Coming Soon!

Some exciting news and changes are coming soon! The new background and buttons were just the beginning! I hope that now that the Christmas season is over I will be able to blog more often again and there will be a few neat changes and surprises to keep your eyes out for. With the travelling done for a while, I'll be able to be a better blogger I hope. ;)

Nov. - Dec. 2009 recaps, Part 2

Day before yesterday I posted about my new baby nephew and my sister's visit during hunting season.
The next exciting thing that happened was going up there for Thanksgiving. My sis spent it with her hubby's fam. but I got to see everyone else. I wrote this shortly after returning home from Thanksgiving: My mom has been fighting breast cancer for 8 years. She has half a dozen large tumors the size of grapefruits in her abdomen. Where her right breast was there is an oozing scar tissue hole in her chest. She had had a lumpectomy over 7 years ago and it didn't work- the cancer was already in the lymph nodes and just came back to eat the breast off and leave a gaping hole. Her right arm therefore is swollen and barely functions because it's pretty much cut off from her body. She has tried more different cancer treatments than I've ever heard of in the last 8 years. Her left breast is a tumor. She is on super doses of mega painkillers and it barely touches the constant pain she's in. She can't sleep anymore, just rocks in the recliner all night with tears streaming down her face, humming to herself to keep from sobbing out loud. She takes care of the 2 story farmhouse, dad's pigs and other farm critters when he's working late. She only has one working hand (her left- she's ..was... right handed) and tries to do everything with it. I told her she needs to stop trying to do everything and she started crying and said she can't. She said, "I can't stop! When I stop it means I've given in to dying and I can't give in or I will die!" She can't do any of the finer things she loves. She's always loved to sew and she cries because she cannot sew anymore. She cannot make it to the city because it hurts too much to be in the car. So she only travels between her home and her mom's to help her mom. Yes she takes care of her mother!!!
Her mom, My nana, is not well either. My Grandpop died July 1st. September 7th my Nana fell off a ladder. She was hanging curtains. She broke her leg. She was hospitalized. She wouldn't eat so they put in a feeding tube. She was finally released. She's in a wheelchair now. My mom and Nana are the strongest women I know and to see them both so weak and helpless sucks the hope right out of a person.
Unless God does a miracle, this will be my mom's last Christmas. Maybe Nana's too. Seeing them both at Thanksgiving brought that home for me.
Right now I'm in a bit of pain myself. I have a head cold or sinus infection or something- my eyes are draining, my mouth itches, I can't breathe, my snot is yellow, and something else showed up last night. My kids are not sleeping well and I'm in pain head and abdomen and up with littles all night. When I'm sleep deprived or physically worn down (right now I'm both) it's very difficult for me to keep my emotions in check.

I was have been in a bad place emotionally with this. It's so hard to see those I love hurting so! I'm a fixer- I want to fix everyone. I want to hug them and hold them and make it all better. I want to make the bad things go away. There are things you just can't kiss away...

The kids got sick when we got home from Thanksgiving, one right after the other, and followed shortly by me as I mentioned in the quoted portion above. Then my poor husband got sick too. We were sick most of December and got better RIGHT before Christmas! Barely in time to go up to my family's for Christmas. Which I will continue in another post so I don't bore your eyeballs right out of your heads. ;) Have a great weekend!

Redecorated! :D And new button!

Did you see? I redecorated the blog! Annnnd may present to you my new blog buttons? The first is for this blog and the second is for my reviews and giveaways blog. Enjoy (and take one or both for your sidebar if you would like!)

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<a href="http://everypreciousjoy.blogspot.com"><img alt="Every Precious Joy" src="http://i151.photobucket.com/albums/s157/MamaMirage/Blog/EPJHeartButton.jpg"/></a>

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<a href="http://mamamiragesreviews.blogspot.com"><img alt="Click for reviews and giveaways!" src="http://i151.photobucket.com/albums/s157/MamaMirage/Blog/EPJReviewsButton.jpg"/></a>

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My nephews! Lots of pics of new baby nephew!

