Guess Where I'm Going Y'all?

DH and I are taking a four day trip to Savannah, GA this weekend. We'll be leaving early Thursday morning and coming home late Sunday night. The only real set plans we have is to attend the Scottish Festival and Games while we are there. DH is competing (solo bagpiping competition) on Saturday at that event but that's the only real thing we have planned. We want to take a day to visit Tybee Island so we're planning a full day for that and hopefully the weather will be nice. So, that covers Sunday (we'll spend the day exploring Tybee and then just head home from there). That leaves half a day and all night on Thursday and an entire day on Friday. So, I need your help. If you've been to Savannah and have any really great tips for us, please share. One must will be to eat lunch or supper at Lady & Sons. No one can travel to Savannah and not have a little Paula Deen before they leave :-o) Even if Paula irritates the snot out of you, you've got to love the fact that she's all about the butter! Oh, and chocolate! Right up my alley! I'll be leaving my diet at the hotel for that one!

I'm trying to throw together a quick schedule so that we can make sure to do all of the things we really want to do. If you've been to Savannah and done something you really enjoyed, let me know. We'll also take any restaurant suggestions you might throw our way. I'm excited already! Is it Thursday yet? LOL!

Becoming A Titus 2 Woman *Winner*

The winner of the book giveaway this week is (insert drum roll sound) Lauren over at Baseballs & Bows! Congratulations Lauren! Please email me your mailing address so I can get this out to you! Thanks to everyone who entered! I will not be posting a new book tomorrow because we will be out of town all week. Check back May 6 for a new giveaway!

I'm excited this week, to be giving away a copy of Martha Peace's Becoming A Titus 2 Woman. I enjoyed this book and have a copy in our library. Here's a little about the book:

Becoming a Titus 2 Woman provides older women a training tool for learning how to successfully mentor younger women. Each of the ten chapters concludes with a chapter summary and application questions that will help women put into practice what they have read.

To enter to win, simply leave a comment with your email address included. This is open to U.S. residents only and you do not have to have a blog to enter. A winner will be announced on Monday, April 28th. The winner will have 48 hours to claim the book, after which time, a new winner will be drawn. Spread the word and happy commenting!

Make Up Day

Wow! What a busy week. We've had several exciting field trips this week and I hope to share those in my next few posts. We don't take a lot of homeschool field trips because they're usually not convenient. However, this week was nice and slow so we threw in a few that interested us. All of these trips have put me behind in the house though so today is a "deep clean" day around here. Days like this requires lots of disposable gloves and much scrubbing! Our toilets hadn't been scrubbed in a week so they're getting much attention today. The weather has been so warm though and that always makes me stray while cleaning. I find that I'll start cleaning a room but have to go to the garage to get something, which causes me to walk by the front door that is open and feel that nice breeze blowing in. What else can I do but step outside? It can't be helped!

While I'd like to take pictures of my dirty house to show you just how bad it is, I'm going to pass. It would be way to humiliating for me and much to gross for your eyes! Hopefully all of this cleaning will end early enough for hubby and I to run out and see Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed. If you haven't heard about this movie, do a Google search right now and check it out. It's a documentary so keep that in mind. I'm expecting a lot from the movie and everything I've heard about it has been positive. If we do make it out to see it tonight, I'll share the review with you in a few days.

Have a great Saturday and remember, four hands scrub better than two!

TN Tax Holiday

I'm not sure how many readers here are from TN but if you are, remember this weekend is the TN tax holiday. It started yesterday and goes through tomorrow. This is a great opportunity to stock up on school supplies, clothes, and computers without paying any tax. We took advantage of it yesterday and purchased some things we really needed. If you aren't sure what things are covered under this holiday, visit the state of TN web site and you will find a list of the items it covers. I was surprised that you could buy clothes for anyone, not just students. This is very nice. I was also able to purchase some envelopes and things that we needed and they were covered. I really need some postage tape but I'm not sure if those types of things are covered. Wouldn't it be nice though? And food.....wouldn't it be nice if food were covered? It isn't and that's a shame. Students have to eat too you know! LOL! I am not going to complain too much. I'm happy that we have three full days to take advantage of this and I hope the Tennesseans among you will get out and take advantage of it too!

Friendship Is Nice

I found this on the kitchen table today. The girls had been playing outside while I cleaned out our pantry. I was feeling tired and run down so I sat down to rest for a minute and that's when I found this note from Caroline. In case you can't read it well, here's what it says:

I Love You!

Friendship is nice and also very good. I hope you understand that I love you very much.

