You should know something about me...I love chocolate!  When someone does something good I often say, "You deserve a Hershey's kiss.  Of course I don't have any because if I did, I'd eat them."  Well, one Sunday at choir practice I asked if anyone had listened to the choir music on their CD that week.  To those who raised their hands I said, "You deserve a Hershey's Kiss.  Of course.... (You get the picture.)"  The next Sunday I actually brought some kisses and tossed them to those who had practiced during the week.  The next week, before practice began, someone said, "I listened to my CD this week!  Where's the chocolate?!?!"  I haven't missed a week since.  The choir has grown  (by the grace of God), but I often joke and say, "My choir will sing for chocolate!"

Bear with me...

A little over a week ago our homeschool group went to Harry the Potter. (Don't leave me Harry Potter comments.  This place has nothing to with sorcery or books, it's just the name of a ceramic/pottery shop.)  All my creativity left me as I saw all those blank, ceramic surfaces longing to become beautiful works of art.  I finally chose a mug, because I love mugs. (Especially ones filled with hot chocolate or French vanilla cappuccino!)  Perhaps it was the thought of a chocolate delight, but I did manage to come up with something I think turned out quite cute. 

Drum roll please.....................

Now I'm afraid to use it!  I don't want it to break!

Well, since I was giving away a Christmas goodie, the Christmas spirit hit me so I decided to give two "Heartprints for Christmas" away instead of one.  The winners are:

Laaneworld and Libertystarfarm

Congratulations!

Update:  Instead of drawing tonight, I'll draw tomorrow, November 4th.  Today is the last day, so that means you may still enter until midnight tonight!  Don't forget to leave me some kind of contact information.  Good luck!

***Click on the logo for more info.PLEASE NOTE: The Fall, Y'all! Giveaway is for bloggers only. Companies interested in participating may do so only if they have their own blog and can host the giveaway from there.

I've entered lots of give-a-ways, but I've never hosted my own.  So, here I go!

Leave a comment  with your favorite thing about the Christmas season.  (You can be brief using just one word such as "candles", "caroling", "presents", "special church services", etc.)  I'll put all names in a bowl or something and draw one out.  I must ask only contiguous U.S. residents to enter.  I almost forgot to mention the prize!  Last year I collected all the Christmas stories, poems, and the like that I've written over the years.  I enter mingled them with my favorite Christmas read-a-louds, and recollections to create a 124 page hodge podge of Christmas goodies.  Included is my story "Struck by Lightening" which was a runner up in the Homeschool Blogger writers' contest last year. 

I'll draw a winner on November 3rd and post the winner here.  Please check back on the 3rd.  If I can't get in touch with the winner I'll have to draw another name.

Good luck!

If you are looking for a great youth/family activity, have I got an idea for you!! (It's not totally my idea as I got it off the internet somewhere, but I did tweak it to fit our youth group.)  I called it "Someone Broke the 6th Commandment." (Now, I must stop and give a disclaimer here, as I was using the internet to verify my commandment numbers, I discovered that some faiths divide them a little differently.  Where as we Baptists have the 6th commandment as "Thou Shalt Not Kill", some have it as "Thou Shalt Not Commit Adultery".  You really want to be careful with that one.  Can you imagine the gossip at church if I'd gotten that one  wrong! )  We had 13 youth playing and it took about 1/2 hour each time.  The youth played twice, then they sat in the rooms and let the adults play.  Then, some of the adults and some of the youth wanted to play a fourth round so those of us not playing sat in the rooms.  It was so much fun, and turned out to be a great family activity.

Here's how to play:

Clue

Before Hand

Choose seven rooms in your church facility (or wherever you’ll be playing).  I chose:  Nursery, Youth Room, Library, Church Office, Sanctuary, Children’s Church Room, and  Ladies’ Sunday School Room.  Create signs to clearly mark each room.

Choose seven weapons.  I chose:  Brick, knife, Hymnal, poisoned chocolate, guitar strings, mike stand, and garbage bag.

Write each room name and each weapon on separate index cards.

Write each room name on seven separate envelopes.

Write “solution” on another envelope.

Create Sleuth’s pad with each item listed and plenty of room to add “suspects”.

Choose seven non-playing people to sit, one in each room, as witnesses.  Make sure they know the rules and what is expected before hand.

