HSB Quest for Thunder Mountain Giveaway

There are going to be 15 winners for
The Quest for Thunder Mountain
on the HSB Company Porch!
You don't want to miss out on this
great new give-away from the author of
The Terrestria Chronicles!
Click HERE to find out how you can be a winner!

Subscribe to The Old Schoolhouse Magazine and recieve a free Ebook: HOMESPUN HOLIDAYS

Did you ever dream of getting a horse for Christmas? You can get a sneak peek of our Fall issue and see Nancy Carter's first horse! (Click HERE to see her first horse!) Oh, and she's not the only one sharing her childhood pictures. You'll see photos from the 50's through the 80's.

But, you'll need the Fall issue of The Old Schoolhouse Magazine to go on this walk down memory lane.

Plus, do you like to create holiday memories? The brand new TOS holiday E-Book can be yours, too. It's all about the fall and winter holidays - mainly Thanksgiving and Christmas. But it's not even for sale yet. This is your chance to get it first - for FREE ($12.45 value)!

Normally when a person subscribes, their subscription starts with the upcoming issue which can take a while. But, TOS thought about that when they planned their Fall Special.

If you subscribe now with their Fall Special, you'll get

Almost 50% off the cover price for 2 years The current Fall issue as soon as it is ready

6 Bonus gifts

12 months of Teacher's Toolbox, which contains a FREE E-Book every month PLUS, the new E-Book, Homespun Holidays for FREE!

This is over $250 worth of product for only $39!!

CLICK HERE TO SUBSCRIBE NOW!

Fun Survey!

Rachael, a friend of mine, sent this out...
These types of surveys are fun and they make me think about the mundane things in my life. Maybe that's why I appreciate them!

1. What time did you get up this morning? 9:30
2. Diamonds or pearls? Definately Diamonds
3. What was the first film you saw at the cinema? I don't remember.
4. What is your favorite TV show? Bones
5. What do you usually have for breakfast? I don't like breakfast... usually cereal.
6. What is your middle name? Mai
7. What food do you dislike? Tofu & Blood sausage.. the name is enough.
8. What is your favorite CD at the moment? One of Jeremy Camp's Cd's.
9. What kind of car do you drive? White Mini Van (my dream car, not)
10. Favorite sandwich? Ham & Cheese
11. What characteristic do you despise? Unthoughtfulness
12. Favorite item of clothing? Jeans
13. If you could go anywhere in the world on vacation, where would you go? Probably back to France. I'd like to take Rod there. Or to Norway, to visit Rod's family & for our kids to see their roots (they are 1/2 Norweigan).
14. Favorite brand of clothing? Don't have one
15. Where would you retire to? A bit cliche, Florida. I really like it there.
16. What was your most recent memorable birthday? Last year we went to the space needle with the St. Johns and the Suarez family.
17. Favorite sport to watch? my kids sports.
18. Furthest place you are sending this? Virginia
19. Person you expect to send it back first? ???
20. When is your birthday? August 10, 1974
21. Are you a morning person or a night person? Hoo Hoo - Night owl.
22. What is your shoe size? Big. Ok, 10.5
23. Pets? Fish and a Rabbit. Oscar, who's an oscar fish & lots of tankmates. And a Rabbit, named Easter, who lives at my parents.
24. Any new and exciting news you'd like to share with us? Number 5 is on the way!!! (Psych Just kidding!!!!!!!!)
25. What did you want to be when you were little? A mommy.
26. How are you today? Um, I took a long nap. Drove to vancouver yesterday and when we got home I was tired...
27. What is your favorite candy? Chocolate
28. What is your favorite flower? Dahlias, Sweet peas. Any that my kids pick for me.
29. What is a day on the calendar you are looking forward to? Feb 1st... when we will probably file our tax return. So we can get a tax refund!
30. What is your favorite pastime? digital scrapbooking and when I get on a roll, quilting.
31. What are you listening to right now? my heater..
32. What was the last thing you ate? Pizza leftovers.
33. Do you wish on stars? Nope
34. If you were a crayon, what color would you be? Green
35. How is the weather right now? 100% chance of cold
36. The first person you spoke to on the phone today?
I don't think I called anyone today...
37. Favorite soft drink? Peach tea - snapple.
38. Favorite restaurant? Bob's Burger & brew.
39. Real hair color? Brown.
40. What was your favorite toy as a child? a bunny rabbit doll.
41. Summer or winter? Summer
42. Hugs or kisses? Hugs!
43. Chocolate or Vanilla? Chocolate
44. Coffee or tea? Coffee. Although, tea is growing on me!
45. Do you want your friends to email you back? Only if they like these things.
46. When was the last time you cried? Yesterday.
47. What is under your bed? dust & dirty socks.
48. What did you do last night? Drove to Vancouver WA & back!
49. What are you afraid of? Whether or not we can make it while Rod goes back to school.
50. Salty or sweet? Sweet
51. How many keys on your key ring? I don't know.
52. How many years at your current job? about 11 years as a SAHM.
53. Favorite day of the week? Not sure
54. How many towns have you lived in? Four (Big Lake, Burlington, Mount Vernon, and Mazatlan, Mexico)
55. Do you make friends easily? Close friends, not really.
56. How many people will you send this to? ?
57. How many will respond? ?