Caroline

The two little stick people in the drawing are Caroline and myself, holding hands and saying I love you to one another. Caroline writes me sweet little notes a lot. She'll just leave them lying around. She loves it when I write her back and leave it for her to find. There are times that I wonder if my children like me at all. Throughout the day, I'm working with them on their studies, chores, and countenance. Sometimes I forget to stop and enjoy them. Many times I don't stop to smell the roses. Just when I feel like the worst parent in the world, they reveal their true feelings for me. Then all is right in the world again because I am reminded that:

Behold, children are a gift of the LORD, The fruit of the womb is a reward. (Psalm 127:3)

We pray for many more.....

Winter Haven by Athol Dickson

This week, the

Christian Fiction Blog Alliance

is introducing

Winter Haven

(Bethany House April 1, 2008)

by

Athol Dickson

 

 

 

 

Athol Dickson's university-level training in painting, sculpture, and architecture was followed by a long career as an architect then his decision several years ago to devote full time to writing.

Athol Dickson’s writing has been favorably compared to the work of Octavia Butler
(Publisher’s Weekly), Daphne du Maurier (Cindy Crosby, FaithfulReader.com) and Flannery O’Connor (The New York Times).

His They Shall See God was a Christy Award finalist and his River Rising was a Christy Award winner, selected as one of the Booklist Top Ten Christian Novels of 2006 and a finalist for Christianity Today's Best Novel of 2006.

He and his wife, Sue, live in Southern California. Visit AtholDickson.com for more information.

 

 

Boys who never age, giants lost in time, mist that never rises, questions never asked...on the most remote of islands off the coast of Maine, history haunts the present and Vera Gamble wrestles with a past that will not yield. Will she find refuge there, or will her ghosts prevail on...Winter Haven

Eleven years ago, Vera Gamble's brother left their house never to be seen again. Until the day Vera gets a phone call that his body has been found...washed ashore in the tiny island town of Winter Haven, Maine. His only surviving kin, Vera travels north to claim the body...and finds herself tumbling into a tangled mystery. Her brother hasn't aged a day since last she saw him.

Determined to uncover what happened in those lost years, Vera soon discovers there are other secrets lurking in this isolated town. But Winter Haven's murky past now seems bound to come to light as one woman seeks the undeniable and flooding light of truth.

Bathroom Ideas?

I'm getting ready to renovate our small master bathroom. There's not a lot of room in there because most of it is taken up by a large vanity. I want to make the bathroom feel bigger but I'm not sure how to accomplish that. I'm wondering if I should buy one of those Pedestal sinks to replace the vanity. I think they are pretty and they don't take up a lot of space. The problem will be storage. Without the vanity, I'll have to figure out where to put our things. I want to paint it sage green but I'm wondering if I should go with something a little lighter. I'm knee deep in ideas but really need some direction. I'll take any help you guys want to dish out. My bathroom will thank you!

Is It Just Me?

Recently, the hubs and I have started to research adoption. We've wanted to add to our family for many years but have been unable. About a week ago, we discussed it and started doing a bit of online research. At first, I was very excited and eagerly scoured every web site I could find on the topic. Once I got into the financial research, I became a little discouraged. Adoption is ridiculously expensive, whether domestic or international. We know there are loans and grants out there but just the initial costs were mind blowing. We started to wonder where all of this money goes. While we don't have all of the answers, we did find agencies that revealed a little about the financial side of things.

Still, at least in my mind, it doesn't add up. Some agencies say that this money is for the work they do in overseeing that the birth mother goes to the doctor, she eats correctly, and gets proper addiction treatment if needed. If the birth mother has abused drugs or alcohol, the agency "makes sure" she stays clean while pregnant. I really understand that there is some work involved. What I don't get is why they charge 10k (on average) for the adoption. This figure doesn't even include medical expenses, if any, for the birth mother. It doesn't include a home study that adoptive parents must go through (and it's quite costly). It doesn't include the money you have to pay out of pocket for things like police reports (to prove you don't have a history of abuse), financial records, and even medical records. In some instances, particular agencies even ask you to pay for the birth mother's lodging, food, and gas. Remember, all of this is beyond the 10k the agency charges for the adoption.

Needless to say, we are disgusted at the system itself. There are so many children who need homes. There are so many that have never known what it is like to be part of a family. Each year, thousands of children "age out" of the process, meaning they become of legal age and can live independently. Many of them have no family to turn to for help. They are basically thrown out into the world with no concept of what it feels like to have the support of a loving family. I just don't understand why it is so hard. It's frustrating, makes me angry, and makes me want to cry all at the same time. And then we have to wonder....if we put this kind of money into adoption, aren't we just supporting the corrupt practices of this system? I don't have answers to all of these questions and that frustrates me. Why, somebody please tell me, would any agency, adoption or government (DCS), deny any child the right to a loving home and family based on our inability to fork out the tens of thousands of dollars it supposedly costs? Maybe it's just me....maybe I just don't get it.