500 Posts Giveaway!

*** This giveaway is now closed. Thank you!! ***

Well, I wasn’t paying attention, but went behind the scenes on the blog yesterday and noticed some round numbers had crept up on me without my realizing it. There it was jumping out at me – 500 POSTS – whoa! I thought maybe I needed to celebrate! And staring at me right next to that number was the number of comments I have received since I opened up this blog almost 3 years ago – 2000 COMMENTS – I thought it was pretty neat the way the two numbers turned simultaneously.

So . . . in order to celebrate, I’ve decided to give away this package of goodies to one of my sweet readers ~

I have included in the package:

~ “The Legacy of Biblical Womanhood” by Susan Hunt and Barbara Thompson ~

~ A 3.7 oz. French Vanilla Yankee Candle ~

~ Four fat quarters of quilting fabric ~

~ and of course, a bag of chocolate ~

~ all wrapped up in a pretty basket! ~

In order to enter the giveaway all you need to do is leave a comment on this post. You don’t need to be a blogger, but please be sure to fill in your e-mail address so that I can contact you if you win (it won’t show up on the blog). Entries will be accepted until the end of Friday, May 7, 2010. I will draw a random winner and announce who it is on Saturday, May 8.

I am so grateful for all of you who stop by to visit me and love to hear from you when you have something to share ~

Blessings,
Nancy

Thankful Thursday ~ April 29

“Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”
I Thessalonians 5:16-18

Here is my thankful list for today ~

I am thankful for:

~ the lovely weather we’ve been having.

~ my front porch.

~ the pretty flowers around the yard providing beauty for the eye and a fragrant aroma to the air.

~ God providing a wonderful new home for Kiara (Laura’s dog) this week (we’ve been looking for one for months), that has greatly reduced the stress level in the house.

~ God’s financial guidance and wisdom, and his constant provision for his children.

~ a husband with a heart that trusts God with everything in his life.

~ our son Robert’s new car, replacing his old one that was way past ready to go out to pasture, and the peace of mind this brings his mother.

~ healthy children – except for the ongoing skinned knees and elbows that are the result of much time playing outdoors.

~ evenings enjoying “The Waltons” with my sewing in my lap.

~ kitties sitting in open windows.

Lynn at Spiritually Unequal Marriage is hosting this month’s Thankful Thursday list. Please visit Lynn to find the list of participants in this week’s Thankful Thursday, and have a thankful heart today!

Blessings,
Nancy

The Simple Woman’s Daybook ~ April 26

Here is my Daybook entry for today ~

Outside my window. . .sunshine and blue skies – another beautiful day – guess I won’t get much done indoors again today! The lawn is freshly mowed, and there are three new azalea bushes planted in the beds, as well as some pretty purple Verbena. I refilled the bird feeders yesterday to the delight of my feathered friends.
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I am thinking. . .about school plans for next year.
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From the learning room. . .we are winding down now with just a few weeks left to go of formal school. I have downloaded some fun lapbooks on “My Favorite Insect” for Michael and Anna to work on sometime soon – they choose their favorite bug and study all about it and record their findings in their lapbooks.
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I am thankful for. . .my home.
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From the kitchen. . .Ground Beef Stroganoff, Tossed Salad, and Chocolate Cake for dessert.
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I am wearing. . .white t-shirt and denim capris.
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I am creating. . .a new flower garden with the bulbs Jeff gave me at Easter.
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I am going. . .to be trying to practice my hand quilting 30 minutes each day until I master it. I took a class last week to learn how to hand quilt (not piecing, but quilting the layers together) and it has proven to be quite a challenge. I have been assured that much practice is all I need to get it down, so I’m taking it on faith and will plow through my frustration with that in mind.
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I am reading. . .“Liz’s Mercantile” by Jodi Barows – the second in her pioneer, quilting novel series – I really enjoyed the first book, so when I finished it this weekend, I jumped right into the second.
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I am hoping. . .to get more blogging done this week.
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I am hearing. . .Blue’s Clues dvd, kitty collar bells, Jack barking outside, and children chatting.
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Around the house. . .a big pile of video tapes out in the living room left by David as he searched for the one he wanted, laundry fairly well under control (for now), dishes to do in the kitchen.
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One of my favorite things. . .the joy of reading God’s Word.
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A few plans for the rest of the week. . .planting bulbs and the last two azalea bushes, quilting, monthly Keepers Club meeting, ice skating, a quick run to the library to pick up some items on hold, and a Spring tea at church for all of the girls.
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Here is a picture thought I am sharing. . .

A beautiful iris.

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Thanks to Peggy at The Simple Woman’s Daybook for this wonderful meme. Visit Peggy starting Tuesday to find the list of participants in this week’s Daybook.

Have a lovely day!

Blessings,
Nancy

Spring Fever

I don’t know about you, but I have had a serious case of spring fever lately. I have been outside as much as possible enjoying the warm temperatures, the beautiful green of the trees and the colors of the flowers. The kids have been blowing bubbles, roller skating, riding scooters, swinging, jumping on the trampoline, and exploring the yard.

We have ventured over to the pond a few times and laughed at the frogs as they hop into the water with a “peep” when we pass by. We even had a duck visitor on Easter in our pond, who has since flown off to find a friend, no doubt, and start a family.

The indoor projects have taken a back seat to the outdoor ones for now, partly out of necessity (gardening), but partly because I just can’t bring myself to stay inside when it is so beautiful outside! I know that this perfect weather is a brief stop-over on the way to the hot heat of the summer, so I am not allowing myself to feel guilty about indulging in enjoying it right now.

