.jpg)
winter reading challenge winner
Congratulations to Gretchen of Good Enough for Now! You’ve won the $25 Amazon.com gift card!
And congratulations to all of you who participated in the Winter Reading Challenge. There were many, many, many books from other participants’ lists that I have added to my “to be read” list. I hope you took a look at other’s lists as well. If not, it’s not too late! Here’s the link to the original post with the Mr. Linky ~ just click on a participant’s name, and the link will take you directly to their Winter Reading Challenge book list.
If you just can’t get enough of great reading challenges, skip over to Katrina’s Callapidder Days and enter her Spring Reading Thing 2008.
experiencing the resurrection winner
Congratulations Terri from Teachable Spirit ~ you’ve won a free copy of Experiencing the Resurrection by Drs. Henry and Melvin Blackaby! I’ll be in touch with you by email.
family squeeze (book review)
Family Squeeze by Phil Callaway
You’re in the “Middle Ages”–sandwiched between the “greatest generation” and the “gimme” generations, busily juggling both with no relief in sight. Children are driving, and parents are not. Money is tight and so are your favorite jeans. And things that never ached before are beginning to give you trouble! For every baby boomer who wonders if it’s possible to navigate the Middle Ages with grace and style, Phil Callaway offers plenty of hope and a little hilarity, too. Because there’s nothing like a smile to make wrinkles less noticeable.
Described as “Dave Barry with a message,” author, speaker, and television host Phil Callaway has written twenty books, many of them bestsellers and is a popular speaker at conferences, camps and marriage retreats, coaxing laughter and tears from audiences worldwide. Of his personal accomplishments he rates the following highest: shutting off the TV to listen to his children’s questions (twice), taking out the garbage without being told (once), and convincing his high school sweetheart Ramona to marry him (once).
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Trish’s Take
Phil Callaway has written a gem titled Family Squeeze. He relates stories from his own life, and answers questions other people have asked him, with a funny yet honest point of view.
I’m in those “Middle Ages” ~ sandwiched between aging parents who need care while raising teenagers and expecting my first grandchild from my grown daughter. Phil writes about situations that, if you have older parents and children who are still at home, you’ve probably experienced. He’s able to find the humor in life’s situations ~ and we all know laughter is good.
Family Squeeze won’t tell you how to solve all of your problems, or how to invest so you’ll have millions of dollars when you retire, or how to get your teenagers to listen to you. What it will do is help you to see the different situations in your life in a new light. You’ll find yourself chuckling ~ maybe even laughing ~ as you read what Phil has written about his own life, and compare them to experiences in your own life. You may even find the grace to not only laugh at an event that previously perturbed you, but to also forgive and move on. I love the way Phil constantly and consistently looks to God and His Word, and refers his readers to both.
Family Squeeze is a book worth reading. And on that note ~ I have a copy of Family Squeeze to give away! If you would like to be entered in the drawing for a free copy of Family Squeeze, just send me an email. I’ll draw a winner on Monday, March 31.
Due to rising postage costs (and the fact that I pay to send out a lot of these free books myself), this drawing is open to people in the lower 48 states of the US.
sick
I have somehow managed to pick up a really nasty bug ~ I think it’s flu, but I’m not sure. I’ve spent the majority of the past 2 days sleeping or vegging on the couch watching TV shows I don’t even remember watching. I’m exhausted, dizzy, nauseous, achy, and just generally feeling yucky. Believe me, when a person who has fibromyalgia says they think they may have the flu, it’s bad.
I have a book review that will be posted tomorrow, but until I’m feeling well again I probably won’t be communicating much.
A quick run-down of what’s been going on, while I still have the energy to write it: Roger is taking leave this coming Friday through Monday to drive up to Minnesota and move Ashley and Jacob down to Arkansas. Yep, that fast, that easy. We were able to get a 5×8 enclosed trailer from the Air Force base’s Outdoor Recreation center for $15/day. UHaul wanted $250 for the same type of trailer! I’ll take $60 over $250 any day.
Patrick is home on spring break this week. He’s applying for summer jobs in several places while he’s home. So far all he’s done is play Halo with his brother, but hey, at least they’re getting along! Tomorrow he’ll start the job search.
We will be doing some rearranging in the house in order to have room for Ashley and Jacob. We’ll have to move everything out of the boys’ TV room, but that’s ok. We have plenty of space. Once Ashley and Jacob have their own place, I’m planning on turning that particular room into a baby room, so the rearranging would have to be done anyway. 
I’m working on save the date reminders for family members and friends regarding Patrick’s graduation. His graduation ceremony will be the Saturday before Memorial Day. I know lots of people make plans for that weekend, so I want to make sure that they’ll try to make their plans around Patrick’s graduation (or at least fit Patrick’s graduation into their plans).
We received Patrick’s graduation announcements, name cards, cap and gown, guestbook, and pen. I’ll have to work on addressing the announcements soon. I also have graduation party invitations to work on. Sounds like I’ll be spending a lot of time printing thing off and addressing envelopes over the next few weeks!
