Final Day of 100th Post Contest

well, my fun contest is coming to an end. i have one last prize for you to claim to celebrate my 100th post milestone. blogging has become one of my passions and i'm so happy to celebrate with you. since so many of the blogs that i read, and commenters i get on my own blog are mom's of young children, i thot i'd pass along a great book that i have read many times to my son. its called "Ten Little Ladybugs."



its a loved on book, but i hope the winner will still be able to get many days of enjoyment out of it. i also have a mother's journal for anyone who have given birth recently, called "To My Child" and lastly i have a gently used book from dr kevin leman, called "the 6 stress points in a woman's life"



i think at times we mom's can all relate to being stressed. one thing i've realized as i've gotton older tho, is that its ok to tell myself i'm under some stress at this point in my life. when i qualify it that way, it doesn't seem to be such a death sentance! another thing i tell myself is that "this too shall pass" great words of wisdom. nothing is forever, except the Lord and His word. do i hear an Amen from my sisters?

so lets see those comments and you can also comment on the previous contest posts too. i'll pick a winner for each of the 3 giveaways this weekend with the help of my #1 son.

a springtime drive

(note to all: scroll down to see day 2 of contest post)

a couple weeks ago we drove up to the southhills south of our town. spring has been slow coming to our area. the higher we drove the more snow we found. we stopped at a picnic area we hadn't been to before and discovered a secluded and tranquil place. josiah was intriqued by the fire pits. michael and i decided that we will definitely be coming back once summer hits. a great spot for a family picnic, don't ya think?

book giveaway: day 2

yipee!!! today is day two of my 100th post giveaway. today i have a great novel from my favorite mystery author: Agatha Christie, the queen of the genre. her novels are ones that i can read and reread and never get tired of them. i think i've read all of her works except one or two and watch most of the movies that have been made out of her books. i'm also including a couple of post it notes from mary engelbreit, one of my fav artists, i have mary engelbreit magnets, stationary, books, calendars, and even curtains in my basement. she is whimsecal and fun.

so today if you'd like to win this prize, let me know what your fav genre of books are. historical fiction? suspense? christian? mine is mysteries, and esp cozies. those are the ones that don't have any graphic details.

looking forward to seeing what you are reading these days.

This n That Friday

Today is Walk to Work Day tho i don't work outside the home at this point, i like the idea of incorporating more walking into my life. the town i live in right now isn't as walking friendly as i'd like, but there are a couple places i could start walking to on a regular basis; the library which is only a few blocks away and the park across the street from the library.

on spike tv this weekend is going to be showing all the star war movies. we will definitely be watching! #1 son has his light saber ready and waiting.

NBC must be out of creative content as 2 of our families fav shows are debuting on NBC this sunday night. monk and psyche have been showing on usa for the past couple years. i don't know if these are reruns we've already seen or brand new episodes, but i'm excited nonetheless. last fall i mentioned some of my fav shows on this post and psyche was on the list, of course. if you haven't seen shawn and gus, you've missed some great laughs. whereas monk is a fav with my husband. and i like it too. monk has grown on me, even with all his quirky attributes.

our family has been visiting another church in town. it is much smaller, which we appreciate. they are having a ladies brunch on sat that i am planning on attending.

on sunday we will be visiting again and will probably be making a decision whether to make it permanent or not.

100th Post Contest: Day One

And we're off! Ready to win a prize or two?

today i am giving away a cute blank journal and a bible study by Kay Arthur called "Desiring God's Own Heart" way back in 1990 i found out about kay arthur bible studies. at the time i was hungering for a deeper walk and a deeper understanding of God. studying the Word with a kay arthur bible study was like stepping into a new and fabulous world. she is excellent at leading the student into a deeper understanding of the scriptures. no fluff here. she has two series that i know of, the deeper, hardcore, lots of homework series and then the book series that is not so exacting. this study is of the latter. perfect if you haven't done a study of hers before this.

i haven't done a kay arthur study in way too long, but what i learned from the half dozen or more that i did in the last century! (doesn't that sound like a long time ago!!) has stayed with me over the years. i don't have alot of other study authors to compare her with, but for me she's the queen of studies.

so if you want to win this prize leave me a comment about your fav bible study you've done, your fav study author, or study subject. i did a daniel study with kay arthur as one of my first studies and it has remained one of my favorites. daniel is an amazing book, man and follower of God. how 'bout you?