Unfortunately this spring fever seems to have affected my blogging adversely – I just can’t seem to focus on writing. My dead camera has slowed me down a bit, too, but I am trying to plow through it and get a post up here and there as I can. Maybe you are all outdoors enjoying the spring, too, and don’t have time to read anyway!

Be back when I can ~

Blessings,
Nancy

The Simple Woman’s Daybook ~ April 12

Here is my Daybook entry for today ~

Outside my window. . .another beautiful spring day with sun and a high in the 70′s. There are many birds enjoying the day, including our yearly barn swallows who are nesting in the top corners of our back patio.
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I am thinking. . .that I really could use a 48 hour day – maybe then I could get everything done that I have in mind to do.
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From the learning room. . .our usual studies – reading, copywork, math, grammar, science and history readings, character study, Bible, nature studies, missionary study, and art.
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I am thankful for. . .the box of 200 flower bulbs that arrived in the mail this past week from the Netherlands – an Easter gift from Jeff.
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From the kitchen. . .Chicken Pot Pies for dinner tonight with applesauce on the side.
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I am wearing. . .pink knit shirt and denim capris.
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I am creating. . .quilting . . . quilting . . . quilting.
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I am going. . .to try to take the kids to the library this week – they’ve been begging to go – we’ll probably come home with stacks and stacks of books!
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I am reading. . .a new fiction novel – “Leaving Riverton” by Jodi Barrows – a quilting novel set in the pre-Civil War era.
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I am hoping. . .that the azalea bushes that we are planting this week will thrive and reward us with lovely spring flowers for many years to come. Azaleas are special to me because my grandparents had them planted all around their yard in North Carolina and springtime is so beautiful there.
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I am hearing. . .birds singing, children talking, traffic on the nearby highway.
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Around the house. . .a number of messy piles to clean up, Easter baskets about down to their jelly beans that will be harvested and packed back up in the attic this week, a cat wearing a t-shirt (don’t ask), and lots of flowers to plant outside.
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One of my favorite things. . .a freshly planted garden – such a joy.
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A few plans for the rest of the week. . .a little spring-cleaning, sewing, schoolwork, gardening, ice skating lessons, a day in the repair shop for the van, monthly Stamp Club, and a stop by the quilt store.
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Here is a picture thought I am sharing. . .

Tomatoes about to be put out in the garden.

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Thanks to Peggy at The Simple Woman’s Daybook for this wonderful meme. Visit Peggy starting Tuesday to find the list of participants in this week’s Daybook.

Have a lovely day!

Blessings,
Nancy

“A New Perspective”

The little cares that fretted me, I lost them yesterday
Among the fields above the sea,
Among the winds at play,
Among the lowing of the herds,
The rustling of the trees.
Among the singing of the birds,
The humming of the bees.
The foolish fears of what may happen,
I cast them all away
Among the clover-scented grass,
Among the husking of the corn
Where drowsy poppies nod,
Where ill thoughts die and good are born,
Out in the fields with God.

-Elizabeth Barrett Browning

I found this poem while I was visiting Peggy’s Daybook site the other day and just had to print it out to read over and over again. It is so true that getting out into God’s world and sitting amidst His creation gets our perspective right again and He has so much to teach us about Himself this way. I think this is one of the reasons I like to sit on my front porch when the weather allows and just drink in the beauty and glory of His work – which ends up refreshing my soul every time.

It will be another lovely day here today, so I think that I will be sitting in that rocker on the front porch while the children play and explore.

Blessings,
Nancy

The Simple Woman’s Daybook ~ April 5

Here is my Daybook entry for today ~

Outside my window. . .so much more green than last week at this time – the trees are growing their new spring leaves and everything looks so much more beautiful now.
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I am thinking. . .about my menu for the week.
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From the learning room. . .we’ll be back to our studies with an eye on the end of the school year coming around the corner – colonial time period reading continues with the olders, and I will be reading a book about George Washington to the littles all week this week. Several schoolbooks have been and are being finished up and I am starting to think a little bit about planning for next year in preparation for the Spring Bookfair.
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I am thankful for. . .the wonderful Easter celebrations we had yesterday.
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From the kitchen. . .Hot Chicken Salad Casserole, grilled vegetables, and Strawberry Shortcake for dessert.
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I am wearing. . .navy t-shirt and denim capris.
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I am creating. . .light checkerboard squares for my quilt (as opposed to the dark ones which I will be working on next). I will also be putting together the first block of a new block of the month quilt that is going to be blue and white (my favorite!) and will be sewn on the machine using Thangles.
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I am going. . .to enjoy a slower pace this week.
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I am reading. . .“Grace Based Parenting” (Kimmel) and “The Excellent Wife” (Peace).
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I am hoping. . .that I can get my camera problem figured out soon – it stopped working after it’s last journey outdoors, and I am really missing it!
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I am hearing. . .birds singing, breeze blowing, Mickey Mouse dvd.
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Around the house. . .Easter baskets filled with chocolate, the new rug has been delivered and laid out in the living room, a nice clean feel in the house.
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One of my favorite things. . .the basket of purple Campanula flowers that my mother brought me yesterday – I will plant them in the yard to enjoy every year.
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A few plans for the rest of the week. . .sewing, gardening, Ladies Bible study, ice skating, and eating lots of hard-boiled eggs!
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Here is a picture thought I am sharing. . .

Missy dreaming in the sunshine in her favorite chair.

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Thanks to Peggy at The Simple Woman’s Daybook for this wonderful meme. Visit Peggy starting Tuesday to find the list of participants in this week’s Daybook.

Have a lovely day!

Blessings,
Nancy