200th Post Celebration and Giveaway!

Here at Sleepy Bear's we are celebrating a few things; two hour naps, our 200th post and the pursuit of dreams. Did you know Bear and I are both actors? One of our dreams is to make a living acting in worthwhile projects that build up instead of tear down. You know... the kind of movies you watch and feel better about yourself and life in general, maybe even inspired to do great things. We were lucky enough to work on just such a project and you might just be lucky enough to win your very own copy. We are giving away a copy of The Wylds to one lucky reader, so be sure to comment on this post.



The Wylds is a family film based on the ageless story, The Pilgrim's Progress. It's a fun adventure film, with treasures to be gleamed in every scene. I realize a review from someone in the film might not be totally convincing, so I'll keep it short and just say BEAR is AWESOME. River saw it when he was 8 months old and got such a kick out of the robot, he couldn't stop giggling. The director continues to astound me with what he does on a limited budget. He's a great example of not letting restrictions on money, equipment and support stop you from dreaming big and making things happen.

We just finished working on another of his films called Treasure State. We had a blast. We want you to share in the magic, so here is all the ways you can win.

#1 For one entry, comment on this post and for fun, share a dream you have. It can be big or small. I'll be honest, most days I'm dreaming of extra sleep!

#2 For a second entry, like The Wylds on Facebook and leave a separate comment letting me know you did. http://www.facebook.com/#!/thewylds

#3 For a third entry, like Treasure State on Facebook and leave a separate comment letting me know you did. http://www.facebook.com/#!/treasurestate

You can do all or none of the entries, but if you do none of them, you won't win and that would be a tragedy... especially if you have kids. I put a link to the Facebook pages... how much easier does it get? I will do the drawing on Friday April 8th and announce the winner that day. If you don't win and want to buy your own copy, you can purchase The Wylds at most Christian bookstores or at http://thewylds.com/ or on Amazon.

Cheers to our 200th post and we can't wait to do 200 more... it shouldn't take me too long to get there, if I could ever find the time to actually write all the thoughts swimming around in my head!!!

The Journey Of A Lifetime

Begins with a single step... But when to say that step occurred??? I naively assumed River would learn to stand and then a few days later, take a couple tentative steps towards me and bing, bang, boom... he would be a walker. Turns out, not so much. This little man developed quite a love for his walker. He's been cruising around with that thing for months, but take it away and he stands perfectly still. His balance is excellent, so he can stand there quite awhile, giving you sad looks, until you just feel mean for taking it away.




He did take a few independent steps on January 24th, but since then, the steps were few and far between. Begging for them didn't work. He had to be completely distracted, while in a standing position and almost not even realize he was doing it. I had a feeling, he would walk, if he had to go without his walker for any length of time, but he seemed happy and I figured no need to rush.
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This brings us to last week. We were in Montana and you better believe we brought the walker with us. However, we found ourselves on location (movie talk) without it one day (March 8th, 2011 to be exact) and wouldn't you know, this little booger looked at me from across the room and with a twinkle in his eye, marched his little booty all the way to me. He was bringing me some blocks and I guess he figured out it would be easier to walk with them, than crawl with them.



This video is from the next day. I was wondering if he would go back to the walker, but he seems content to be on his own, even if it means being slower and having way more falls. I didn't realize the pride I would feel watching him walk. To me, it borders on miraculous. Arms out in front, face serious in concentration, body clumsily waddling back and forth, breath heavy... it's an overall Frankenstein affect and I promise you, I've never seen anything more beautiful.