In Honor of My 100th Post

i'm having a giveaway to commemorate my 100th post here at challenges and adventures. (i think i'm at 98 right now) for you lucky readers. last week i was pondering on what i could give away and i think what i found will do just nicely. since giving is one of my love languages this should be fun for me, and i hope for you as well.

all you have to do is come back each day or every other day and leave a comment to the question that i ask. it may have something to do with the gift being given, something i have written on my blog or something i really want input on. those that leave a comment will be chosen at random and i will announce the winners on my blog here and also email you if you leave me a blog address or email address.

anyone can play along, all you have to do is leave a comment starting tomorrow april 4th. i won't close the contest til the end of next week, so you'll have lots of time to come and leave comments. what fun!

Baseball Season is Here!

over the years i have become an avid baseball fan. and being from the pacific northwest, i have followed the M's from their inception. so yesterday was a big day at our house. the mariner's opening day! they played texas and unlike past years they even won! even during their randy johnson era i can remember so many opening day losses.

my son is following in my path and becoming quite the rabid, oooops, i mean avid fan. he bounces up and down on our sofa, squeals in delight and generally enjoys the game for a couple innings.



i am thankful that we have a cable channel that airs almost every game on tv so i can follow along out here in the idaho hinterlands. but i miss being able to go to at least one game a year. enjoying the sunshine and blue skies that even grace the seattle area once in awhile. i would love to take our son to a game this summer, but we'll have to wait and see if a trip west is in the cards for us. if so, i can dream that it'll include an afternoon game at safeco field, watching the boys play ball. any guesses as to who my fav player is?

tech problems fixed

woo hoo!! i got my replacement cord today and my problem is fixed. i am sooooooooooooo HAPPY!!! its amazing how you get attached to your computer and all its unique features. get ready for some photos, a contest commemorating my upcoming 100th post, and more blogging from moi.

also, i was able to figure out what was wrong with my cd drive. #1 son had somehow messed with it while watching Kong months ago and the dvd was caught in the drive. i had always wondered where that dvd had gone? #1 son is so happy to be watching Kong again.

so glad to be back in bloggyland. i have lots of catching up on my favorite blogs.

Friday This n That

spring is very slow coming to idaho. we had snow flakes falling earlier in the week, turning to rain as soon as they landed. but still, snow at the end of march? what's up with that?

i'm still waiting for my power cord replacement for my laptop to come. i am so ready to have my computer back. hubby has been generous to let me use his, but its not the same.

we have been decluttering and working on getting our house in shape to rent out. i have been stressing about all that needs to get done, so last nite i got my planner out and wrote down all the things that need to be done on different dates for the next few weeks. i feel so much better just doing that. now all i have to do is follow thru on the plan!

belated birthday blessings

sat was my oldest sister's b-day. a month ago i was planning a great tribute for the blog with pictures and witty comments. then my computer went on the fritz ... and is still there. somehow not having my own computer to use put me all out of sorts and i didn't post anything.

now a few days later, i'm feeling bad. afterall, she is my sister and a great friend to boot. my sister is 8 years older than me, but doesn't look it at all. she is an incredible 3rd/4th grade teacher. she gets asked regularly to teach teachers and write curriculum for the district she's in. she's not ambitous, but instead honors God in all that she does and He has lifted her up. (insert pic of sister here)

over the years, we have become prayer partners just thru sharing our hearts with each other and taking our concerns to the Lord together. now we try to pray together over the phone 2-3x a month. we only get to see each other a couple times a year as we live 600+ miles apart. which is very sad. (insert sad face pic here)

but when we do get together we have a gala, hip-hip-hippy, happy time. my husband says when i get together with my sisters ( ihave 2) i laugh alot. now that's a good thing to do, don't ya think?

