Mail Delivery

I am always so touched by the generosity of the blogging community. There are tons of giveaways of all sorts. There are many that I enter hoping to win. Unfortunately, I don't win. Well I actually have won one!

A while back there was a wonderful giveaway on Heidi's blog. It was filled with so much goodness. Sarah and I both entered and crossed our fingers. Guess what? We didn't win. However, Heidi was so touched by all the comments she received she offered to send everyone who entered a small gift. I emailed her and told her she didn't have to send both of us something. We could share. She said that was ridiculous and we would both get something.

Jump forward to yesterday and look what arrived in the mail all the way from South Africa!

Now by my standards this is not something small. This is something fabulous!

There were homemade row counters for both of us. You can find Heidi's wonderful tutorial here so you can make one for yourself or one to give.


Two beautiful skeins of yarn in the most beautiful color ways. How did she know our fondness for blues and greens?

Two butterflies that the girls want to embellish for our nature table display.


The South African stamps are beautiful. And it took 40 stamps to send the package to us. I am just overwhelmed by her generosity.


Please stop by Heidi's blog and check out all her wonderful tutorials. She is a very special lady.

And if you are looking for a giveaway to enter hope on over to Garden Mama. She has a delightful interview and giveaway from Kreativ Spiel. Perfect little wooden figures for a nature table or play. You'll be sorry if you don't take a look.

Gratituesday - Green Plants & a Tarp

This past weekend was so beautiful and warm. So we took a chance and put our garden in. The plants were so happy to get off my kitchen table and into good, rich dirt. But then . . .

FROST! Yes we had a frost watch for last night with temps predicted around 27 degrees.

With the help of dh and the girls we hurried to rig up something to tent the garden and raised beds. A few stakes, tarps, and cinder blocks later the garden was covered and we went to bed praying everything would survive. The girls have been working so hard planting and caring for all our little seedlings. It would have been a shame to loose them all - and impossible to replace.

This morning we woke to beautiful blue skies, but a chilly temp of 35 degrees. Our mini weather station said the low was 32. We waited for it to warm up a bit before we headed out to check the garden. AND . . .

. . . beautiful, green tomatoes, peas, beans, cucumbers, onions, spinach, broccoli, zucchini, yellow squash, and more.

So this week I'm grateful for a little dh ingenuity, tarps, and green plants.

Gratituesday-Quiet Moments with a Little One

It's vacation week here in New Hampshire, which for me means a quieter week. Running a small home childcare results in chaos Monday through Friday starting at around 7:30am. But not today. I was able to sleep in a few extra minutes, savor my first cup of coffee alone, and then spend a wonderful 45 minutes with Rebekah before anyone else in the house woke up. We sat in our big living room window and watched the birds peck the ground in search of their breakfast. Rebekah was especially excited to see a little chipmunk collecting the seeds the girls scattered the other day. Even the rain was welcomed as the soft pitter patter serenaded us. It was such a blessing to be able to share this quiet time with Rebekah, pointing out the beautiful creation God has provided us right in our own back yard.

Gratituesday - Homeschool Support Group

Our local homeschool group had our monthly mom's planning meeting this evening. I can't begin to express the joy it brings me to have so many wonderful mothers attend these meetings. I never could have dreamed when I founded our little group five years ago that it would grow to have such an important impact on my family.

I am so grateful for every family in our group. Each one of them holds a special place in my heart. Each one of them bring something unique and inspiring to the group. We are all different - in our family organization and size, in our teaching philosophy and methods, in our beliefs and ideals, in our interest and talents. But these differences strengthen our little group. We challenge one another and learn from each other. We agree to disagree on certain things and don't let it interfere with what is truly important. And that is our children and families. Each and every one of these families have their children as a most vital priority. And this, I am sad to say, is severely lacking in our society today.

So today I am grateful for all the wonderful families God had brought into my family's life through our little homeschool group. They encourage me. They strengthen me. They challenge me. They inspire me. I can honestly say I am a better person, wife, mom and teacher because of them.

You all know who you are. Thank you.