Day of the Event:

When the entire group arrives add each person’s name to the Sleuth’s pad then make copies.    Write each person’s name on individual index cards.

Create three stacks of index cards:  One stack with names, one stack with weapons, and one stack with rooms. (Make sure each stack is well shuffled) Take one from each stack and place in “Solution” envelope.  Make sure only one person (who is not playing) knows what is in the solution envelope.  Divide the rest of the index cards among the seven “room” envelopes making sure the remaining room cards go in the matching envelope (the library card goes in the library envelope, the youth room card goes in the youth room envelope). Don’t seal.  Give the envelopes to the appropriate witness.  (The “Sanctuary” envelope to the witness sitting in the sanctuary, the “Nursery” envelope to the witness in the nursery, etc.)

Divide the group into teams.  I think no more than three to a team works best, but feel free to try it any way you like.

Directions to Witnesses:

As detectives enter your room they will accuse one of the suspects of committing the crime with one of the weapons in the room you are in.  Check your envelope.  Do you have any of those cards?  (You should have the room card unless the murder happened in your room.)  Show any cards which contain any part of the accusation.  You can show up to two cards to the detectives, but not all three even if you have them. Continue doing this until someone wins the game.  (For example:  The team may say, “I think Cassie did it here in the library with the hymnal.”  If you have Cassie, the library, or the hymnal show that card to the team.  If you have two of those, show both cards to the team.  If you have all three show only two to the team.)

Directions to Detectives:

Someone broke the 6^th Commandment.  Who, with what, and where are in this “Solutions envelope”. Only I know the answer.  You’ve each been given a Sleuth’s pad with all the possible rooms, possible weapons, and suspects on them.  You will go from room to room making accusations as to who, with what, and where, and will mark off any of the items shown to you by the witnesses in each room.  If the witness has the card in his or her envelope, then the card is not in the solutions envelope.  You may enter the rooms as often as you need to, but not immediately.  You must enter another room and make an accusation before re-entering.  Your entire team must be in the room before making accusations.  When you think you’ve solved the murder, find me and make a formal accusation.  If you are correct, the game is over.  If you are not correct you must sit the game out until someone else has solved it.

I hope that's clearer than mud. LOL! Have fun!

DH, DD15, DD11, Dad, and I floated the Little River on Saturday.  It is a small creek that runs near my parents' house.  I remember doing it as a teenager and thinking it was so much fun, so  I wanted my kids to experience it. 

It took Dad a while to find inner tubes; since most tires today are tubeless that proved to be a challenge.  But find them he did and we set off on our grand adventure. It was very peaceful and lazy on the river. DH tipped the girls over a time or two. Our main problem was that Katrina dumped a lot of limbs and branches in our path which meant we had to literally climb over them. (The river is over our heads in only a few places.) Our poor shins are scratched, banged, and bruised by hidden debris. And it's a miracle we didn't get bit by snakes; we didn't even see any.  We brought our lunch in a Styrofoam ice chest which my dad tied to the side of his tube and floated down the river.  We stopped on a rock bar to eat.  Dad looked like Crocodile Dundee in the outback with his wide brimmed hat and huge hunting knife strapped to his hip.  He went ahead of us to scout it out and scare off the snakes. 

The next day we were all sore, but it really made for a great memory.  If we ever do it again I'm buying a disposable, waterproof camera so I can take pictures. (My dad didn't sound too hopeful about doing it again. ) It felt like an all day adventure, but we were only gone two hours!

Memories!

I was browsing over at Mommy Life when I happened upon the results of her personality test.  I thought. "This might be a fun thing to take", so I did.  I answered 30 questions and hit "submit".  The page that popped up was blank! That's right, totally blank except for some advertisements on the sidebar!  I continued scrolling down the page...nothing but whiteness bordered by advertisements. "I have no personality," I thought to myself.  What's with that? Finally, I came to this: (It may be an advertisement too, but I'm claiming it as my own. )

You Are An INFJ

The Protector You live your life with integrity, originality, vision, and creativity. Independent and stubborn, you rarely stray from your vision - no matter what it is. You are an excellent listener, with almost infinite patience. You have complex, deep feelings, and you take great care to express them. You would make a great photographer, alternative medicine guru, or teacher.

Either I have hidden talents, or the test is faulty .  Either way, it was fun.

A friend sent this to me today and it cracked me up!  It was way too good not to pass along.  Please tell me there are some other imperfect homeschooling families out there who can relate to this!