Happy Belated Birthday Sissy Poo!!!

Answered Prayers

i admit, i have a hard time trusting the Lord when a big challenge comes my way. having a disabled husband going back to school on a very limited income has been a huge challenge even with his schooling being mostly paid by the dept of the blind. there are always those extras: books, supplies, loss of wages cuz he's not working full time, you know the drill. but we believe that God has us right where he wants us for a variety of reasons: learning to trust Him more, giving michael a new career that he can succeed at and provide for our family, learning to be content with little or much as the apostle paul proclaimed, seeing Gods faithfulness to us in action, up close and personal.

and then the Lord gives you a little something to sustain your faith and trust. that's what God did for me today. michael came in to wake me up and said "i got awarded a $5000 student loan for next year and a $2000 workstudy stipend." boy, that got me awake! not being a morning person, i usually wake up slowly and crawl out of bed like a mole seeing the first rays of sun. all blurry eyed. but today i bounced out of bed and gave michael a big hug. we praised God for this gift and agreed that it seems we are headed for boise after all.

i am so thankful that the Lord continues to lead us down His path. we just have to trust and follow Him. easy to say, but for this follower, harder to do and to do consistantly. guess that's why the Lord keeps giving me opportunities to practice trusting Him. like my title says, its all about the challenges and adventures the Lord sends my way.

this n that

michael has graciously let me use his computer to get online and post. he's pretty protective of his computer cuz he uses it for school and he's seen how i can abuse things! yikes!

my computer is still under the weather. i think i've found a replacement cord, but i still have to make sure i'm ordering the right one. i hate tech when it doesn't work. but when it works its my best friend. kwim?

i finally got around to trying the hot and sour soup recipe under my recipes to try list. it was great! i elimenated the mushrooms as i don't do rubbery textured foods, like mushrooms and oysters. and i may add more liquids. its definitely a keeper and i could eat it for lunch every week. mmm-mmm!

i also actually started sewing on joe's pants that i cut out for him last month. i need him to try them on so that i can see how they're fitting and that could be a chore! but i am determined to finish them before short season arrives and i have to put them away til fall. i also cut out a pair of shorts out of the same pattern yesterday. shorts season will be upon us in no-time and joe outgrew all but one or two of his shorts by the end of last summer. since i had the fabric i thot i should use it up.

hopefully i'll be able to post again soon. in the meantime, it snowed here last nite so i won't be doing any yard cleanup today. ahhh, i'm SO disappointed! got to go see the dr seuss movie with my family this afternoon instead. life can be so hard!

we are experiencing technical difficulties

my computer is on hiatus. after much wear and tear, courtesy of myself, #1 son, and canine daisy the beloved laptop has decided it needs a break. so i'm researching replacement parts for the poor thing. i hope to be back up and running shortly, but in the meantime i will be mostly computer-less, which isn't always a bad thing.

spring is sneaking into our area and i could spend the extra time outside, raking leftover leaves from fall and tending the new flower bulbs coming up.

what's your kiddos morning routine?

first born son has had the sniffles for the last couple days. he seemed esp miserable last nite, so i decided to give him some meds and let him sleep in as long as necessary this morning. we usually get him up around 7:15 and he slept today til 7:45. i let him lounge in our bed watching tv for a half hour and then got him up, bathed, dressed and b'fast. i finally took him to school at 9:30. he was looking better by then and seemed less sleepy and cranky then yesterday morning. not being a morning person myself i can understand his need to wake up slowly. he has to have meds to help him sleep becuz of his diagnoses, so he usually gets to sleep around 9:30 or 10. sometimes later, but never earlier than 9:15 and that is rare.

i've always felt that school started too early, with his bus coming to pick him up at 7:35. the school gives them free b'fast and school doesn't really start til 8:45. after seeing what a difference it made for him this morning i'm wondering if it is feasible, doable, or even advisable to let him sleep in later like this morning, feed him b'fast at home and take him to school between 9 and 9;30 for the rest of the school year.

i'd love to hear your ideas on this subject. whether you have typical kids or special needs ones, homeschool or do public school. bring on the comments!

decluttering

Yay me! I got rid of our small sofa that we didn’t need any longer. Our church has an email newsletter that people can use to list things for sale, or for free, services and products offered, homes for sale or rent and other things. So I listed our small sofa and a young couple called to take it off our hands. I am so excited that it is out of our living room. It opened up quite a bit of space and now I am hatching ideas in my mind how to rearrange the furniture we have left.

