The Dolly Parton Imagination Library Program

I'm sure many of you have heard of Dolly Parton but have you ever heard of the Dolly Parton Imagination Library Program?

It is a great program where you can get 1 free book a month to each child in your home that is under 5 years old.  Yes, I said free.  As the kids get older, they look forward to receiving that book that is addressed to them!  Both of my boys are signed up and we get some really neat books to add to their libraries.  You can check out the website here.    Click on the "first time users" section; than you can click on one of the train sections to learn more or sign your child up (if it is offered in your county).  And yes, you can search to find out if it is offered in your county too!  (Too find that out - just add your zip code in the "search your affiliate" box and it will pull up the info.  I'm assuming that if it isn't offered, it won't pull anything up . . .it is offered in my area so I get the school address)  Even if this isn't offered in your area, share it with friends and family too!!

I hope that this will help at least one person be able to get some books for their children!  :-)

PS.  Josh's book came today and he saw it in my hand when I came in from outside - he couldn't wait for me to take off the plastic wrapping so he could sit down and look through it! 

Books To Read - Jan-April!

It is hard to believe how quickly 2011 is bearing down on us, but it is!  I've been making lists and checking them twice . . .of books, that is!  Back in August, I did a post about books I wanted to read before the end of the year.  I'll be writing a reviews in another post but I did finish those books . . .early, in fact.  So I thought I would share my next goal.  I decided to up the anty a little bit and want to read 12 books over the first "quarter" or three months of the new year. 

I know, I know - yes I can count and that is only 10 books (the bottom skinny, minny one is actually Nate's book he just got in the mail from Dolly Parton's Imagination Library - if you have kids under 5 and haven't checked to see if that program is offered in your school district - you really need to!!) One of the 12 I had picked, I just finished and will review it with the other's I need to review and one, just hasn't arrived yet.

So here is my list - names and author's only - as I read them, I'll write my very biased (:-) ) review (otherwise known as my opinion!) 
1.  Taking Care of the Me in Mommy by Lisa Whelchel (Saw it recommended on a blog I follow)
2. The Edge of the Divine by Sandi Patty (I love Sandi Patty!)
3. Parenting in the Pew by Robbie Castleman (Again, saw it on a blog)
4. The Total Woman by Revell (This is something I saw on a blog and am actually amused by it . . )
5. What's He Really Thinking by Paula Rinehart (Again, saw it on a blog)
6. Falling Forward by Sandi Patty (Yep)
7. It Starts at Home by Bruner and Stroope (This goes along with my Faith Box)
8. Shepherding a Child's Heart by Tripp (We got this when Nate was dedicated from my Dad's church)
9. 6 Stress Points of a Woman's Life by Leman (I got this a year ago - I really like Dr. Leman's writing)
10. For Woman Only (I think my mom gave me this one)
11. Embrace Grace by Liz Curtis Higgs (She is one of my favorite authors and I've wanted to read this book for ages)
12.  Choosing too See by Mary Beth Chapman (just wanted to read it and my mom gave it to me!)

They are in no particular order - as I finish one, I pick which one interests me the most.  I usually have some other book that I'm reading for "fun" too - depending on what my mom gives me or I pull off my shelf that I've read before.  I had I started reading through my library again (it is all in alphabetical order by author . . .yes, I love my books) but got way-laid by some different series that my mom gave me. 

What are you reading?  Do you have any good books to recommend for future reading - I like all topics, even some novels would be great.  If it is a "harder read" - I put it in with my reading challenges; if it is an easy read, I just add it to my pile to read for fun! 

Where do I get my books?  Well, from my mom, books I've owned forever and have never read, gifts for various things, or I purchase them used on half.com.  I also sell books on half.com - it is an awesome place to find books at low costs and the shipping is all media mail determined by Half.com, not the seller.  I get most books for less than $1.00 plus shipping! 

Just for Fun

I read this on another blog recently and found it kind of humerus so I thought I would share :-)

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1. I think part of a best friends job should be to immediately clear your computer history if you die.

2. Nothing stinks more than the moment during an argument when you realize you're wrong.

3. I totally take back all those times I didn't want to nap when I was younger.

4. There is a great need for a sarcasm font.

5. MapQuest really needs to start their directions on #5 . . . I'm pretty sure I know how to get out of my neighborhood.

6. I can't remember the last time I was kind of tired.

7. Bad decisions make good stories.

8. You never know when it will strike, but there comes a moment at work when you know that you just aren't going to anything productive for the rest of the day.

