A Day Without Shoes!

18!

I own 18 pairs of shoes.

Confession?

Maybe.

Especially when I hear of those who go without shoes every day and contract diseases because of it. Diseases that could be cured by a pair of shoes!

Join me as I participate in Kari's challenge to go A Day Without Shoes.

Also,

• if you join in the fun
• and find you have a few pairs of gently used shoes you can get rid of
• and you live in the Portland area

My mom and her friend just bought a resale boutique in West Linn and they are taking shoe donations for the Japan Tsunami victims. You can find them at:

Maggie's Magnolia Boutique
19155 Willamette Dr
West Linn, OR 97068

I'm curious. Leave a comment with the amount of shoes you own. Were you surprised like me?

He She Be and a Giveaway!

Tomorrow is my 20 week prenatal appointment and ultrasound. Eeeek! I am so excited to see our baby again. I can feel movement more and more.

This pregnancy feels different in many ways, but I think most of it is because I don't have time to stop and think about it. Most of the time I forget that I'm pregnant. I would feel bad but I am so excited about this baby that it seems to take away the guilt.

Usually by now many family members and friends would have told me what they predict this baby is going to be. For some reason that hasn't happened this time. When we first found out I had one dear friend tell me that as soon as she heard we were expecting she thought it was a boy.

(Ok. My SIL did tell me that she wanted to say we are having a boy but she thinks we are going to have another girl. But she burned my beans. So she doesn't count.)

But that was it. Until this past week.

I was in Salt Lake City, Utah spending six days with my BFF (by myself I might add!) and she very confidently told me that I am having a boy. Apparently she has felt that way since I told her I'm pregnant.

I, personally, don't have a feeling either way. While I would be delighted with a boy, it scares me at the same time. Abiah is such an easy boy that I'm afraid the next one will be the polar opposite of him. And since I've done (am doing) the girl thing twice it seems easier.

But I want to know what you think.

I posted this a while back and you can use it to help you if you need to.

The giveaway part works this way: In the comment section below tell me what you think Jr is (as in boy or girl for all you funny ones who want to say, "A baby!").

Since there are only two options for a right answer I will take all the entries that guessed correctly and randomly choose one of those names. (So if it is a boy, all those who guessed that way will be entered into the drawing. Just to clarify.)

If we aren't able to find out tomorrow due to a stubborn/shy baby I will just choose one person from all names entered.

My appointment is at 3:30 pm PST so no entries after that time will be counted.

The prize is a Starbucks card and a homemade treat (not edible, btw).

Also, you must leave the comment on the blog (not Facebook) for your entry to count. Also, those of you who want to tell me after we find out that you knew all along what the baby's sex is totally don't count. And you people irritate me.

Sometimes I have a bad attitude.

I will announce the results and the winner tomorrow night!

Giveaway Winner!

Last Thursday I posted about our morning circle time and a giveaway for The Jesus Storybook Bible for children. When I went to purchase the Bible at Exodus Books I found the new deluxe edition that comes with three audio CD's and liked it much better.

So I got that one instead.

I was/am surprised that only one person entered the giveaway, but am also happy for...



Jodi! You are the winner! Congratulations!

Email me at queenshiree@gmail.com and we'll talk about getting your prize to you!

For everyone else: Check out Jodi's blog. Super cute!

Circle Time and a Giveaway!

In an attempt to expose our kids to regular Bible study and prayer time we've been having Circle Time together. It's an idea I learned while reading through some Montessori information.

With my personal twist added in there.

My MIL got this children's devotional for us:





The kids love it. They are learning about Jesus by looking at nature. The lessons are short and sweet and there are questions that help them think about what they've just learned. We try to read a lesson every time we have circle time.

We make time to sing a few songs. The kids love ring-around-the-rosy. Very spiritual. I know. And Father Abraham. Yay! for me. Or not. Because I think my kids are the cutest I recorded them singing Father Abraham. Just for you. Because I'm giving like that.



We also take time to pray together. Being as the kids are 7, almost 3, and one-and-a-half there is usually lots of giggling and silliness. I still feel like they are learning an important discipline.

One thing we've not done, that I plan to soon incorporate, is a time for silence. Listening. Being still.

This will be interesting because of the age thing. I figure we'll start with a few minutes every time and work our way up. We'll see how it goes!

I've never really liked children's Bibles. Call me a terrible parent (and a 12 year old) but I would rather read Captain Underpants all day then sit through the stories in the children's Bibles. I've always felt that they were missing something. Watered down. Simplified. They lack the spark that ignites a passion for the Word of God.