Since last year I have been weeding thru clothes, toys, books, videos and other misc items, a bag at a time. Donating them to our fav thrift store run by one of the churches in town. But getting rid of a large piece of furniture really makes it feel like I’ve accomplished something.

Anyone else on a decluttering spree?

Thankful Thursday

this week i thot i would highlight several bloggers that i am thankful for. tho i started my seed story blog back in '06 i didn't find out there was this huge bloggy community of christian wives, mothers and gals until last summer when i was surfing around one day. i felt like i had found a bunch of kindred spirits who live all over the country and even the world! what a treasure the internet is.

so i want to introduce a few of these kindred spirits to you:

carrie has a great title for her blog. "with all that i've been given" isnt' that great? she is a young mom with a one year old son. she loves her family, practices hospitality and shares some great recipes. she ministers to young girls, which gives her extra brownie points in my book. go visit carrie's blog

another blog title i love is cindy's at "still His girl" referring to both the Lord and her husband. her husband has his own blog and they are both a hoot. cindy is that girl back in highschool that you wanted for your best friend: fun, cool, nice, funny, extroverted, coming up with lots of great ideas and has tons of energy. when i grow up i want to be cindy! besides her fun side she also has a serious side which endears her to me. she's willing to be real and doesn't pretend to be perfect (even tho i know she must be!)

monica from the homespun heart has a heart for her family, home and hospitality. i love reading about her 2 little ladies (ages 3 and 18 mo) and her newborn son. plus they live in south carolina and since i would love to move to north carolina i get to live down in the south thru her blog. monica shows her strategies for feeding her family well on a budget, cleaning up the clutter that accumulates, how she makes her home more homey with her feminine touches. she is serious about her walk with the Lord and makes balancing all her demands look (almost) effortless. maybe we can move to south carolina and i can be her n'bor???

kathy and her husband, tim,co-write their blog "the duckabush blog." they live in western wa, my stomping grounds growing up. when i need a reminder of what i'm missing i just have to wander over to their blog and be reminded of the rain that i got away from, the beautiful pics of mt rainier that i miss seeing on a regular basis. kathy homeschools her brood, which i had always planned to do if we had had the brood we had planned on, instead of our special boy that God gave us. so i get to homeschool vicariously thru her blog. one of the reasons i like kathy's blog is that she includs lots of photos and she posts every day. and if she doesn't blog, she has bribed her husband to blog with added computer time for his obsession. i'm so glad my husband doesn't read my blog. if he knew that tim had a set amount of computer time and had to do something to earn more time, well, just say it wouldn't be pretty around here if something similiar was instigated.

there are a ton more that are in my fav file, but those are the ones i go to regularly to catch up on their lives. go visit these wonderful blogs and let me know what your "must view daily" blogs are.

is febuary over yet???

i have nothing, nada, zilch ... so i'm stealing this idea from cindy at still his girl who got it from her friend, emily. if you like it feel free to steal it from me and play along.

If i were a shoe ... i'd be a black and white tennie

If i were a city ... i'd be a bustling, warm, crowded place, miami?? atlanta??

If i were a season ... spring! i'm ready to bloom

If i were a car ... a cute bug convertable, most likely red or yellow (and no, i don't run around with my top down!)

If i were a vegetable ... i'd be a potato

If i were a fruit ... i'd be a fruit salad, all mixed up

If i were a color ... i'd be pink with black and white stripes

If i were a piece of furniture ... i'd be a comfy club chair

If i were a song ... wake me up before you go-go by wham

If i were a country ... i'd be a small island, like jamaica, not cuba!