Gratituesday-A True Friend

Ok, I know it isn't Tuesday, but I didn't want to let this slip by. This week is one of those crazy weeks were your schedule keeps changing faster than you can mark it on your calendar. Doug's schedule has him double booked twice this week, which leaves me to cover a dinner and breakfast shift for him. Of course that leave the question - who is going to cover me? Well, that is who I am so greatful for this week. Our dear and crazy friend Selena jumped at the chance to watch my children, my day care charge, and make my family dinner. What a blessing she and her boys are. With only about three hours notice she showed up early, this was great because it was snowing and I didn't know how long it would take me to get to work. So I left her with six kids three two and under in diapers. They all got naps had a great day. And to top it off when I returned home the table was set and dinner was waiting. How blessed we are to have Selena and her family in our lives.

Thanks Selena, Maverick and Jonathon!

For more inspiration check out other blogger's Gratituesday posts at Heavenly Homemakers!

Gratituesday - A Good Samaritan

The girls, my day care charges, and I were out and about running errands today. Now there is nothing unusual about that. However, after stops at the post office, bank, TJ Max, Lowe's, and Walmart everyone was tired and the littles were getting cranky. So when we all piled into the car when were we finished at Walmart you can imagine my frustration when the car wouldn't start. And of course the jumper cables were NOT in the back of the van as my daring husband had used them on his van last week. So now what?

I ask the man sitting in the truck across the lane from us. No cables. I asked the man in the plow truck who had just come out of the store. No cables. Now time is ticking. I really don't want to unload all of the kids to head back into Walmart. I am trying really hard not to loose my cool as well as trying to figure out what might be wrong with the van. And all the while whispering a prayer and hoping for a quick and painless answer. Tried to start the van again - still no luck.

OK here comes another man who from his looks (coveralls and John Deer cap) might just have jumper cables. Praise God he does and is HAPPY to help a stranded woman and her brood of kids. He was pleasant, polite and actually grateful that he could be of service. How refreshing! In a day and age when most people want to be waited on, and see serving others as beneath them, it was a beautiful reminder of God's call for all of us to serve Him and each other.

So today I am grateful for those who willingly and joyfully serve when and where they see a need. And especially for the gentleman in the Walmart parking lot this afternoon.

For more Gratituesday post visit Heavenly Homemakers.

Gratituesday - Fruit & Veggies

With the economic state the country is in everyone seems to be trying to find ways to pinch their pennies. Usually one of the largest parts of a family budget that you have some control over is the food budget. Coupons, sales, and rebates. There are lots of ways to pinch here and there. However, even with these the dollar just doesn't seem to go as far at the grocery store as it used to. Especially if you want to eat more healthy. I don't often see coupon for fresh fruits and veggies. So what's a family to do?

Well, here in northern New Hampshire we have a wonderful Baptist Church that is the answer. Every Saturday they pick up all the "old" produce, the produce that they feel they can't sell or has reached its sell by date, from our local Hannaford grocery store. Now don't jump to any conclusions and think this NOT rotten food. That was the mind set I had in the beginning until I went one Saturday. Most of what is there looks like the stuff I bought at the beginning of the week and now it is Thursday or Friday. Now I don't know about all of you, but I only shop once a week or less. So produce I pay full price for almost always sits in my house for at least a couple of days. So not only is the produce quite nice, some of it is like factory seconds at the outlets, you just can't find what's wrong with it, but there is usually a wonderful selection. This Saturday I picked up . . .

• 5lb bag potatoes
• 5lb broccoli
• cantaloupe
• honeydew
• 4 bananas
• 2 mangoes
• 3 pears
• 8 apples
• 2 lbs grapes
• 2 green peppers
• 1 orange pepper
• 1 bag hearts of romaine
• organic fresh basil
• 3 baby eggplant
• 1 pt grape tomatoes
• 1 cucumber
• 12 oz mushrooms
• 3 tomatoes
• 4oz watercress

Now the shelf life isn't going to be fabulous on this produce, but there are many ways around that. I brought the broccoli home and blanched and froze it. Now I have enough broccoli for quite a few meals. I also try to plan my menu around what we were able to get. So Sunday we had chicken fajitas and used the peppers. Lunch today was Chicken Salads with the romaine, cucumber and grape tomatoes. We also freeze a lot of the fruit for smoothies and muffins. The watercress is going in our green smoothies for tomorrow's breakfast.