Children Are Dogs - Teenagers Are Cats
  (Author Unknown)

Just realize that while children are dogs ... loyal and affectionate ...
teenagers are CATS.

You feed it, train it, boss it around. It puts its head on your knee and gazes at you as if you were a Rembrandt painting. It bounds indoors with enthusiasm when you call it.

Then around age 13, your adoring little puppy turns into a big old cat...
When you tell it to come inside, it looks amazed, as if wondering who died  and made you emperor. Instead of dogging your footsteps, it disappears.

You won't see it again until it gets hungry... then it pauses on its sprint through the kitchen long enough to turn its nose up at whatever you're serving.

When you reach out to ruffle its head, in that old affectionate gesture, it twists away from you, then gives you a blank stare, as if trying to remember where it has seen you before.

You, not realizing that the dog is now a cat, think something must be desperately wrong with it. It seems so antisocial, so distant, sort of depressed. It won't go on family outings.

Since you're the one who raised it, taught it to fetch and stay and sit on command, you assume that you did something wrong. Flooded with guilt and fear, you redouble your efforts to make your pet behave.

Only now you're dealing with a cat, so everything that worked before now produces the opposite of the desired result. Call it, and it runs away.  Tell it to sit, and it jumps on the counter. The more you go toward it,  wringing your hands, the more it moves away.

Instead of continuing to act like a dog owner, you can learn to behave like a cat owner. Put a dish of food near the door, and let it come to you.

But remember that a cat needs your help and your affection too. Sit still, and it will come, seeking that warm, comforting lap it has not entirely forgotten. Be there to open the door for it.

One day your grown-up child will walk into the kitchen, give you a big kiss and say, "You've been on your feet all day. Let me get those dishes for you."

Then you'll realize your cat is a dog again.

It’s official – I’ve turned into my mother.

I suspected as much last summer when we were both caught wearing similar bathrobes and slippers.  It became clearer upon discovering both our pre-Katrina preparations included boiling eggs and filling the bathtub with water.  Let’s face it, for years we’ve laugh at the same jokes, enjoyed the same books and movies, and appreciated good puns. (Not everyone can, you know.) And in spite of the fact she loves squash, which I despise; my notion that I was becoming my mother was recently validated at the local Dollar General Store.

“I’ve got to get a pair of reading glasses,” she began.  “I just can’t read the fine print on boxes anymore.”  As she perused the reading glass rack my suspicion was confirmed, for it wasn’t my mother who was trying them on and speaking, it was me!

I’ve always had 20/20 vision and became slightly irritated when my mother would say, “Just a minute, let me get my glasses first,” every time I asked her to look at something.   Over the past year, however, I’ve noticed a few changes.  Manufacturers have changed the print size on their packaging, the light by my reading chair has grown dimmer, and people have been standing too close to my face during conversations. 

Alas, the evidence mounted to beyond a reasonable doubt, so I scheduled an appointment with the optometrist.  “When you reach forty your eye muscles start weakening,” she politely said during the exam. “You could use a pair of reading glasses.”  What she meant was, “Nothing’s wrong with you; you’re just getting older.”  Well meaning? Yes, but it brought little comfort coming from a twenty-six year old.

My mother and mother-in-law are forty…well, er... at least they were the last time I noticed.  My mother-in-law’s fortieth birthday celebration was only yesterday. Wasn’t it? I was madly in love with her son at the time.  The simple fact she was my boyfriend’s mother meant she was old. (Ahem…I mean old-er.) My own mother was forty when I married that same fellow, and we’ve only been married a mere…let’s see…twenty-one years.  Twenty-one years?!?!?  Yikes! That makes me…oh, my!...forty-one! How did that creep up on me?!?!?! That means I’m old! (I mean old-er.)

To be honest, turning into my mother isn’t such a horrid thing.  She’s smart, caring, a hard worker, has a heart for God, and can make an awesome pan of chicken and dumplings.  She has a great sense of humor and a love of books that’s been passed down to me and at least one granddaughter.  She has a creative side I greatly admire, is a good listener, and repeatedly puts her faith into action.  I consider myself blessed to be her child.

I modeled my new reading glasses for my own children the night I got them. “They’re cute!” one said kindly.  Another wasn’t quite so tactful. “You look like Grandma,” she declared.

Actually, I hope I do.

