If you think I have been a bit quiet on the internet lately you would be correct.  Over the past weekend we ended up with a virus on our computer.  So, our computer has been sitting here in the office turned off for three whole days!  In some ways it was refreshing and in other ways it was torturous!  But the Geek Squad guy came today and now my computer is squeaky clean!  It better be for a $300 bill!

So, I am back!

That is all!

Can it really be that time once again? Time for the Ultimate Blog Party! I love this event every year. It provides a great opportunity to meet new blogging moms and make some great online friends! So please feel free to join in on the fun.

For my new blog party visitors let me give you a brief introduction.  I am a conservative Christian.  I am politically conservative as well.  I am a homeschooling mom of nine.  Well, I just recently found out baby number ten is on the way.  We are very excited!  My hubby is a minister and is currently serving in the military.  He left three weeks ago for some training and then off to Afghanistan until late October.  Our little baby is due the end of November so he should be home in time!

I tend to blog about anything and everything.  So many say that if you want a hip hop happening blog you have to have a theme.  Well, my theme here is randomness. I like that.  Sometimes I am serious, sometimes I am not.  I blog about my faith, homeschooling, life in the military, my family, and anything else that comes to mind.  We currently live in Alaska.  Alaska is a truly amazing place and I love it here.  So, I blog a bit about our life here too.  I love having visitors who comment.  It is easier to build relationships that way.  Visitors who don’t comment are just as welcome and appreciated! )  I am also a member over at SITS so I love to comment back!

Please grab yourself a drink and some of those left over Easter jellybeans to munch on and spend some time here.  Take a little moment to get to know me and I would love to get to know you too!  Friendships are priceless!  Be sure to check out my sidebar too.  There is my twitter button and some of my latest tweets as well as a glimpse into our homeschool.

I love to make new friends.  Soooo, if you are new here be sure to subscribe to my blog and follow me on Twitter.

I hope you have a great time and meet some wonderful people during the 2010 Ultimate Blog Party!  Thanks for stopping by.  I hope to see you back often!

I cannot believe that I have hit the one thousand mark. To celebrate this milestone I am having a giveaway because what other way is there to celebrate, right? I will only be running the giveaway for 5 days and the opportunity for entering will end at midnight (Monday) December 7th, ALASKA time. The winner will be announced on December 8th. The giveaway includes 5 different titles. They are listed below with photos of exactly what you will receive.

Full package includes:

• Considering God’s Creation Set

• Children Just Like Me

• Missionary Stories with the Millers

• Heaven’s Heroes

• Marvels of Creation – Magnificent Mammals

Now the rules: There are several ways to enter.  You can have just one entry or up to four.

1. Leave a comment here mentioning what you like most about this blog (1 entry) if you do any of the following for additional entries please let me know in your comment.
2. Subscribe and become a follower of this blog (1 entry).
3. Blog about this contest and link our blog on it – and don’t forget to give us the link below in the comments! (1 entries)
4. Add a badge (found on the link buttons page) to your blog and post a link in the comments below (1 entries).
5. Existing followers and those who already display a badge count as entries, as long as you post a comment (with link if applicable) to let me know!

Not for additional entries but I would be thrilled if you would consider tweeting this giveaway and any other blog entries by using the tweet buttons at the bottom of each blog post!  Thank you and good luck on the giveaway!

Can it really be November already?  It seems once again my blog has gone by the wayside.  I am continuing to find it difficult to put in the time it takes to maintain a blog.  I even missed posting on Reformation Day!

Well, there are several reasons that this blog has suffered in recent days.  We are now in our fourth week of illness at our house.  It really isn’t anything major but a fever here, an ear infection there, a cough and a sniffle, and as soon as we think we are all better it begins again.  I will be thinking differently about a child who says they do not feel well when they only have a 99.5 temp.  Those low grade fevers are just enough to make one feel yucky!  I can say this because that has been me for the last week.  I have been teetering between 99.5 and 100.5, just enough to remove any little bit of motivation to do anything!  Prayfully, we are on the mend and hopefully for the long term.

On another note, I have a bunch of great ideas floating around in my head for some blogging fodder.  I do not feel like I have the energy or time to make them into a finished post thought.  The few I have thought of working……well……let me just say that I am a bit gun shy at this point.  There are things I have seen floating around the blog world lately that I would just LOVE to comment on. I am not sure that I am willing to be trusting enough to take the possible backlash!  I have been there and done that and I am not sure I am ready to go under fire again.  Nevertheless, the thoughts continue to roll through my mind and I may yet take the time to type them up.

There have been other things that are happening.  There are things to ponder, trials to live through, others to encourage, homeschool to teach, and the beauty of fall to enjoy.  I just need to make a point of posting about those I suppose.  I hope you will overlook the fact that I have let the blog suffer some neglect.   I will try harder to make it here.  Sometimes we just get in a rut and have a hard time climbing out.  That seems to be the case with me lately.    I will to attempt to do better!