I am so grateful to be able to still feed my family fresh fruit and vegetables without breaking the bank and for the Ness family who opens the doors of their church and give up their Saturday to do this.

The sad part is that if the Ness family didn't pick up this produce it would be thrown in the dumpster behind the store. And there are days of the week that this does happen. With the economy in such bad shape and people struggling, it is sad to see how much waste there is in this country. Have you thought about all that God has blessed you and your family with? Please don't waste it. It is our responsibility to be a good steward and teach our children to be as well.

Head on over to Heavenly Homemaking for more inspiring Gratituesday posts.

Gratituesday - ABC of Thankfulness

I have so much to be grateful for in my life. I was having a hard time narrowing it down for this weeks Gratituesday. Then my daughter sent me a post that inspired the ABC's of Thankfulness. So here is what I am grateful for this week.

America

Bible

Children

Doug

Exercise

Friends

God

Homeschooling

Individuality

Jesus Christ

Kisses

Laughter

Marraige

Neighbors

Openness

Pastor Brown

Quiet Times

Reading

Scrapbooking & Sewing

Tapestry of Grace

Understanding

Vision Forum

being a Woman

eXellence

You

Zeal for life

What are you grateful for today? Have you stopped to really think about all that you have been blessed with? For more inspiration visit Laura at Heavenly Homemakers and other bloggers who have shared during Gratituesday!

Gratituesday - My Husband

My husband just got back home after being at his parents for a few days. While we missed him terribly I am glad he could be with his parents during this stressful time, my father-in-law has a quadruple bi pass. Praise God the surgery was successful and my father-in-law is recovering wonderfully.

I am so thankful to have a husband that has his priorities in order. He loves God and his family. He works hard to provide for us all that we need. He is a wonderful example to our children and everyone how knows him. I am proud to be his wife and helpmeet.

I am so grateful for the husband God saw fit to bless me with.

Stop by Heavenly Homemakers for more gratituesday.

Gratituesday: A New Place to Relax

We have been in need of a new sofa for a long time now. We have had our love seat for over 10 years. It isn't much more than a wobbly frame with an old quilt thrown over it. It has moved numerous times with us, seen the growth of our family, served as the scratching post for our two (naughty) cats, and seen too many daycare children come and go to count. It didn't owe us a cent, but then we didn't have enough cents to buy a new one.

Well Saturday, when the girls and I returned home from running our errands, you can imagine my surprise to find a beautiful sofa in our living room. Turns out that someone had left two sofas at the transfer station before they were open and the sofas were blocking the road. So the police were called. Luckily my husband was the officer on duty. So that is how we came to have a new sofa.

We are so truly blessed. God does take care of all our needs especially if we are faithful and wait for His timing.

Stop by Heavenly Homemaking for more Gratituesday.

Gratituesday: Running Water

The temperatures here in NH have been frigid. We usually don't head out of town and leave the house when it is this cold. However, my father-in-law was scheduled for a quadruple bi pass, so out of town we headed on Friday.

Jump to Monday, we arrive home to find that we have no water. Our pipes are frozen. Not this is not at all unusual in our 100+ year old house. The strange thing was we couldn't get them thawed and the water running even after the house was warm. We decided the problem must be under the house in the crawl space. Of course the only way to get there is through 4 feet of frozen snow and ice. That project would have to wait for tomorrow. So the girls started bring in snow to melt down for water to wash dishes and flush toilets. They thought that was pretty cool. All along my husband and I kept praying that the pipes were just frozen and not burst and running water under the house.

Tuesday morning my husband set out to dig out the bulk head. That project was quite a big one and time wasted as it would turn out. He couldn't reach the water pipes. On to plan B. Inside he took up the floor in the laundry room where the water enters the house. Much to our surprise we found heat tape around the pipe that just needed to be plugged in. Running water was only a short five minutes behind. No burst pipes and now we have the electric heat tape accessible. Praise God for his protection and provision.

Stop by Heavenly Homemakers to see more Gratituesday!