© Drewe Llyn Jeffcoat 2005

Screaming electric guitar

Ringing telephone

Squeaky computer chair 

Jingling dog tags

Fire engine siren

Slamming doors

Excited football announcer

Opening soda can

Children's voices

(Or could it have been that double cappuccino during Sunday School ?)

        Last night I dreamed I was at a science museum of some kind meandering through various exhibits with friends.  All was pleasant except for the part where my companions and I were avoiding dinosaurs – trying not to become mid-morning snacks. (It seems two T-rexes had escaped and were looking for lunch.)

I shared this dream with dd14 this morning concluding with, “I don’t know why I dreamed about dinosaurs, I haven’t watched Jurassic Park lately.”

        “Well,” she replied, "I was telling you about that story “Sound of Thunder” we read in school; it was about dinosaurs.”

        I contemplated that explanation for a few minutes looking for some meaning to the dream deeper than a book synopsis running through my brain.  I used to have reoccurring dreams about tornadoes – usually when I was under stress. Then it hit me – lately I’ve been anxious over the possibility of purchasing a new (at least new to me) car that gets better gas mileage than my van. I’ve been spending hours researching vehicles on the internet and visiting dealerships with DH.

Is it possible….the science museum was really a car lot where I just wanted to look around undisturbed?  (If you’ve ever been car shopping you know what I mean.) Could those dinosaurs be car salesmen in disguise? (No offense intended to those car salesmen out there.)

        Alas, my alarm went off before I could go to the gift shop, so I don’t know if I made a purchase or not.

        I’ll write more later…if I don’t get eaten!

        ~ Drewe Llyn     

Simply a Matter of Organization

            “Multi-tasking” is a dirty word.   Once I had a traffic accident while trying to drive and converse at the same time.  It seems my keys are always missing, names often slip my mind, and I’ve driven straight to Wal-mart when that wasn’t my destination – twice!  My mother kindly calls these “Senior Moments".  How can that be!  I’m only forty-one!

My husband, on the other hand, thinks it’s simply a matter of organization and focus.  “Quit being so scattered,” he admonishes, “and put things back where they go. That way you’ll know exactly where they are.”  Yeah, right! Sounds good in theory, but reality is another matter altogether.

Where my keys go just isn’t a priority upon entering the house carrying groceries greeted by the sound of a ringing phone and a dog whining to go out. They’ll lie wherever they land.  After the phone is answered and the dog is cared for, the mound of groceries cluttering the floor, table, and counter tops begs to be put away before someone (namely me) trips breaking part of their anatomy. Tomato sauce, mac and cheese, and cereal go into the pantry.  Eggs, milk, and sliced cheese have a place in the fridge.  The new bottle of laundry detergent goes to the utility room.  Oh, look, there’s DH’s missing sock on the floor.  Smells clean. After starting a load of clothes the recovered sock goes back to the bedroom.  No sooner is the sock drawer closed than, “MOM!” punctuates the air.  Apparently there is a conflict brewing between two of my children. When that’s handled I grab the hairbrush I spot lying by the computer and return it to the bathroom where I notice pink stuff growing in the bottom of the toothbrush cup.  Out come the toothbrushes. I trip over groceries still lying on the kitchen floor on my way to get a clean cup, so I continue putting things away.  

            It takes a good forty-five minutes, but finally the clothes are washed, the children (and dog) are happy, and there’s no more pink slime cohabitating with our toothbrushes, but my keys are nowhere to be seen.  Who cares?  I don’t need them now anyway.

All this totally exasperates my husband who mobilizes the family to clean the entire house in the time it takes me to decide which room to begin in.  He can talk on the phone, surf the net, and eat supper at the same time.  I admire his organizational skills, but, quite frankly, sometimes they get on my nerves.

After twenty-one years of marriage I’ve finally figured out why my husband and I are so different.  It has to do with the way we think – the way we process the many facets of our lives.  His life is a big room with every aspect of it stacked neatly against the walls.  No matter where he is in the room he can see and manage everything effortlessly.  My life, on the other hand, is a house with many rooms.  Each project I’m working on, each subject I teach my children, each responsibility at church and at home, each relationship, etc., has it’s own separate place.  I can only be in one room at a time.  This works fine as long as only a few rooms need attention.  However, when deadlines pile up, responsibilities increase, or one “room” is in crisis, I just stand in the hallway blubbering, “I don’t know what to do.” And, of course, little gets done.

