Giveaway - Chris Tomlin's Adore CD!

It's not even Thanksgiving yet, but I've got the Christmas happies, and I'm ready to do a fun GIVEAWAY to get you in the holly jolly mood, too!
Have you heard of Chris Tomlin? 
No?

Ha! Yeah, right! I'm pretty sure most of you know of this American contemporary Christian music artist (if not, you NEED this CD!). He's also a worship leader and songwriter, and he's sold nearly 30 million records! He's been nominated for 32 Dove Awards and won 19! Pretty awesome!
His new CD, Chris Tomlin's Adore: Christmas Songs of Worship, is just amazing (click here to visit the website)! I'm listening to it right now, and it's just so worshipful and beautiful, y'all. You have to hear it! This album features guest performances by Lauren Daigle (love her!), Crowder, and more. It has some classic Christmas songs mixed with some original ones. Silent Night featuring Kristyn Getty is sooooooo good! Take a look:

Songs:

1. He Shall Reign Forevermore

2. Adore

3. Midnight Clear (Love Song)

4. Noel featuring Lauren Daigle 

5. Hymn Of Joy 

6. Silent Night featuring Kristyn Getty 

7. What Child Is This? featuring Sons & Daughters 

8. It's Christmas

9. A King Like This

10. Bethlehem

11. A Christmas Alleluia featuring Lauren Daigle & Leslie Jordan of All Sons & Daughters 

Can't wait for the giveaway and must have it NOW? I hear ya, friend; it really is that good! Click here to purchase on iTunes.

Would you like to win a free copy of Chris Tomlin's new Christmas CD? Of course, right?! Here ya go, friend! (I did put a little plug in the entries for my book biz. I'll be having lots of Christmas giveaways soon over there, and I don't want you to miss out!) The winner will be announced the following day and will have 48 hours to respond to claim this awesome CD. Enter below!
a Rafflecopter giveaway

"Disclosure (in accordance with the FTC’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising”): Many thanks to Propeller Consulting, LLC for providing this prize for the giveaway. Choice of winners and opinions are 100% my own and NOT influenced by monetary compensation. I did receive a sample of the product in exchange for this review and post.

 Only one entrant per mailing address, per giveaway. If you have won a prize from our sponsor Propeller / FlyBy Promotions in the last 30 days, you are not eligible to win. If you have won the same prize on another blog, you are not eligible to win it again. Winner is subject to eligibility verification.”

Thanks for stopping by, friend!
I can't wait to hear your favorite Christmas traditions!

A New Direction

Yup, it's what it looks like...
We're not homeschooling anymore.
God has called us in a different direction.
It all started the end of last school year when my youngest, Anna, started having extra therapy appointments during the day. We had to leave CC early for the last six weeks or so, and I knew something needed to change. My director was amazing, and the moms in class were so accommodating and supportive, but I knew I couldn't keep this up.
We first looked into different homeschool co-ops that would be less of a time commitment, but God never gave us peace. We explored the private school option, and today Mary starts her first full week as a second-grader at our church's academy. 
It's different, that's for sure. I can't believe I'm not with her; being apart from her is hard. But, she's happy (she couldn't wait to get to school today!), and we feel God's hand in all of this.
What started this spring as an extra therapy appointment for Anna has turned into weekly doctor appointments and hospital stays that have sapped my energy (and sometimes sanity). We go in tomorrow for a 24-hour video EEG to check for seizures (she's not sleeping through the night still, and Anna's first sleep study indicated seizures and sleep apnea).

Yeah, try to sleep with all that on ya; good luck!
We start vision therapy in a couple of weeks, and that's twice a day (at their office) for two weeks, then twice a day at home. We go back to Memphis next week for her laser procedure to take off her latest round of basal cell cancer spots, and the list goes on.
So, I'm not homeschooling.
And I'm finally coming to terms with that.
And we're going to take things year by year. 
And that's okay.

The best thing is that I finally feel God's peace about this whole situation.

I don't know what I'm going to do with this little blog yet, but I know that I'll keep it going. I still get questions about CC, so I'll keep those resource links up. Click here to see my Cycle 1 weekly plans from a few years ago.

