
6. Stacy S. (#46, #42)
7. Autum (#112, #169)
8. Heather S. (#180, #141)
9. Colleen C. (#263, #204)
10. Steve R. (#358, #272)

The winner was chosen from this list at random using random.org, and not even by me. I asked my friend Alyson over at 3 P’s in a Pod to do it because I just felt that for a prize this big, I wanted everyone to know that it was done fairly (I didn’t tell her what is for until after she did it).

So, here is the lucky # of the 10:

Random Integer Generator
Here are your random numbers:

3

Timestamp: 2008-11-04 18:14:02 UTC

Which makes the winner:

Angie wins all of the prizes listed on the Grand Prize List Page!!!!

Below is her original entry that earned her a slot in the top 10.

About a year ago, my husband and I (along with our 4 kids) uprooted our entire lives and moved to Georgia. My grandparents are getting older, and we felt it was important to be down here to help them as much as we can. Because we moved, my husband gave up his high paying job and is now making less than half of what he had been making. There just aren’t any jobs in the area. We struggle from day to day to make ends meet.

We thought we were done having children, and in February, we found out a baby was coming. We sold most of our baby items before moving, but we did leave some of our larger items in Ohio in the garage of our house that hadn’t yet sold. We were planning a trip back up to get those items. Shortly before my husband was supposed to leave, we got a phone call from our realtor. Someone had broken in and taken absolutely everything – baby items and everything else we had in there. So, here we are… expecting baby #5 and are starting over from scratch – on an income that can barely support my husband and I. Because this is baby #5, people just assume we have everything we need. We did, but that is no longer the case. And the friends and family who would like to help just can’t afford to right now.

I know that every baby is a blessing, and even though this baby wasn’t planned, we couldn’t be more excited about his pending arrival. If I were to win, I would guarantee that every single item would be put to good use. If there was a product that I couldn’t use, I would find another mom in need and send the item to her. Thank you so much for the opportunity to enter such an amazing contest.

I called Angie yesterday to talk to her and tell her that she was chosen as the winner. There was no shortage of excitement or tears. As you can see from the time stamp on the random number drawing, I have known since Tuesday that Angie was chosen as the winner. Because she has a blog, I was able to learn a lot about her without even talking to her. One of things that I noticed a couple of times on her blog was her need for a double stroller. She has 5 kids, the youngest of which was just born on October 10th!

Here is Angie’s reaction to our conversation yesterday in her own words:

I absolutely couldn’t believe it when you called me to tell me that I had won. I don’t think I’ve stopped crying since then. This will help our family out so much.

Since I entered the contest, I did give birth. Parker was born on 10/10/08 after I developed toxemia and had to have him induced early. It was a very difficult recovery, and things have been really rough while trying to recover AND deal with 5 kids. It’s been equally as tough, because there was so much that we just don’t have for Parker. Things we need, but simply cannot afford. Thanks to this contest, and to your wonderful sponsors, a HUGE chunk of that has been taken care of. I cannot begin to express to you and to the sponsors how much each and every item will help us out. If there happens to be an item that I can’t use, just like I said in my entry, I will find another mom or mom-to-be in need and pass the item along to her.

I also have to say that I have been trying to win a stroller *everywhere* that I can find a contest. With 5 kids, I need to be able to confine at least 2 of them in order to accomplish anything while we’re out and about. Thanks to Joovy, now I can pick the stroller that will help us most. AND, now I can start going for daily walks and work off some of this baby fat! Thank you, Joovy.

And a HUGE thank you to you, Kim and all of the other sponsors. This is absolutely amazing, and means the world to me.

After talking with Angie yesterday, I am so happy that these items from all of our wonderful sponsors are things that she can use (well, except the Tutu – Parker may look cute in a Tutu, but I doubt he’d appreciate having worn it as he grows up, because pictures would be inevitable, so I’m sure that prize will be finding itself a different home). Angie and her family have gone through some rough times (as I know many others have as well) and I am incredibly happy that the intent of our Virtual Baby Shower was achieved – to provide a mom with some great, wonderful products that will help her out as she raises her kids! And on top of that, the winner is someone who is deserving and so very appreciative.

Thank you to all of our fantastic sponsors and everyone who entered and visited our site during this fun event! My sister’s shower is tomorrow, so these last couple of days for me are just wonderful and a great blessing to be able to “shower” both Angie and my sister with all of these great gifts. They say it is better to give than to receive and I cannot tell you how true that is. I will be forever grateful for the experience to have read all the stories of the deserving moms, grandmas, aunts, cousins, friends and more of so many deserving moms and moms-to-be, and especially the opportunity to make a wish come true for Angie. I can’t wait to see pictures of her kids in that Joovy stroller and to see how much she loves all the other great products!

And for the 9 finalists who didn’t get chosen, I completely sympathize with the disappointment that will follow this announcement and I wish you and your families all the best and thank you for sharing your stories with us.