These are my nephews:

The big one is J who's 5 years old and the little one is G who was a whopping 5 weeks old in that picture! Some of you might remember I babysat J while G was making his grand debut. ;) This is one of little G's first on-camera smiles! Aww! My sister's family moved back up North right after G was born so this was the first time I'd seen him since then. My hubby went hunting up there and Sis came down with the kids and spent nearly a week here with me, which is when the above pic was taken.

My sis got her much hoped for VBAC with little G and he was born on September 1st... BARELY! He was almost an August baby but decided to hang out in the birth canal for a while first. After giving birth, my sis went home and had a nap. Then, even though we offered to drive J back there or keep him another night, they decided to drive here to get him instead. So I got to hold baby G just hours after he was born! What's that? I didn't post pics when he was born? Oh my how rude of me! Well here you are... Enjoy! ;)

Sis was changing his diaper, which woke him up and I couldn't resist some pics of his cutie little face with those teeny eyes open!

Isn't he cute?!

So as to get you nice and confused by trying to clarify, when hubby went up there to hunt in October, the kids and I went with him and then stayed at my parents' house, where my sis and her fam were living temporarily, and then sis and I carpooled back HERE to my house, which usually takes 6 hours but tends to take more like 8 or 9 with a newborn. :p Then sis stayed almost a week here and then drove back up there. She drove at night though on her way home and made much better time. I so prefer that drive at night too. Night = sleeping kids. Day = screaming bored hungry cranky cramped kids. Night is better. Way better. Except that USUALLY, at all non-hunting-season-times, it's my hubby who is actually driving. Day = awake alert driver hubby. Night = Cranky bored stiff tired falling asleep hubby. *sigh*

So while I was up there, before sis and I carpooled back here, I got some pics of my parents with their grandkids. Nephew J was being stubborn and did NOT want to get in the picture so he was being a total monkey and kind of obnoxious the whole time. He also would not relinquish my mom's reborn doll he and Chicklet had been fighting over since they woke up long enough for a picture. Bug was trying to go limp and slide to the floor off Grammie's lap because he was bored how long it was taking. (FYI anything longer than a milisecond of holding still is like torture for him. Boys!) Baby nephew G was screaming because he wanted some yummy mama-milk and Grampie was obviously not lactating. Chicklet was tired because she got a grand whopping 2.3 hours of sleep the previous night because it was just too exciting to be at Grammie and Grampie's house, so she looks kinda zombie-ish and must have left her smile in bed. My dad was trying to jiggle baby G to calm him, scold nephew J for being a pill, and smile for the camera all at the same time. My mom was laughing at nephew J's antics and didn't seem to notice Chicklet falling asleep beside her, Bug sliding off her lap, or baby nephew G screaming himself purple. *sigh* Oh well, it's a family memory. We all know how pictures go with kids. The more kids the more funny facial expressions and outtakes! Lol! Oh, and Dad was in his just-fed-the-farm-critters clothes and Mom was still in the sweats she slept in but they were sweethearts and humored an impromptu first-thing-in-the-morning photo. So here are the pics from that adventure:

Fast forward to Thanksgiving! I didn't get to see my sis or nephews at all when we went up there for Thnaksgiving because they spent Thanksgiving with my sister's inlaws.
Christmas is a post all it's own, but I'll leave you with a comparison shot of baby nephew G from Christmas so you can see how much he GREW in the 2 months I didn't see him! That's his dad holding him, and yeah, my BIL IS as goofy as he looks! Hehe... (Hope he doesn't read blogs...) ;)

Overwhelmed

I will bet you've noticed I've been barely here these last few weeks. You probably assumed it was because of Christmas, and well, it was, a little bit. But there's alot more to it. I will get to it, I promise! But I've decided to try not to spend so much time editing my posts. I lose hours doing that, getting them all non-confusing and pretty to post. I'll try to keep the typos to a minimum- LOL! But as for the rest... well I'm just gonna get it out and get back into the rythm of blogging and not worry so much about the finer editing. Hopefully I don't confuse you all cross-eyed trying to make sense of my ramblings. ;) I do tend to go on sometimes. And on. And on... Not that you would have noticed I'm sure... Yeah... K I'm gonna go now. Bathroom break. Then I'll be back to ADHD blogging. And rambling on and on. And on....