The book business is going well, and I have that blog going, too. Please head over and check it out if you enjoy Usborne books! This little side business is now paying for Anna's medical bills, so God is providing there, too. Whew! And it also took us to Ireland recently! Click here to check that out!

Thank you so much for your prayers and support through the years, friends. I know many of you have been faithful in praying for Anna, and we appreciate you more than you know. I'll keep you updated on her condition as much as I can. She's been a trooper through everything, and I'm just overwhelmed by God's mercy and grace in blessing us with these beautiful children. I'm learning to trust the Engineer day by day...

Again, thank you, friends, and whatever your school year looks like, I pray that it's fabulous!

Stitch Fix Review #4

Time for another box of happy! Hoorah!
Have you heard of Stitch Fix yet? It's a fabulously fun service that sends me a box of five clothing items every few weeks. If I like them, I keep them and pay online, and if I don't, I return them. Easy peasy! Click here to learn more (and this is my referral link - thanks so much for your support!).
Last box, I gave my awesome stylist, Kalesa, a challenge! Let's see what she put in this fix!

First-Year Surprises - Part 1

 

It's been one year since I signed up with Usborne Books & More, and I must admit that I'm a little shocked about how fast time has flown. Has it really been a year? This time last year I was at Teach Them Diligently in Nashville, and I was stalking the Usborne booth; I must have visited it four or five times. I looked at the consultant kit (in a sneak way because I didn't want anyone to know I was interested - ha!) and bought a bunch of books. By the time the convention was over and we were back home, I knew I wanted to have my own book show. I messaged the first local consultant I could find with an active website to set up my party, and then I messaged her back the next day or two and said I was just going to go ahead and sign up and would that be okay (hahahahaha!). I started Usborne Book Barn, but I really had NO idea what to expect my first year with a direct sales company.
I've never sold anything in my life - and I hate the thought of being a 'salesperson.' Would I be good at this? Would anyone want to do this with me? I prayed that God would just take my business and do what He wanted with it.

Not Expecting This

Say whaaa???
(This was me on the phone yesterday with my 'Oh no you didn't' look.)
As most of you know, Anna has Gorlin Syndrome, and you can read more about that by clicking here. She's had close to 250 cancer spots removed from all over her little body; however, some of her other issues don't fit exactly with Gorlin. After some Googling extensive online medical research, we thought we had found the missing link! We mentioned it to our absolutely fabulous doctor, and she had already been working behind the scenes to have Anna's DNA tested for this exact syndrome. Brilliant! So we did the blood test and have been waiting for 4 weeks to hear back, really, just to confirm that she did indeed have this other syndrome tacked on to Gorlin (it's on the same gene, for pete's sake, so of course THIS is the missing piece!).

Welcome to Holland

Anna has been on my mind constantly these past few weeks. We think she may have another syndrome on top of her original diagnosis of Gorlin Syndrome, and we're waiting for her test results to come back. Any day now. (It's been 'any day now' for a week, which makes it frustrating.)

If she does have this new thing, I'll share more. (I've found that there's a fine line when you have a blog. How much should I share? Will my sharing help others? If the answer is yes, I try to share as much as possible with you.) 

I've wanted to write more about my journey with Anna, but it just hasn't been the right time. I've written posts in my head for weeks, and then days later I'm so glad that I waited. I was just about to go to bed a few minutes ago, when God told me to write. So, here I am. I don't have much to share right now, but Welcome to Holland is a good place to start. This poem is well-known in the special needs community, although it obviously is applicable to pretty much every life situation where our expectations differ from our realities.

c1987 by Emily Perl Kingsley. All rights reserved

Welcome to Holland

I am often asked to describe the experience of raising a child with a disability - to try to help people who have not shared that unique experience to understand it, to imagine how it would feel. It's like this......

Stitch Fix Review #3

I absolutely LOVE finding my Stitch Fix box of happy waiting for me outside my door each month! Do you know about Stitch Fix yet?