If i were a beverage ... i'd be a lime cranberry soda. my new fav from fred meyers

If i were clothing .... i'd be a comfy sweater

If i were weather ... blue skies, sunshine with a few white fluffy white clouds

If i were an animal ... a puppy, cute, energetic, not quite potty trained

If i were a plant ... i'd be a fuscia

If i were a dessert ... hot fudge sundae with nuts and whipped cream

If i were a word ... i'd be forgiven

How 'bout you? what kind of shoe, animal, dessert are you? do let me know if you decide to play along as i'd love to see your list.

Thankful Thursday (a day late)

today i thot i'd write about being thankful for good hospitals and medical personnel. having been thru the ordeal with our son last weekend i can truly say how thankful i am for doctors nurses and others, esp since healthcare and nursing don't come naturally to me.

i was very impressed with st al's in boise where we went. the nurses were personable and caring. each room in the pediatric wing was like a mini suite. there was a couch that unfolded into a bed, a rocking chair, a small table and 2 chairs, lots of cupboards, a tv with a dvd and video player and a full size bathroom that included a shower. we felt well cared for and were able to spread out.

they had a menu that we ordered from for our son's meals just like ordering room service at a hotel, plus they had a pantry on the floor where they had coffee for mike and juice, jello and applesauce for joe.

i can't imagine living a hundred years ago or even farther back when medicine was so primitive. i am thankful that we have all the technology we do. and i'm thankful that the Lord has given these docs and nurses wisdom in what they do.

what are you thankful for today?

concussions and balance

yesterday, #1 son seemed like he was ready to go back to school. i drove him and let the teacher and aides know what had happened over the weekend. joe seemed pleased to see his classmates.

by lunchtime i was antsy to hear how he was doing so i called the school. helen, his teacher, told me that his eyes were dilated, which could mean he had a headache. he was somber and laying his head on the desk alot. they had kept it a low key day for him. he hardly ate any lunch, which in his case is a sure sign that things are not well in his world.

so i told helen that i would come pick him up. i canceled his speech therapy and his afternoon program and brought the poor guy home. dh was home from school, too and tried to get him to take a nap, but alas, sleep was not to be. so joe and i cuddled on the couch and watched tv.

he's still very unbalanced on his feet. he walks with legs spread wide and has an uneven gait. think old monster movies from the 50's and you get the picture. except no arms extended straight out in front of him.

at dinnertime, he ate his applesauce, jello and pasta with relish, so that was a good sign.

so we're trying school again today and we'll see how he does. hopefully he'll last a little longer today than yesterday. the docs have told me that it can take awhile to get over a concussion and return to normal so i'm trying not to worry, but to trust that the Lord is still healing and watching over our son. as you moms know, worry is an occupational hazzard where our kids are concerned.

my weekend: co-opted by circumstances

if you notice the last post i made i said not much was happening. how that can change in such a short time.

friday nite #1 son came home from his special needs program crying. turns out he fell in the bathroom and bumped his head.

dh and i monitored the situation, checked the internet as to how to care for someone with a concussion. i knew he wouldn't feel like eating so we just settled down in front of the tv, making sure he could rest. soon tho he was throwing up and after an hour his crying hadn't ceased. when you're dealing with a non-verbal child it is so hard to know what he is experiencing. it is a very helpless feeling ....

so we headed off to the ER. even tho the ER was being slammed, they got him in quickly. we weren't sure what to expect since everything we had read said that docs can't really do much for a concussion. the ER doc finally got around to seeing #1 son. after checking his ears, nose and eyes he told us there was blood pooling behind his left ear. so he wanted to proceed and order a CAT scan. he asked if our son could hold still for 5 minutes while in the machine---HA! so first they had to give him some drugs. oh how i hate to see my son poked and prodded and drugged up. when he came out of the CAT scan his eyes were glassy and darting everywhere as he tried to shake off the effects of the drugs. and he was still crying.





we soon found out from the results of the scan that he had blood between his brain and skull, not a good thing. and the pressure that ensued was causing the pain which was resulted in the crying ....

