Christina at Mustard Seeds is having a giveaway...  ends September 9, 2008.  She's giving away a charm made by The Taffy Box.  (They're really cute!)

So, click here to go enter!

I came across another homeschool mom with a blog (Weak Weary Mom), and she's having a book giveaway.

Deadline to enter is Saturday, September 6, 2008 at 5 p.m. Pacific

So, head on over to Georgetta's blog, and find out how you can have a chance at winning this book.

Here's my first assignment... two weeks late.    I wrote this out laaaate Sunday night/eaaaaaarly Monday morning (Sun., Aug. 31/Mon., Sept. 1), and I'm just now posting it to my blog.

Here's what the Homeschool Memoirs meme suggests.  I will put their writing mostly in black font, and I haven't decided what color I will put my writing in...

The first theme begins today, August 20th, 2008. This week, we want to hear about YOU.

The author behind the words.  I'm 37 years old and have been married for 15 years to my best friend.  We can't remember when we met because we started out as acquaintances in college.  Then, my roommate changed majors to the same major that my dh had.  So, he and my roommate occasionally worked on class projects together... so I got to know him a little better.  Then, we discovered that we both drove cars with an AM radio as the only source of music... not even FM or cassette.  (And, this was long before ipods and the like.)  As our friendship grew, we enjoyed spending time together.  He graduated from college the year before I did and left to go to seminary.  That's about when we decided that we "liked each other for more than a friend."    And, the rest is history, so-to-speak.

The Momma behind all the homeschooling kiddos.  Growing up, I always wanted to be a mother.  Oh, I had dreams of being a figure skater and winning an Olympic medal.  And, I thought maybe I'd be a nurse (my mother is an RN) or a teacher, but being a wife and mother was what I wanted to do more than the other things.

Just write up something about you.

your family, My husband and I have two daughters - ages 8 -1/2 and 6.  They both have hair that is similar to mine in color and texture, although the younger one's hair is not quite as thick.  Also, both girls have blue eyes at which my dh and I have wondered in amazement.  (He and I have brown eyes.)  Teasingly, we have said our older daughter has blue eyes because she was born in Minnesota (i.e. There are a lot of Scandinavian people there).  But when our younger daughter's eyes remained blue, we were (and are) dumbfounded as to the genetic reasons.  She was born in Tennessee.  (We were taught that brown was dominant, but perhaps that is changing.  If you know, please tell us!)  

We also have a soon-to-be-11-yo border collie mix named Chip. 

and your home. We live in a split-level house in a suburban-type area near Chattanooga, Tennessee.  We've been here for nearly seven years.

How long you’ve been homeschooling - since our first daughter was born in February 2000

and why you decided to homeschool. - We decided to homeschool for many reasons... the main one being that we felt God leading us to do so.

~ OR ~ 

NOTE:  I wrote this entry off-line at 12:54 a.m. on Sunday, August 24, 2008.  So, the date I'm referring to for Tuesday evening - would have been Tuesday, August 18, 2008.

For Today...

Outside my Window... It's dark. The crickets, cicadas, and other night creatures are chirping, calling... making noise.

I am thinking... I wish I had been able to participate in the Simple Woman Daybook meme over the past few Mondays.

I am thankful for... life.

From the kitchen... I'm looking forward to a glass of ice water.

I am wearing... nothing on my feet, a red T-shirt, and a black half-slip.

I am reading... Ozma of Oz to our girls.

I am hoping... to discipline myself to go to bed as soon as I finish this blog entry.

I am hearing... the hum of the computer, the refrigerator running (normal cycle), the faint sounds of the aforementioned critters from outside, and the occasional chuckle from my hubby who's reading Me, Myself and Bob by Phil Vischer.

Around the house... I'm slowly organizing our books.

One of my favorite things... "Silly Songs with Larry" from the popular Veggie Tales video series.

A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week... my husband has the day off tomorrow (Hurray!), our girls are interested in going to AWANA at a sister-church in town Wednesday evening, and our homeschool music classes start up on Thursday,

Here is a picture thought I am sharing with you...

Go over to The Simple Woman's blog if you'd like to join us for The Simple Woman's Daybook.

As I hug my girls a little tighter, my heart is aching for a sweet blogging friend.

Marsha, (aka Marshiemallow & Marshie) of DrewsFamilyTX needs our prayers.  Yesterday, her 3 yo son "Dozer" drowned.

My thanks to Miss Jocelyn for letting me & others know about this.

Heart of the Matter has a beautiful tribute to 'Dozer'.

Go check out HsKubes' Haven at Home giveaway!

The common theme for this year is tea.

Go over and check out the giveaway at Mindful Moms!

The total retail value is over $250!

Deadline to enter is 9/1 at midnight ET.