Quilt Raffle to benefit local family

Dear friends, our home school community was rocked last month at the sudden death of a dear home school mom to five daughters. Christina was the Proverbial woman in every sense. I only met her a few times, but everyone who knew her echoes the same sentiment about her. She was an adoring wife to Christian, whom is no doubt devastated with her loss. Although I did not know her well, several of my close friends are in deep mourning. I have been praying and praying for all of them and have felt so helpless. I would imagine any monetary help is greatly appreciated and I think a raffle would increase the amount our family could contribute to them. Please consider a $10 donation and you also get a chance to win this quilt. For every $10 you donate, you will get another chance. $50 would be five chances!!!

Here is the quilt:



It would be perfect for any young girl or teen, or any young at heart woman. The blocks contain unique graphics of a girl or princess, and is a 60" square. It is very whimsical and HAPPY!! I pieced this by hand using fabric from our local quilt store, Sew Bee It!, and will have it professionally machine quilted. The quilt will be back from the quilter on December 13th and I will then apply the binding, having it completed in time for a Christmas gift!

I can receive entries up until the 13th of December and will announce a winner on Wednesday, the 14th in the morning. Please e-mail me and I will forward my mailing address so you can send a check, or click the "chip-in" button and pay with Paypal.

Thank you so much for helping this family. 100% of all donation money will go directly to the Hooker family. God Bless you all!

Ps: I will ship the quilt anywhere in the US at no charge. If this quilt is not your style, donate anyway and I will give the quilt to the Hooker family. Thanks!

A Date to Remember

Last night, Keith and I attended "A Date to Remember". It is put on by the same people who organize "A Weekend to Remember". It is just a fun time for married couples to sit back and enjoy a good laugh about marriage. Mark Gungor was the main speaker and he had our cheeks hurting from laughter! He has written several books and has videos out as well. I would say he is best known for his, "Laugh Your Way to a Happier Marriage". Yes, you will laugh, and then you will wonder if he has been secretly video taping you and your husband.... He just knows the male/female characteristics so well and can find the humor in it all. Check him out on the web - he has several little things you can listen to at no cost. I will never look at smiley faces the same way again.... Oh, and please pray for his wife whom was recently diagnosed with breast cancer.

I also wanted to put in a plug for Chick-fil-A. They sponsored the event and went ALL OUT! As you know, they are strong Christians. They put their money and their feet where their mouth is: they want strong Christian families! The president of Chick-fil-A and his brother briefly spoke last night, and offered a prayer. I was most impressed with them and think I may have to start choosing Chick-fil-A over Bojangles.... The kids might not be too happy about this, but we need to support people who are trying to make a positive difference in our society, for His glory.

A big thank you to First Things First and Chick-fil-A for a lovely evening with the hubby. Chris will be thrilled when I take him to get the two free chicken sandwiches that were handed out last night.

I Protest!

All I have to say about those goons on Wall Street are this: you are protesting the wrong people. It was Obama that bailed out Wall Street, go protest HIM. His failed policies are the reason unemployment remains high. I guarantee if we repealed Obummercare, the job market would surge. That MESS of a law has killed jobs and has INCREASED health insurance costs. Our health insurance premiums DOUBLED last year and I am scared to see what they are going to be this year. Obama said our health insurance premiums would go down and we should ask our employer for a raise. What a joke! And these Wall Street people are trashing the place, being lawless and saying such nice things as, "Eat the Rich". Such friendly folks.

EVERY time the Tea Party held a rally, they cleaned up when they were finished and NONE were ever arrested. NONE. I believe in a good protest, but some common sense manners and consideration should be paramount.

Oh, and while I am at it, I WHOLEHEARTEDLY endorse Mr. Herman Cain! He is the real deal!! I've been listening to him on the radio for over five years and he is not only brilliant, but he is a fine man. He is genuine and compassionate. If you have never gotten to know him, please check him out. I guarantee you will like him!

Two Month Blog Hiatus

Hello ya'll! I am guessing nobody really reads this thing anymore, especially since I haven't posted in over two months. It has simply been an interesting period in our lives. Chris began college the first week of August. He is doing amazingly well and I am so proud of him! Dalton State is known for being a "hard" school, and he has risen to the challenge. Chris is a natural scholar and just seems to do well effortlessly. He is also a natural accountant and will be one of the best!

Andrew and Michael are in high school. Andrew is trying to get the credits he needs to enlist in the Air Force this spring, which would put him heading to boot camp in the summer of 2014. He will also enroll in Dalton State next year to get a few college credits under his belt. The Air Force likes you to have a minimum of 15 college credits. Michael is still undecided about his future plans, and that is okay! There is plenty of time,Lord willing.