I think this disorganization thing is hereditary.  The other day my husband lovingly said, “You’re getting to be more like your father….I can see why your mother gets so aggravated with him.” 

I recently shared my “room” analogy with my parents as we sat around their kitchen table.  A light bulb went on in Dad’s eyes, “Yes! Yes!  That’s exactly how I am!” He exclaimed, proud to be finally understood. 

“Disorganization is not of God,” my husband replied with a wink towards me.

Mom, never one to miss a good come back, retorted, “Yes, but remember what Jesus said, ‘In my Father’s house are many rooms.’”[1]

We laughed.  Go Mom!

            (I just hope they don’t require keys.)

© Drewe Llyn Jeffcoat 2005

This one sounds like fun, so here I go.  (Of course I NEVER say never, but take me to the hospital if I say these things .)

1.  Just put them in daycare.

2.  Let's watch The Terminator!

3.  I have everthing under control.

4.  Pass the collard greens.

5.  I hate reading.

7.  Hillary Clinton has my vote.

Friday morning I posted a prayer for the day on my blog.  Here are the results of that prayer:

Friday a.m. (just after posting) "Honey, the school supply section here at Wal-mart looks like a tornado went through it. I think you need to buy the supplies yourself. I can’t find anything.  Don’t come here though, go to the next Wal-mart."  (The background for this is that ds(17) and dd(14) came home from public high school the day before with a list of things they absolutely HAD to have ASAP.  DH thought it wise to go ahead and get the supplies before they were picked over.  Ha!!!)  Two Wal-marts and an Office Depot later, we finally had everything we needed.   

Friday p.m.: “Mom, are you guys coming to the concert tonight?  We need you to run the merchandise table.”  Truthfully, no, we weren’t planning to come. I’d already had my bath, but of course I said, “One of us will be there as soon as we can.” 

Sunday 8:15 p.m. “Honey, can you go sit with C. for a little bit. She’s very upset about M.” (DH was at the hospital with M. and family.  M. is dying. C. is M’s step-daughter.).

Monday

5:00 a.m.  "Mom! I just threw up!" (DD10 has had the crud all week.)

9:45 a.m. The Drive-thru bank teller forgets to give me my cash. Fortunately I catch the mistake before pulling out.

10:00 a.m. – 11:15 a.m. DD10 and I make a visit to the doctor’s office.  (She has bronchitis.)

11:15a.m. - 2:00 p.m. DD10 and I eat at Mazzios (pizza), get prescriptions filled and buy groceries at Wal-mart before heading to see March of the Penguins (Which I thought was good - very educational with great footage.  DD thought it was boring.). 

1:55 p.m. “Honey, I wanted to call and let you know M. died just a few minutes ago.

2:15 p.m.  DH buzzes my cell phone just after the movie starts. As quietly as possible I exit the theater before answering.  I don’t catch it in time.

2:17 p.m. DH’s cell phone is busy.

2:20 p.m. DS(17) buzzes my cell phone (After I was back in my seat of course) to tell me DH has had an accident.

2:25 p.m. DH calls again to tell me it was only a fender bender and he’s ok.

3:30 p.m. Movie ends. 

3:45 – 4:15 p.m. I pull into Kroger to pick up chicken and milk which is on sale.  They're out of milk.  The shortest line is, of course, the cashier in training, the conveyer belt eats my Kroger Card, and I have to fill the form out THERE to get a new one.

4:25 p.m. I'm late 25 minutes late picking up dd(14) from band camp.  (She forgives me because I brought her a cold drink).  She greets me with, "Mom! I HAVE to have a copy of  The Pigman ASAP!" (Now The Pigman was one of her summer reading assignments which she read and returned to the library.  She received her study sheet today and didn't remember as much of the story as she needed to. )

4:45 p.m. "I'm sorry, there are no more copies of The Pigman available at any of our branches.  Books a Million is sold out.  There were three copies this morning at....." UGH!

5:30 p.m. "When and what's for supper?"

Here’s what I had prayed:

Dear Lord,

     Help me see the spills, mishaps, frustrations, interruptions, and annoyances of this day for what they really are:  Opportunities to allow Your love, grace, and mercy to be revealed through me.

Amen.

Be careful what you pray for.

P.S. I'm not sure just how much love, grace, and mercy I reveald.  Maybe that's why He kept giving me other chances to do it right.