For now, I’m heading back to the couch. Roger’s already asleep in bed, and Patrick’s watching TV in the living room. I think I’ll go join him ~ I may end up just sleeping right there on the couch if I’m too tired to make it to the bed! 
These are a few of the pictures taken at Ashley’s baby shower last week. There are more to come (the photographer has gone on a week-long mission trip to Mexico, so I imagine she won’t be getting any more photos to me until after she returns!).
winter reading challenge wrap-up
I finally have a chance to wrap-up the Winter Reading Challenge. Thank you for being patient with me on this. When I started the challenge I had no idea so many things would happen in my life in such a short time! Good things, very good things indeed.
I thought I had lost The Hand That Bears the Sword, but I found it when I was packing for Colorado. I had tucked it into one of my knitting bags to take along with me when I went somewhere, and I had completely forgotten it was there. I have started reading it again ~ I really do enjoy (George) Bryan Polivka’s stories. I won’t be able to finish The Hand That Bears the Sword by Monday though, so that one goes unread as far as the challenge goes.
The other book not crossed off my list is Running Scared. I will try to concentrate on getting it read over the next few day since I need to do a review on it as well as a couple of other books. But, being realistic, I won’t have it read by Monday.
Only two books on my list that didn’t get read; that’s pretty good! A couple of people have already sent me links to their wrap-up posts. I’ll try to get those links posted for them on the Mr. Linky below. If you would like to leave a link to your wrap-up post, I would love to read it! It’s not necessary or required ~ but it will be fun!
I’ll draw a name from the original participants’ links on Monday.
moving at the speed of lightning
Well, things are moving along a LOT more quickly than I had expected them to. I’m thrilled, to say the least.
Ashley and Jacob have decided to move to Arkansas ASAP ~ as in probably next weekend! We’ve worked things out so that they can stay with us for a few weeks, until Jacob has a good job, and maybe even a paycheck or two in the bank. They’ll need enough money for a deposit and first month’s rent upfront before getting an apartment, and Roger and I are more than happy to give them a place to live until they can get back on their feet. They won’t live here forever, mind you, but a few weeks (or maybe even a couple of months) is fine with us, and should be enough time for them to save up the money they’ll need to get started on their way.
I’m excited to have them here, and thrilled that they’ll be so close by when Attison is born. Thank you, Lord, for the abundant blessings You’ve showered down on us in the form of a mother’s heart’s desire and new family members!
free language program
Rosetta Stone has been the #1 foreign language curriculum among homeschoolers for a while — next week they are unleashing a brand new curriculum, and you can WIN the *all new* Rosetta Stone Homeschool Version 3… FOR FREE! This is a $219 program (and believe me it’s worth every penny!) and the winner gets to pick from any of these 14 languages: Spanish (Spain or Latin America), English (American or British), Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Irish, Hebrew, or Russian.This will also include a headset with microphone, and students will participate in lifelike conversations and actually produce language to advance through the program. Rosetta Stone still incorporates listening, reading and writing as well, in addition to speaking. Many homeschoolers requested grammar and vocabulary exercises, and with Rosetta Stone Homeschool Version 3, they’re included! For parents, the new Parent Administrative Tools are integrated into the program and allow parents to easily enroll students in any of 12 predetermined lesson plans, monitor student progress, and view and print reports.
To win this most excellent program — in the language of your choice — copy these (blue) paragraphs and post it in (or as) your next blog post — then to enter the contest, go to the original contest page HERE: http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/JenIG/501132/ and leave a comment with the link showing where you blogged about it. And please make sure the link works to get back to the original contest page when you post it. And good luck! The winner will be picked randomly on March 26, and will be notified thru the link they left to their blog pg. And if you have more than one blog, you can post them and enter those separately for more chances to win. Yay for free stuff!
free language program
Rosetta Stone has been the #1 foreign language curriculum among homeschoolers for a while — next week they are unleashing a brand new curriculum, and you can WIN the *all new* Rosetta Stone Homeschool Version 3… FOR FREE!
This is a $219 program (and believe me it’s worth every penny!) and the winner gets to pick from any of these 14 languages: Spanish (Spain or Latin America), English (American or British), Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Irish, Hebrew, or Russian.
This will also include a headset with microphone, and students will participate in lifelike conversations and actually produce language to advance through the program. Rosetta Stone still incorporates listening, reading and writing as well, in addition to speaking. Many homeschoolers requested grammar and vocabulary exercises, and with Rosetta Stone Homeschool Version 3, they’re included! For parents, the new Parent Administrative Tools are integrated into the program and allow parents to easily enroll students in any of 12 predetermined lesson plans, monitor student progress, and view and print reports.