So when my MIL gave this one to our kids for Christmas a few years ago I thought, "Another book to add to the Goodwill pile in a few months."





And then we read it.

Oh my granny, I love this Bible! Every story that's told comes back to the point that the Bible is a story about Jesus and His love for His Bride. How exciting!

I love that the stories from the Old Testament come alive through the parallels being drawn. For me! I love that when my kids are old enough to read a Bible by themselves they will already have this idea firmly planted in their little hearts and the stories won't seem obsolete. They will have a better understanding of what they are reading. I can't recommend this version enough. Perfect for children and adults!

And since I love it so much I'm giving one away to one of you! Here's what you do:

Leave a comment here on this blog post and you'll be entered to win. To earn four more entries you can:

• Facebook about this giveaway
• Twitter about this giveaway
• Blog about this giveaway
• Follow my blog
  

Make sure you come back here and let me know when you've done any of these. Remember to leave a separate comment for each! The giveaway will end Sunday night at 7pm, PST. So get your comments in by then.

Valentine's Giveaway Winner

Let me tell you, if ever you're having a rough day and you need a little lifting up, a great way to feel better is to have a giveaway where you force people to tell you how wonderful you are just so they can have a shot at winning a prize. I've been smiling all week from your lovely comments. And while I wish all of you could win... you can't. Sadly enough.

But one of you did! And all of us here at the PnP Castle got involved to find out which one of you won:



These are just a few of my favorite things:

Starbucks coffee sampler
(Love me my coffee!)

Ms. Pedicure Best in Toe Pedicure Kit
(I got this little kit for Christmas and I LOVE it! It's great for those times when you can't get to the salon for a pedi. Which is most of the time for me.)

Sinful Colors Nail Polish in You Just Wait
(This brand is my new favorite. And the color is perfect for Valentines Day!)

LOVE Magnet

Gummy Cherry Hearts

Heart Shaped York Peppermint Patties
(Not only are they heart shaped, when you bite into them they are pink inside!)

Large Conversation Hearts
(Makes the grade schooler in me happy)

Valentine's Day card from me. Personally. I know. That's the best part, huh?


So, I threw all your names into a hat.



Then had a cute little prince draw a name.



And the winner is.....



And then I returned the hat to the rightful owners.





Congratulations Cheryl! I hope you enjoy these Valentine's goodies as much as I enjoyed picking them out for you!

Thank you everyone else for participating. I hope you all have a lovely Valentine's day! I am looking forward to and planning for the next giveaway already!

My First Giveaway!

Welcome to my 61st post and my first giveaway! I know most people do first time giveaways at post 50 or 100 but I thought I'd change things up a bit. Plus it really helps me to face my OCD tendencies head on.

I know. You're thinking, "Her? OCD? REALLY?" Just ask Nathan. I have this "need" for numbers to be "my kind" of even. Like when I'm listening to the radio in the car the volume has to be set to a multiple of five. That's why I call it "my kind" of even. I know five isn't an even number but it is evenly between zero and ten. Which makes it even in my head.

Please don't try to make sense of this. It's all "hockey puck-rattle snake-monkey monkey-underpants" up there if you know what I mean.

So anyways, the GIVEAWAY! Yay!

I'm creating a Valentine's Gift box with some of my favorite things. The contents are a surprise. Mostly because I haven't purchased them yet. But I have lots of ideas including: pedicure kits, chocolates, coffee and other Valentine's sweets.

To enter you just need to leave a comment below telling me how wonderful I am.

Just kidding. Just leave a comment below and you'll be entered!

For three extra chances to win do the following:

• Facebook or Twitter about this giveaway (including the link always helps!)
• Follow me! Just click on the Follow button on the left side of this page. If you already follow me let me know.
• Post about this giveaway on your blog with a link back here.

And when your done come back here and leave a comment for each. I will be accepting names until Sunday the 7th when I'll have one of my kiddos pull a name from a hat. Real formal, I know. Good luck!

Fun Giveaways

I love blog stalking and today it's paid off! I found a couple of giveaways and want to share them with you. Not just because I get an extra entry for doing so, but also so you can join in on the fun. But maybe mostly cause of the extra entry. You can find them here:

Three to One

Fresh Oil Today

The Secret Life of An American Wife and Mom

The other perk about blog stalking is finding more encouraging and fun blogs to follow. I'm thinking about doing a giveaway. What do ya'll think? Should I? It sounds like fun to me.