It's an amazing service where your personal stylist sends you five items in the mail, and you keep what you like and send back what you don't! It's perfect for me because I don't have time to shop for myself, plus, it's just a lot of fun! Click here to learn more about Stitch Fix, and click here to read about my first SF review, and click here for my second SF review!
Now, onto this month's box! 

Adventure To Fitness - Review!

My husband found the COOLEST thing the other day, and I just HAVE to share it with you!

Stitch Fix Review - February Box 1

Got another FIX in the mail!
If you don't know what I'm talking about, please click here to read my first review and the details. Basically, Stitch Fix a service where you get a surprise box of clothes just for you on a regular basis (think monthly, every two months, etc.). I LOVE it because it's convenient, the clothes are unique, and it's just plain FUN! Click here to check it out!
So, here's this month's FIX!

Stitch Fix #2 - December Box!

Have you ever wished and prayed for a personal stylist to send you cool clothes that you can't find just any ol' where? Yeah, me neither! BUT, that's exactly what I got when I took a chance and signed up under a dear friend for Stitch Fix!

(I am sharing my referral link, and if you take the plunge, I'll get a little 'happy,' so thank you!)

Poetry Party!

It's been a looooong time coming, but Mary has completed Level 1 of IEW's Linguistic Development Through Poetry Memorization program! Waahooo!!

Usborne and CC Cycle 1 Match-Up!

If you're not new to my little place on the world wide web, you know that I lovey-lovah-love Usborne books, so much so that I've become a consultant and team leader. It's just a great company that I stand behind 100%, and you can learn more about my journey by clicking here and here.
I was recently contacted about finding Usborne books that correlate with CC Cycle 1, so here's what I've put together! It's not an exact match-up with a fancy numbered table (I'm sure someone will create that if it's not already out there), but it's a good general place to start if you're looking to get yourself ready for Cycle 1. 

Buck Denver asks... Why Do We Call it Christmas Review + Giveaway!

We love Buck Denver and the What's In the Bible series by VeggieTales creator Phil Vischer! My kids like VeggieTales in general, but I prefer the Bible series. I have my own opinion on VeggieTales, which you can read more about by clicking here.
I was sooo excited to get my hands on a copy of this Christmas DVD in exchange for my honest opinion! Buck Denver is having a Christmas party, and all of his friends are invited. They run into some delays along the way, and while they're waiting, everyone takes part in explaining some of the most popular traditions of Christmas.

Saving Christmas - Giveaway + Review!

When I was asked to pre-screen this movie in exchange for my honest review, I was SOOO excited! I love all Kirk Cameron's projects (The Way of the Master is such an incredible evangelistic tool! Wow!), so I had high expectations for his new movie, Saving Christmas.

I was NOT disappointed! 

Christmas Gift Idea #2 - Wind-Ups!

In anticipation of our first Mystery Hostess Facebook book party, I'm spotlighting some of Usborne's most popular books that make amazing Christmas gifts!

Christmas Gift Idea #1 - Castle!

In anticipation of our upcoming Mystery Hostess FB book party on Nov. 1st (woot!), I'm going to be spotlighting some of Usborne's BEST books and activities to put under your tree!
First up is our new Slot-Together Castle with an Usborne Book!

Mystery Hostess FB Book Party!

Usborne book home parties are SOO much fun, but sometimes it can be hard to get out of the house. Or sometimes we just don't want to clean or have people over. I hear you. Solution?
Facebook parties!
Partying in our jammies is easy, fun, and in this case, VERY exciting! Usually the hostess of the party will earn free books and discounts based on the amount of books purchased at her party. Like this:

Isn't that awesome?!
This hostess's Christmas shopping is DONE!
And I'd like to make this happen for you, too!
YOU could be the hostess - and you don't have to do anything except place an order through a special link by clicking here. When you order through that link before November 1st, you'll be entered into the drawing to win ALL the hostess books and discounts - YOU will be the mystery hostess! 
The Mystery Hostess Facebook Book Party is Saturday, November 1st, at 8 p.m. CST on my Facebook page. Coming to the party will get you extra chances to win the free hostess books, as well as other prizes like free shipping and additional discounts on amazing Usborne books! Plus, Facebook parties are just FUN!