P.S. Hey I have GIVEAWAYS on my review blog! If you're into that whole winning free stuff thing, check it out! New one coming this weekend too! ;)

P.P.S Oh and speaking of giveaways, Givers and Giveaway Lovers, don't forget my big fun posty post of giveaway links galore! I keep it up all month and delete them out as they expire and new are added constantly so check it often and add any giveaways you're having! ;)

January Giveaways!

http://everypreciousjoy.blogspot.com/2010/01/january-giveaways.html 
First, here are some awesome giveaways I have found! Check back frequently as I will be removing the ones that are over and adding new giveaway links as I can! Please click on a date to see a few select giveaways ending on that date.
Giveaways By End Date:
January 28 29 30 31
February 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28

NEW! •• Familylicious Reviews is giving away a Hygeia breast pump! What I love about it is that it has a recording feature so you can record your baby's sounds to help with let-down. I wish I'd had this with my first when getting let-down for the pump was so difficult! ENDS FEBRUARY 14th! (DT)
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Linky Time!
••Other blogs' Linky lists of giveaways:
- (Ongoing) Ice Fairy's Treasure Chest
-(Sunday) Take Time To Smell The Rose and A Giveaway Everyday
-(Tuesday) Two Of A Kind Working On A Full House, Real Heart Prints and Shawn Anne's World
-(Wednesday) Wee Finds
-(Thursday) Piece of ME and I Thode You So
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Your turn! :) MckLinky up! You can still link your giveaways even if I have already highlighted them above. ;)
In the space that says Link Title, remember to include 3 things: YourBlogName - Giveaway Title [End date]. Does not have to be in that exact order but I do need all three in some order or another please. Link to the giveaway post specifically, not just to your blog in general.
PLEASE make sure you follow these easy instructions so it is easy for me to maintain and easy for people to view and use. Alot of people have not been doing this and it makes maintaining the list much harder and more time consuming for me. This is not an unreasonable request in the least: most giveaway linkups require this same format. You can use proper format and copy and paste it the same (proper) way to all the linkys you use. If this gets too hard for me to maintain due to people not doing this as I have asked, I will stop fixing them and have to instead delete any that I don't have the time to fix. So you see why it's not only courtesy but is also important to use the BlogName-GiveawayName[EndDate] format. (In any order. You can do End Date - Blog name - Giveaway or Giveaway - End date - Blog name or whatever as long as they are all in there.)
ALSO please note: I will immediately delete any entries that are innapropriate and further links from that blog may be deleted if I don't have time to screen them. A good way to look at it is if you wouldn't want your 13 year old daughter to have one or read the review in your words then DON'T LINK IT HERE. This is supposed to be a family friendly blog and when I've got people posting giveaways for ...um... 'romantic props' or something it is extremely embarrassing and upsetting to find that on my blog where my friends' innocent children could see it.
Your link WILL BE DELETED IF it links to a post that:
**Contains profanity, nudity, or inappropriate inuendo.
**Does not contain a blog giveaway.
**Endorses abortion, divorce, adultery, or things that are anti-God, anti-moral absolutes, anti-ten commandments, etc.
**Endorses a product/company that endorses abortion, divorce, adultery, or things that are anti-God, anti-moral absolutes, anti-Biblical commandments, etc.
**Is not appropriate for an innocent child to view.
This is what I believe in, and to allow links on my blog that go against that is something that I cannot do in good concience.