To win this most excellent program — in the language of your choice — copy these (blue) paragraphs (highlight, then hit Ctrl C to copy) and post it in (or as) your next blog post (hit Ctrl V to paste) — then to enter the contest, go to the original contest page HERE: http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/JenIG/501132/ and leave a comment with the link showing where you blogged about it. And please make sure the link works to get back to the original contest page when you post it. And good luck! The winner will be picked randomly on March 26, and will be notified thru the link they left to their blog pg. And if you have more than one blog, you can post them and enter those separately for more chances to win. Yay for free stuff!
wrap-up
Well, Ashley got on the plane and flew back to Minnesota today. 
We had a fantastic visit though, and there’s lots of good news to go with it!
She and her fiance’ Jacob are looking at possibly moving to Arkansas before Attison is born. The main issues are getting Jacob a job and making sure Ashley and Attison have prenatal care. Finding a place to live shouldn’t be a problem ~ there are several apartment complexes within a 5 mile radius of my house that have openings. Ashley and I spent a day apartment hunting, and the number of apartments, duplexes and townhouses we found in their price range was encouraging. Of course, their price range is pretty much a guesstimate at this time since Jacob doesn’t have a job here yet ~ we just went by what they’re paying now in Minnesota now.
The baby shower my friends held for Ashley on Sunday was so wonderful. There were about 50 people there total. The guest book registered about 30 moms and 20 young ladies (ranging in age from 19 to 4). I stole Barb’s scrapbook idea and modified it a bit (and I totally forgot to take pictures!). I found a scrapbook at Barnes & Noble that is held together by a ribbon that runs through the back cover and the pages, then ties on the cover. I took the scrapbook apart so all of the individual pages were loose and put them on a table at the baby shower. Then I laid out different colors of cardstock and patterned papers (cut to fit the scrapbook), gazillions of stickers, alphabets, markers, scissors and different types of adhesives. I let people know the supplies were there and encouraged them to make a scrapbook page for Ashley and Attison. I asked the moms to write some “mom advice” on their pages as well.
At first the ladies were very hesitant and shy about making pages. Then all of the younger girls showed up, and they of course were absolutely enthralled with all of the fun little stickers, alphabets and doodads. The table technically only seated 4, but I think there were probably 6 or 8 people crammed into that space once the younger girls took off with making scrapbook pages. A lot of the moms were so impressed with what the younger girls were making ~ and I think they realized how easy it is to make really cute scrapbook pages ~ that they started getting in on the act. By the time the shower was over there wasn’t a single page that wasn’t decorated on both sides. They turned out SO cute! And I’m so disappointed that I forgot to take pictures. I’m hoping the young lady I hired to take pictures at the shower got some good shots of the pages. If not, I’ll photograph them once Ashley moves down here.
After the shower Ashley told me that she had never had a group of people gather together just to love on her before. It about broke my heart. I’m not sure the ladies who hosted the shower, and those who attended, really understand how extremely grateful I am to them for making my daughter feel loved, accepted and appreciated. The love of Christ was so evident in the faces, actions and words of the ladies in that house on Sunday. And my daughter experienced it in a way that she never had before.
Ashley and I did some shopping while she was here, and that was definitely a lot of fun. I didn’t really realize how much more fun it can be to go shopping with your daughter than by yourself or (heaven help us) with your sons. We definitely had a great time together. Toys ‘R Us and Target should NOT let people loose in their stores with zappers (little handheld machines that read barcodes and add the item to your gift registry at that store)! Oh my goodness, Ashley and I had an absolute ball with those zappers. There are so many things on her registries it’s ridiculous. But boy did we have a fantastic time populating those registry lists!
One day last week my friend Kathryn and her daughters Caitlin, Paige, Elizabeth and Grace joined us for lunch at Olive Garden. Ashley fell in love with all 4 girls immediately. They were so wonderful ~ they made Ashley feel at home and comfortable right away, and I know she definitely felt loved. Paige is in the performances of Sing, Dance, Repeat at The Rep right now, so she wasn’t able to join us for the baby shower. Kathryn and I arranged the lunch get-together because Paige was so disappointed that she might not have the chance to meet Ashley. (By the way, thank you Kathryn and girls for not making me/us go to Victorian Gardens! As much as I love to take each of you there for your birthday lunches, I’m pretty sure Ashley would not have been as comfortable as she was at Olive Garden ~ Mr. Keyboard Player aside (that’s an inside joke ~ sorry I can’t explain it!)
I was able to feel Attison moving around quite a bit. She even had a few really good hard kicks for Nana, since Nana kept poking at her and disturbing her sleep. Ashley actually had a prenatal appointment this afternoon after she got back to Minnesota. She was able to hear Attison’s heartbeat again, and everything is going as it should. She’s even growing exactly as she should, although how the poor little thing has room to move around in there is beyond me! Ashley has the smallest bone structure I’ve ever seen ~ and she sure didn’t get that from me!
We had a very busy, extremely wonderful week together. I miss her already, and I’ve talked to her three times since she got back to Minnesota! LOL
As soon as I get the pictures from the baby shower I will post some. We also had pictures taken of Ashley and me together, and the two of us with Kathryn and Lisa (who hosted the baby shower). I’m really looking forward to seeing all of them.