P.S. P.S. Today was much calmer.  The librarian called to say a copy of The Pigman had come in and they would hold it for me.

DH, our two daughters, and I ventured to Rapids on the Reservoir (local water park) last Friday per dd(10)’s request.  Here’s what I learned:

* What goes up must come down either by the stairs or the slide.

* There are exactly 77 steps from the ground to the top of “Raging Waters”.

* Children don’t accept “I’m afraid of heights” as a legitimate explanation for not going down by the slide.  (Neither does a husband.)

* The velocity at which a body moves down the Raging Waters slide is in direct proportion to body mass.

* Sunscreen works but only where it’s applied.

* If it’s hot enough to go to the water park, it’s hot enough to convert Blistex from a solid to a liquid state.

* Once Blistex converts into a liquid, it is never quite the same again.

* It’s humanly impossible for a dad to resist the urge to dump his children off a raft.

* It’s humanly impossible for a husband to resist the urge to dump his wife off a raft.

* The amount of energy reserves an individual has decreases exponentially each year of life so that a ten year old has a considerably greater reserve than someone, let’s say, that is forty-one.

* The extreme fun had by said forty-one year old at the water park with her family greatly exceeds any fear of heights, sunburn, depleted energy reserves, mouthfuls of water, and melted Blistex.   

A few days ago my youngest dd (10) lost a tooth.  She put it on my desk for the "Tooth Fairy" (Of which she knows the truth, but still enjoys the game) saying, "Tell her to save her money so we can go to Rapids." (That's the local water park.)  The "Tooth Fairy" forgot all about the tooth .  (What was the big deal? She wasn't leaving money anyway.)

This morning the "Tooth Fairy" remembered to remove the tooth from its resting place, (Can I have a pat on the back?) and continued on her morning routine.  Dear Daughter, however, was distressed that the "Tooth Fairy" hadn't come. 

"How can you tell?" I asked.  "You told me to tell her not to leave money."

"I know," she replied, "but she didn't leave a note!"

A note?!?!  Through the years the "Tooth Fairy" has left clever (at least to the kids) notes along with her trade.  (What was I thinking?!?!)  Now I've got to come up with a brilliant letter as to why I (a.k.a. Toothfairy) took the tooth and didn't leave a note to begin with!

Any ideas?

Q.: What is your favoite night-time snack?
A:   I try not to snack at night because I know those calories tend to stick more , but I'm with whoever said Oreo Cookies and milk.

Q: If you could choose 3 comfort items to take with you for a year on a desert island, what would they be? (Your husband, children, and your Bible don't count.)
A:   Oreo Cookies and milk (Can I count those as one item? ), my journal with a supply of pens (OK.  I'm cheating here ), and Return of the King

Q: Why did you choose each item?
A:  Oreos -need that chocolate fix, my journal to record my thoughts, feelings, and insights of being stuck on a desert island, and Return of the King - so maybe I'd finally finish reading it.

Q: What is your first memory?

A:  I'd like to say it was my daddy bringing Tootsie Rolls home for me when he came home from work, but for some reason I see a fish tank in my earliest memories.

I'm off to randomly tag someone else!

Yikes!  I've been tagged!   I'm not exactly sure how to play, but KarenW said to answer the questions and tag someone else, so......here I go...................

Q:What is your absolute favorite book?
A:  By the time I think this one through, the game will be over   The children's book You are Special by Max Lucado has meant the world to me.  I guess I should explain how in another entry.  Actually, all of his books have special meaning to me.  An enduring favorite is the Little House on the Prairie series.  I've journied with the Ingalls family along-side all three of my children so that is extra special. Through Gates of Splendor and In His Steps were both life changing books for me too. 

Q:What is your favorite book to have read to you?
A: Anything my children will read to me.

Q:Have you ever started writing a book and not finished?
A: yes

Q:If so, what was it about?
A: I'm still working on a couple - one is about an organ transplant and the other is about being a pastor's wife.

Q:Today, if you were to write a book (assuming you had the time), what would it be about? (If you've already written a book, what do you dream of writing about one day?) 

A: I dream about finishing the ones I've started .

O.K.  I'm going to tag (If I can get it to work):

Cindy Rushton

Sweet Pea's Garden

Camp Kristi

The Adventure of Real Life

Neurodiversity Homeschool