Entries will stay on the list until they expire (until the giveaway ends).
I will try to delete expired giveaways daily to keep this list fresh and easy to view.
I will create a new list each month. This MckLinky list will run Jan. 1st-31st. Check back Feb. 1st for a new list.

"Green" by Ted Dekker [Book Review]

This is the Publisher's Summary of Green:
At Last . . . The Circle Reborn
The story of how Thomas Hunter first entered the Black Forest and forever changed our history began at a time when armies were gathered for a final battle in the valley of Migdon. Green is a story of love, betrayal, and sweeping reversals set within the apocalypse. It is the beginning: the truth behind a saga that has captured the imagination of more than a million readers with the Books of History Chronicles.
But even more, Green brings full meaning to the Circle Series as a whole, reading as both prequel to Black and sequel to White, completing a full circle. This is Book Zero, the Circle Reborn, both the beginning and the end. The preferred starting point for new readers . . . and the perfect climax for the countless fans who’ve experienced Black, Red, and White.

"Green" is advertised as being both the beginning and the end, functioning as both a prequel and a finale to Dekker's "Black," "Red," and "White" books. So when I began reading it, having never read any of the other three before, I went into it expecting that it would indeed work as a prequel as promised. It did not. I was lost for the first 1/3 of the book and am even still confused on alot of points. Advertising this book as being one you could either begin or end the series with, was in my opinion, a mistake. It's extremely difficult to stay interested in a book when it leaves you confused far into the book. There has to be the right balance of mystery and revelation and, while it may have had the right balance for a finale, "Green" tipped the scales into frustration as a prequel.

PLOT:
To be honest I felt like the plot was missing some large important chunks that would have fleshed out the story and made it understandable and enjoyable. I imagine those tidbits would be found in "Black," "Red," and "White." Now to be clear, "Green" was not a slow book. The story was definately happening. It was that as a reader new to the series, I was bogged down by not understanding what was going on for most of the book.
SPIRITUAL ELEMENTS and CONCLUSION:
I found alot of the spiritual and moral elements in this book to be misleading and disturbing.
The character "Teeleh" seems to be representative of Satan. The head demons are referred to as "queens" and the rest are "shataiki" which are in the form of black bats.
Angels are portrayed as cute fuzzy little white bats called "roush." I was kind of offended at this since the Bible describes angels as giant fearsome warriors. The roush in "Green" seem to have the purpose of show up, say something cryptic and uncomforting, and then waddle off.
The character Elyon which seems to represent Jesus is described much like Peter Pan. A "mischeivous" water sprite who never grows up. This was very offensive to me. My savior is not some eternal child and "mischeif" (means stirring up trouble) is a character trait of the devil, NOT God.
Elyon has done something to the water in the lakes and rivers. The book seems to say that the waters used to be green but are now red with the blood of Elyon because was murdered in the water but that story is not explained.
Horde is the name for the unbelievers, who are easily recognized by their crusty scabbing skin which is a result of being infested with demon larvae. The Albinos are those who do not have the scabbing disease. They do not have the scabs because they have drowned themselves in the red lakes. (I think I know what symbolism Dekker was going for there.) The red waters keep the disease away.
Ba'al is described to a tee as Grima Wormtongue from LOTR, grotesque skin and fingernails and creeepy voice included. If you're having trouble imagining the scabbing disease, just remember the scene in LOTR where Gandalf exorcises the possessed King Theoden.
The Albinos, which seem to represent Christians, are nasty and spiteful. They treat Thomas' wife, a convert from the Horde, like she's STILL Horde. The majority of them are easily led and have no conviction of their own, just blow with whatever wind whispers doubt into their hearts. They refer to the Horde as "Scabs" because of their disease and speak of them spitefully. Granted, the Horde are ever trying to kill the Albinos, and the Albinos live in hiding in a valley out in the desert to escape the death sentence. But they preach love the Horde and then as soon as Thomas' son suggests that they instead slaughter the Horde in the name of Elyon, the majority of the Albinos don't seem to resist the idea very hard.
Then there are the Forest Guard who have characteristics of both Albiono and Horde. They claim to be on the right side like the Albinos, but they have the scabbing disease and are amassing an army to kill the Horde. They live in the forest and are also on the Horde's most wanted list with the Albinos. These are who Thomas' wayward son goes to initially with his plan to unite and slaughter the Horde. I am not sure who they are supposed to represent. Perhaps "lukewarm Christians" who claim the name but refuse to change in their hearts. This is a parallel I do appreciate the significance of. I think alot of authors leave out the middle ground because it's for God to decide who is and isn't lukewarm. I think the fact that "Green" is fictionalized leaves an opening to mention that there IS a 'middle' ground that thinks they fall on the Right side but do after all fall on the Wrong, and I'm pleased to see that Dekker took that opportunity to mention it. We need to remember that true salvation is soul deep.
One thing that was supremely disturbing was the descriptive occult ritual scenes. The first one of which described the "scab" king and queen going to the evil preist Ba'al's temple in the middle of the night. There is a sacrificed decapitated goat on the altar and the head is described as bleeding on a plate nearby. Ba'al drags his finger through the blood before enjoying a taste. Then he makes the king swear allegience to their god (who is of course the devil) by drinking a goblet full of the goat's blood. Later, the prophets of Ba'al slice themselves open repeatedly and drain their own blood on an altar to the demons. Dekker describes it in great nauseating detail.
So my final word is that I would not recommend this book to anyone, Christian or not. I would not recommend it for a non-christian due to the misleading nature of some of the spiritual elements, and I could not recommend it to a Christian due to the disturbingly graphic nature of the rituals as explained above. In a 5 star rating with 5 being buy a copy for everyone I've ever met, and 1 being put it out with the trash, I would have to give "Green" by Ted Dekker a 1.5 for the merit of a fast-paced plot.