(probably best to not binge drink; check out that huge wine glass - yikes!)
But, you get the point, right? Books make great gifts, and Usborne books are the bomb.com! Why not order some Christmas presents and enter the drawing?! YOU may win ALL the free books and discounts!
Sounds good, right? But what exactly are the discounts, you ask?
If you win on November 1st, you'll get

• free books
• half-priced books
• $25 in books for 65% off
• another $20 in books for $5
• any set/collection for 65% off!

The winner will cover the cost of tax and shipping, but that's never much when you think about all the free and discounted books. 

So, please save the date, November 1st at 8 p.m EST, and join the party! To enter the drawing to be the mystery hostess, simply place an order online. Can't make it to the party? Shop through this link between now and November 1st, and your name will still be put into the hat. However, if you come to the party, you'll get MORE chances for all the free and discounted books (and it's pretty fun, too!).
To come to the party, just hop online November 1st and go to my Facebook page. Be sure to 'like' it before then so you're all ready to go! Also, check in often between now and then for ways to earn extra points for the raffle!
Are you excited?!
Are you pumped?!
Do you have November 1st circled on your calendar?!
It's going to be awesome, and fun, and I hope you'll join me at 8 p.m CST!
Oooh, and go ahead and start browsing the Usborne catalog by clicking here! You can also see inside MANY of our incredible books by checking out my You Tube channel by clicking here! (You can also see some pretty funny video-bombs by my sweet girls, too - ha!)

Hope to see you on November 1st at our Facebook party!

CC Moms' Retreat!

A BIG part of Classical Conversations is the community - the fellowship and encouragement that we give each other throughout this crazy homeschooling journey. Last weekend, the Huntsville, Alabama, area communities got together for our first moms' retreat! The goal was to foster that sense of community, relax, and just enjoy being together as mamas. For me, this goal was certainly achieved! Take a look at our amazing weekend at Smith Lake!

We stayed at a beautiful lake house that was just PERFECT for our group!

A few of us spent some time talking on the dock, while others stayed on the deck.

There was no agenda, no schedule, and nothing planned (except dinner - thanks, Mary Ann!). It was fabulous! Imagine hanging out with your friends and NOT having to be somewhere or do something! Yeah, it was pretty awesome!

After dinner and some hangin'-out, some of us played Telestrations, and others watched Moms' Night Out. If you've never done either, I highly recommend both activities!

Here's a little Telestrations fun:

It's like Pictionary, but different, and it's hilarious!

Everyone gets a little wipe-clean book and a secret word.

You write your secret word...

And then draw it on the next page. Then we pass the books to the next person, and that person tries to guess the secret word by the picture. So... Anissa passed this to me, and I totally did not get 'boxer shorts.'

Yeah, this is what I thought she drew (my guess below):

So I wrote my guess, and then I passed it to the next person, who had to draw what I wrote:

Those are perfect polka dot mits! So this person then passed, and the next person had to guess what she drew:

Sure, those look like spotted gloves! So then she passed, and the next person had to draw 'spotted gloves.'

Perfect! Then she passed, and the next person guessed what she drew:

Spotted gloves, gardening gloves, close enough! Then the next person had to draw that person's guess:

So this person drew someone in the garden with a glove and an arrow pointing to the glove. Good. Then she passed, and the next person had to guess what that picture was:

Farmer. Nice.

Remember what the secret word was? Boxer shorts.

Nailed it. ;)

Hahahaha! 

So, it's like the old game of Telephone and Pictionary mixed together. And it's just soooo much fun! For me, the secret word 'tumbleweed' was the highlight of the game! ;)

Checkout time was 11 a.m., so that meant I could SLEEP IN!! And I did! And then when I woke up, I read a book. I actually stayed in bed, snuggled up, and read a book! NO clue when the last time I did that was. Oh, friends, it was just so relaxing!

The weekend was amazing, and I'm so thankful for the friendships (and nicknames!) that were made and strengthened during our moms' retreat. If you're able to organize one for your own community or area, I say go for it!

Sooo, um, any chance we could make this a monthly thing, ladies? ;)