James is devouring books right now. Who'd of thought that?? He is also partaking in playing some good old fashioned rink hockey. He really loves it, which just surprises us. He is the least aggressive child we have, but he loves the hockey. I am thankful for some fabulous friends that run it and mentor James each week.

Keith and I celebrated our 19th wedding anniversary last month. In some ways it seems like we have always been together and in other ways, it seems like yesterday. I love being married, although it isn't always easy. We do hit many peaks and valleys, but the Lord has blessed us with an unshakable commitment. I am incredibly thankful for Keith and his loving support.

Me? Well, I will spare you the details, but I have been having an interesting time lately. I could group about 10 negative experiences I have endured over the last two months, between sever back pain to teenagers to teenagers and then more teenagers and throw in some bumps in the road and, well, it has been interesting. But the Lord is faithful. His mercies are new every morning. I rest upon Him and begin each day with Him and pray for the best. Teenagers. They are an interesting breed. I hope they don't kill me.

Some Things are so Overrated

For instance, stainless steel appliances. Sure, they look great and they do add value to your home, but they are highly overrated. They smudge so easily and cost upwards of $200+ more per appliance just to have a stainless front. Every single time you touch them, the fingerprints look awful. If we weren't planning on selling in about 4 years, I would be perfectly content with white!

Front loader washing machines. Again, they look amazing. But they harbor skanky water in the door rim. They don't really clean any better than traditional washers and they cost LOTS more. The pedestals cost over $200 each, and you totally need them, unless you are REALLY short. I will not be buying them again, that is for sure. If it hadn't been for the great deal we got on repo units, no way would I have forked out the cash for these.

Granite counter tops. We don't have these, but based on horror stories I have heard, I am thankful this was one status symbol I didn't buy into. They crack and dull easily. You can see fingerprints very easily. They need sealed twice a year and they are WAY pricey!

It is unfortunate our society has become obsessed with status symbols that seemingly represent that you have money. Our parents were so content years ago with much less. They would get their broken appliances repaired and make them last. Now we just dispose of everything and get a new one.

What overrated item did you purchase that you wish you hadn't? I'd love to have your wisdom!

50? No way!

My husband cracked through the glass ceiling of the 40's and burst his way into the fabulous 50's! We had the blessing of having his Mom and Bill in town and got to surprise Keith with their knocking on the door unexpectedly. It was not easy keeping it a secret for two weeks. It almost slipped several times, but we pulled it off and it was great fun.

I really wanted to throw Keith a party, but he really did not want one, so instead, I asked friends and family to send a birthday card. I collected all of the cards and put them into a box for him to open like a gift. We had much fun opening all of the cards and then passing them around. Some people shared pictures, some shared long lost stories and some just shared a lovely Bible verse. I know Mom and Bill enjoyed reading the cards with us and watching Keith open a few gifts. The guys all pitched in and got him some really nice sun glasses. It was nice to see them spend their own money on somebody other than themselves.

It may not have been a bash to end all bashes, but what matters most is that we shared it with the people we love. Happy Birthday, old man! I hope you enjoyed it!

The Perils of having a Green Thumb..

I have no idea how or why this happens, but I can take a dying, shriveled up plant and bring it back to vibrant life. My flower garden is constantly over producing flowers (not a bad thing). The problem ensues when I try to get rid of a plant that I no longer find desirable. I cant kill it. It will keep coming back and back and back. You get the picture. I also seem to have an abundance of babies. You know how your plants drop seed, and then next year you might get one or two of them again? In my garden, there are many babies from last year. It is great, because it's like getting free plants. I also have to thin my plants and prune them regularly. I guess I am just a very fertile person, or perhaps all of you gardening friends have the same problems and maybe I am not as special as I think I am.' Either way, several sweaty hours have been spent working the beds this week, and I am still not finished. I also see several transplanting projects for the fall. I have a very bad habit of planting something and then it gets ginormous and I need to thin things out again. It's a jungle out there!

Unfortunately, my vegetable garden didn't get the memo about my magic thumb, and I barely got anything out of it. Several stalks of corn shot up, but I never got any ears. My potatoes were a total flop, which was very sad for me. I had high hopes of putting 100 pounds of potatoes in a dark room. My kids would have so loved to have an abundance of spuds. I would have been their hero for about five minutes. Oh well, I will try again next year, for sure!

I hope you are getting many lovely flowers to brighten your day, and the butterflies that go with them. I also hope when you are enjoying them, you give thanks for He whom made them. God bless your gardens!