Register for Jessica Sprague's free class!

You can now register for Jessica Sprague's FREE class! Open to everyone, class size unlimited. Registration is open until Nov. 8th.
Go to to login and register!

Here's what Jessica says about this class:
"I decided to create a system for capturing the stories I would like to tell, so that when I sit down to story tell (whether that's scrapbooking, taking photos, blogging, or any other of the various ways I can record the stories of my life), I can have some stories in hand.:

I'll see you there!

The Grocery Fairy Came to Our House!!!

With Rod not working, just going to school full time, it's put our finances in an interesting situation. Honestly, I try day to day to reassure myself that I really do know that the Lord will take care of our NEEDS. It's a tough day when you have to decide to pay your power bill when your cupboards are empty.

Rod is currently getting unemployment checks while going to school.... which is lots less than he used to make. Funny, before when he had a "good" job, I used to say that we were "scraping by." I think I was wrong. Things are much harder now.... maybe it's more difficult because we don't see the end. At least hard times with a job you could hope that it would be better after the next paycheck or next month or in a few months. Right now, it's so up in the air that we are just hoping that we get our rent paid. Literally.

A few days ago, I mentioned this to a friend. Not in a complaining manner (or at least I hope not) but that it is such a struggle. Personally, i'm trying to find a way to deal with the struggle. Rod and I really do believe that the Lord has asked us to do certain things right now in our lives.... That if He really wants us to continue to do what we are doing, that He WILL provide. Although there are plenty of days where I can't seem to remember this at all... there are others where I really can see His provision, right up close & personal!

Today was one of those days! The Grocery Fairy came to my house!!!

My friend who I had spoke with a few days before, contacted us, and they (she & her husband) decided to bless our family with groceries! Woohoo! (First off I couldn't believe they would do that for us... but they are friends & isn't that what friends (and family) should be for?) They were so gracious.... letting us know that it blesses them to bless us. It really touched my heart! We all felt so blessed... a couple of whole chickens, fish, cereal, milk, canned corn, canned beans, mac & cheese, spaghetti noodles & fixings, grapes, fixings for a homemade soup and many, many other items!

We've given to others.... And I know how heart warming it can be to give a gift in love. But I haven't had to be the person on the receiving end in a very long time. Very humbling... Yet it felt so good to know that someone cares.

It feels like God is letting us know that he will walk with us a little further... He will provide. My Thanks - Thank you Lord for providing for our family in our time of need. Thank you for our good friends who walk with us and who show us your love in our day to day lives. Thank you for sending us the Grocery Fairy!