9. I'm always slightly terrified when I exit out of Word and it asks me if I want to save any changes to my ten page report that I swear I did not make any changes to.

10. I wish Google Maps had an "avoid ghetto" routing option.

11. I have a hard time deciphering the fine line between boredom and hunger.

12. I love the sense of camaraderie when an entire line of cars team up to prevent a jerk from cutting in at the front.  Stray strong, brothers and sisters!

13. Shirts get dirty. Underwear gets dirty.  But pants? Pants never get dirty, and you can wear them forever.

14. Sometimes I'll look down at my watch 3 consecutive times and still not know what time it is.

So, how many did you relate to and laugh out loud when you read them because they are true in your life? LOLOLOL

The Story of Two Boys . . .and Lunch.

This morning, I was working around the house doing all of those things someone who is an "Unworking" mom does when I noticed a couple of things. 

First I noticed this:

 Than I noticed this:

So what exactly am I seeing?  It is the tale of two boys.  See, the first set of pictures shows the "Trail of Nate".  You always know where Nate has been because there are piles of toys behind him!!  The second set of pictures shows what Josh does with his toys. Notice that the cows are placed side by side and the cars are all lined up?  Two totally different personalities LOL

And than I wanted to share a couple of lunches we had this week.  I shared this POST recently about the kids and making better lunches for them so I decided to just jump in with both feet.

 First, on Monday, we had our Muffin Tin Monday - Josh was impressed.  He only ate the yogurt and some gold fish (And I think the dog got the roll-up)  (We had yogurt, apple slices, Turkey and Cheese roll-up, Gold Fish, Broccoli, and Cantaloupe.  Broccoli was knew - he laughed when he touched it LOL  (Nate had cantaloupe, goldfish, and yogurt - which he likes to feed himself!)

Than on Tuesday we tried something else fun.  I made a gingerbread man grilled cheese with olive eyes and nose and apple buttons.  Plus apple slices, carrots with ranch dip and cantaloupe.  Now, I thought the gingerbread man was kinda cute in a scary freaky way (hahaha) but Josh DID NOT like it.  I had to cut his arms and legs off and into pieces so his was like his brothers.(Nate had grilled cheese and cantaloupe!)   Oh well, we'll keep trying!

Weekly Song - Joseph's Song

When trying to pick a song for this week I really was stumped.  So many of my favorite Christmas Songs are so popular.  Not that it should matter but I wanted to pick one that maybe isn't as well known that people would actually take time to listen too.  I had given up and was going to post a link to "Mary Did You Know", knowing that 90% of you can probably sing it yourself when this song popped into my head.  It is by Michal Card, I believe and the first time I heard it was at a Christmas Eve Service years ago when my Cousin (in-law), Donn Deboer sang it.  Donn has an awesome voice anyway and he just brought this song to life.  Even tonight as I listened to while I wrote this post, it was such a balm to my soul.  I mentioned in a post I did on my Good Morning Girls blog that this time of year, a large part of my time with God is listening to Christmas Music - not the fun, cute little songs (which I love) but the true Christmas Songs.  I heard Steven Curtis Chapman sing "O Little Town of Bethlehem" today - wow, he truly paints a picture with his voice or Sandi Patty singing "O Holy Night" - is there anything better?  It helps me put the true meaning of Christmas into Perspective - music speaks to me in so many ways and is such a great way to worship.  So this week, we'll focus on Joseph.

I tried to embed the video into this post but it didn't work well so just scroll to the bottom to play it - and while there, make sure to mute the regular player so you can enjoy it better :-)

Christmas Decorations

When I was first posting about the Holiday Journal, I wanted to give pictures each week along with the posts of my decorating but that didn't happen!  Well, I finally finished up with the little touches I wanted to do and now have some pictures to share!  Normally I do "Too Cute Not to "Toot"" on Tuesday's but, quite honestly, I have not had any time to search other blogs for great ideas over the past week so this fits right in!  I didn't get to post anything yesterday due to being super busy and going to that awesome "Life on Purpose" seminar.  I can't wait to share some of the great things I learned for planning 2011!  Hopefully I can post the first step tomorrow :-)   But for now - here are those decorations!

We'll start with the boys rooms!

Looking into Josh's room - I hung up a few little things on the wall and we hung some things from the ceiling, which Josh loves.

His tree and special things on his dresser.