what we weren't expecting were the next words out of the doctors mouth: "we can either send your son to salt lake or boise" what?!? i thot we were going to be sent home and told to rest for a couple days. but no, because of the blood and the pressure our son needed to be in a larger hospital in case it didn't go away on its own. so, they ordered a helicopter to take our son up to boise. we decided that dh should ride along with them and i would drive up and meet them at the hospital.

i kissed my son goodbye, watching him being carted off to the ambulence, and rushed home to toss a few clothes and necessities into a bag before heading out. of course, i forgot a few things, like a change of clothes for hubby! oooops!

as i drove the 2 hours to boise i prayed, i sang along with worship songs, i prayed some more. i had made a few phonecalls already to let others know what was happening and put our son on their church's prayer chain. as i flew along the freeway i felt the wings of the angels holding me up and keeping me awake. i knew the Lord had heard my prayers and others and was anxious to hear what this hospital in boise would say and do.

they had admitted our #1 son into the ER and i connected with dh and son. he had been given some anti nausea meds so he wasn't throwing up as he had been doing the previous 5 hours. later that night he was transferred to a regular room in the pediatric ward. dh and i decided that he would stay and i would drive over to my brother's and bunk down there for the night. i am so thankful that my brother and sister in law moved to boise 2 years ago. and not just so i had somewhere close to bunk down for the night.




the next day #1 son seemed to be getting better and then took a turn for the worse in the afternoon. so we as his parents, along with his doc and the main nurse who had been caring for him decided it would be best to stay one more night.

finally sunday afternoon we were released and headed home. #1 son is no longer in pain, is holding down light foods, but is still a bit unsteady on his feet. we had a low key day today and hopefully he'll be ready to go back to school tomorrow.

i have pics and hope to download/upload? some and get them on this blog. and now, i'm ready for a weekend! where did mine go?

not much here

last week was crazy and this week i got slammed again with a to-do list to long, and an energy quotient too short.

hope to have some time to post soon!

Thankful Thursday

today i'm thankful for the 4 seasons God created. we are having our share of snow and cold here, and i am more than ready for the next season in the rotation--- spring!

i'm also thankful for warm sweaters, slippers, sweatpants and blankets.

i'm thankful scarves, gloves and knitted hats.

i'm thankful that my mom has come thru the radiation looking good. still tired, but healing nicely.

i'm thankful for decaf mocha's and conversation time with hubby at the espresso shop.

what are you thankful for?

what does my latte say about me?

What Your Latte Says About You

You are easygoing and pretty simple to please. You don't put up a fuss... ever. You can be quite silly at times, but you know when to buckle down and be serious. You have a good deal of energy, but you pace yourself. You never burn out too fast. You have a healthy relationship with caffeine. You're definitely not dependent on it. You are responsible, mature, and truly an adult. You're occasionally playful, but you find it hard to be carefree. You are sophisticated and daring, but you are never snobby.

What Does Your Latte Say About You?

What color should my blog be???

yes, i'm sure you're dying to know!

Your Blog Should Be Blue

Your blog is a peaceful, calming force in the blogosphere. You tend to avoid conflict - you're more likely to share than rant. From your social causes to cute pet photos, your life is a (mostly) open book.

What Color Should Your Blog or Journal Be?

so why did i just change my blog to orange over the weekend???

What kind of English do i speak?

Your Linguistic Profile:

75% General American English 15% Upper Midwestern 5% Midwestern 0% Dixie 0% Yankee

What Kind of American English Do You Speak?

where's west coast on this list???

My Travel Personality

i'm the adventurer!!! woo hooo!!!!

Your Travel Personality Is: The Adventurer

For you, travel is how you learn about the world. And you like to learn the stuff that's not in guidebooks. You truly have wanderlust. When you're not traveling, you're dreaming about where you'll go next. And your travels are truly legendary - they leave you with stories you'll be telling for the rest of your life!

What's Your Travel Personality?

some more cards ...

here's some more cards that i made a couple weeks ago.
sorry the photos aren't as sharp as i'd like. anyone have any tips on photographing cards?