Ok, so if you have stuck with me this far, I have a few discussion questions for you.

• Have you ever found yourself in a blogging rut?
• What did you do to overcome that?
• How much time do you spend a day writing your blog posts?
• What is your most favorite thing about the month of November?

It is that time once again. It is time for the Homeschool Blog Awards. There are 25 categories for which you can nominate your favorite homeschooling blogs. Pop on over and take some time to get your nominations in for your favorite homeschooler blogs.

Thank you so very much!  I am honored and blessed to receive such an award!  A friend of mine @ Creative Counterpart , has nominated me for one of her ‘Sweetest Friend Awards’ . The award originated with Evening Shade Morning Latte.

The award is as follows: “These blogs are exceedingly charming. These kind bloggers aim to find & be friends. They are not interested in self-aggrandizement. Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated.”

The rules of the award are as follows: Please give more attention to these writers. Deliver this award to 8 bloggers that then need to choose 8 bloggers of their own to pass the award to. Include the following text depicting the award…“Each of the following ladies, I simply love. They each have faced their own challenges in their lives & the way they encapsulate their experiences endears them greatly to my heart.”

So, I am handing out my 8 awards to the following…

1. Valerie- she has been there with me through thick and thin in the blogging world and proven herself a dear friend over and over again.
2. Mindy- a sweet gal that I just met recently and another fellow Alaskan, in fact she lives just down the road.  I will have to meet her in person sometime soon.
3. Terri Sue- she has always been faithful to give an encouraging word when it seems I need one most.
4. Daisy- she is a faithful commenter here on my blog and is full of encouraging words and great input on the discussions here.
5. Ruby- she is another lady who has been full of encouragement and reached out her hand of friendship.
6. Trish-is a great lady who has extended her hand of friendship to me and I have seen her reach out to many others as well!
7. De’Etta- is a great friend, not only are we in the same position when it comes to the ministry roll but she brings a bit of crazy and zaney energy to her friendships.
8. Linda- she has shown herself to be an encourager and one who is always consistent and faithful to participate here on my blog.

These are some amazing ladies that anyone would be honored to call friend.  Take some time to visit their blogs and get to know them.  Ladies, “Thank you for your friendship!”.

It is that time again!  Time for the 2009 Ultimate Blog Party.  This year it snuck up on me and I am just now getting into the party mode.  I will be blog hopping and meeting new friends.  Why don’t you join in on the fun.  There are lots of moms to meet and great prizes to win.  I think my three favorite prizes are the Gobaby Outmat, the $50 gift certificate from Happy Pandy, and the $50 gift certificate to Hatley.  There is a whole boatload of other prizes to win; for a full list visit The Prizes Page.  Click on the banner to get in on all the fun!  The party runs from March 20-27.  Don’t miss out!

For those of you stopping by for the first time I would like to introduce myself. I am a Christian, a minister’s wife, and a homeschooling mom of nine. My hubby is currently serving in the Air Force as a chaplain and we are living in the Last Frontier of Alaska. I blog about all kinds of things but mostly about my family, my faith, homeschooling, living a quiverfull lifestyle, and living in Alaska. I also started my own meme on Mondays called Ponderings. I post about something I am pondering or question to think about and ask you to join in with your thoughts. I hope you will take some time to get to know me, browse my blog, and hopefully even come back for more than just a party intro. You can subscribe in a reader, via email, and twitter using the links at the bottom of the sidebar. Even if this doesn’t become a place for you to hang out; I am so glad you stopped by! Enjoy the rest of the blog party!

Next month I will be hosting the Modesty Carnival.  I am looking for submissions.  If you would like to write a blog post on the topic modesty to be included please send me the url by using the  form on the contact page.  I am excited to see what you all come up with and the great discussions that are sure to develop because of them.

Maybe you noticed that something strange was going on here. Yesterday, somehow when I went to publish a post every page and blog post was deleted. They are back now and I am so thankful! The Lord answered my prayers and I am so greatful that He answered the way I hoped he would. It looks as if everything is back and running! I didn’t know blogging could induce panic attacks! LOL Just kidding but it was a sad and stressful 24 hours of praying that my blog would be restored!

To complete the move from blogger to wordpress I decided I needed a new look too.  If you read directly from my blog verses a reader then you probably have noticed the background changing a bit.  I have just been playing around until my real one was finished.  I hired Jocelyn from A Pondering Heart Boutique to design me a new look.  Jocelyn is one of the sweetest young ladies you will meet in blogland.  She has a deep love for the Lord and lives a God-honoring life!  I am so pleased with the new design, working with her so she can get it just how I wanted, and am so encouraged by her generous heart.  Half of all the profits she receives from designing goes to support single moms, widows, and the fatherless.  She truly is an amazing young lady!  If you are looking for a new look for your blog consider having Jocelyn design one for you and help those in need too.

What do you think of the new look here?  Let me know then please, please, please go and visit Jocelyn and tell her too!