His wreath :-)

He loves this - it plays jingle bells - an obnoxious version.

And my helper :-)

Nate's tree and ornaments from the ceiling.

His shelf with some special things..

My helper who refused to open his eyes for any pictures!

Now on to the Living Room, Dining Room, and Bathroom :-)

I posted about the dining room before but Josh and I worked together today and hung the snowflakes, which is why it looks like a blizzard hit.  He wanted ALL the snowflakes up LOL

This is the little project I did on my Picture wall.  I went through Google Images and found a bunch of Christmas pictures that I liked - some funny, some just "Christmasy".  I than figured out how many 5x7, and 8x10's I needed and ordered them through Snapfish.  Once I received them, I just taped them onto the frames and changed up the wall!

The Bathroom!  A few years ago, I found this Shower Curtain at Kohl's in their after Christmas Sales and just love it.  And yes, I wrap the big picture in here too!

My snowmen :-)

I had to show this LOL  Darryl and I picked this up a few years ago and find it funny - Josh laughs every time he sees it.

And the living room - I love snowmen :- )

Our Stockings

My "Mantle" - the TV Cabinet.  I love the ornaments above it and all the special things.  I'll share those two items hanging on the side later this week.

And our Christmas Tree :-)  Notice Donald Duck too!  We picked him up several years ago on a trip to Frankenmuth.  This year, we needed to keep the tree away from little hands so we got creative, we decided to put it behind the couch.  THAN we got smart :-)  Instead of paying for a 7 foot tree where half of it would be hit, we put it up on a table so we only got a 4 foot tree - what you see is what it is LOL!!  I actually love it where it is and how it looks. 

One last picture that just made me laugh out loud this morning.

Yep, that is Nate with his Pj's wrapped about his neck, just waking up in the morning.  Obviously, the snapping PJ's are no longer the best option for him.  LOLOL

So there are our decorations.  I have visions of total Christmas makeovers in my home but that never happens.  This years goal was to do everything without buying anything which is hard for a spender.  I did well - I had to buy one strand of lights and 1 set of two bows.  I am making a  list of things for next year so I can hit the after Christmas sales and see what I can pick up for 75% off!!!

This and That

We are slowly digging out from under the lovely stomach bug Darryl and I both suffered through; we are slowly figuring out a plan for the next several months now that Darryl's job of 8 years is gone; we recovered from my losing control on the expressway when I hit black ice (but thankfully God protected the kids and I and kept us from hitting anything!); we are slowly regrouping from a vacation that threw us some curve balls - but isn't that all part of life?  I'd actually really like to go somewhere like this :

But I don't think that will be happening anytime soon :-)

I don't have a great blog to post tonight but I thought I would give you a little lead in to what is coming up over the next week or so.  I tried a new recipe today for a great Holiday Pound Cake - it is sooo good! Not to mention a cookie recipe that turned out and .. one that didn't but you might like it anyway!  I'll be sharing those recipes later this week.  I put together some cute Christmas activities for my kids that we will be working on this week that I will share too!  Plus I finished all of the books I wanted to read by the end of the year so I'll finish reviewing those, let you know what else I've been reading and let you know what books I plan to conquer for the 1st quarter of 2011!!  Something I'm SOOO excited about is a "Mini-Solutions" workshop I'm attending tomorrow that teachings how to have "Life on Purpose".  I promise to share all of the ideas I get plus the lists I've been working on that you can use to plan things for the upcoming year!  Just so many great things I want to share with all of you :-)  Not to mention I still have some Christmas Decorations to show you, my front porch to "show off" (it really is quit simple this year), a 1st birthday party coming up, and a couple final steps in that Holiday Control Journal that I didn't touch on previously (such as making lists for next year, changes I plan to make to my plan from this year, and the "undecorating" plan as well!)  I had better get my camera and my fingers busy this week (I like to write multiple posts at night but our schedule has recently changed so I'm having to figure out how to fit things back in!) and speaking of cameras, I've noticed that the Canon Rebel seems to be a camera that many people love . . . I think I need to save my money, I really need a better camera!  OOOOHHH And I ordered my Christmas Cards from Shutterfly that I got for free for blogging . . . I can't WAIT to see them.  I promise to share the final product once I actually get them mailed :-)

That is my randomness for tonight as I wait for my husband to get off the phone so that we can finish watching Amazing Race . .. but it is already past our bedtime (4:00 comes very early!) so . .. we'll see!

Good night :-)