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This review was written for Thomas Nelson Publishing and I was provided with a copy to review for free. I received no other compensation and my opinion has not been influenced in any way. This review is my personal opinion and perceptions on this book.
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After much thought I have decided to post an expanded version of this review on my other blog HERE. Version 2 does contain spoilers and is long, but there were some points I felt the need to cover that could not be addressed in V1.

Review and Giveaway: Adirondack Stone Works!

When Jeremy of Adirondack Stone Works contacted me to do a review and giveaway I was wondering what exactly I would do with an engraved stone. But then I visited their websites (main | pet) and thought, "Wow! Those look great!" Go check them out - you'll see what I mean. :) Once you see them you're going to want one too! You may have even seen something similar at the front of someone's house with their address on it... but I will tell you I have never seen this high quality of work before and I have seen my share of engraved address stones.

Jeremy has been working with stone his whole life and has been engraving stones for almost 8 years. Adirondack Stone Works is located in rural upstate New York in the foothills of the Adirondack Mountains and is a small family business run by Jeremy and Tavia- a blessing, they say on their About page, because it allows them to be home with their 3 children.

Adirondack Stone Works makes custom engraved natural bluestones. You might like your address engraved on one at the front of your house, or a family name & wedding date, or a little phrase that means something special to you, or a memorial stone for a pet or loved one. You also have 3 sizes of stone to choose from!

What more could you wish for? Free shipping and your finished stone arriving in about a week from when you place your order? Wish granted if you live in the US! :)

I chose to review a Pet Memorial Stone. My camera battery died and I'm just about to leave for Christmas with the grandparents, so when I get back I'll try to get a picture of it up. They were so helpful and patient with me as I got all the details straightened out and placed my order, and when my stone showed up I was blown away. I liked the look of the pictures on the websites but when it showed up and I saw my new stone in person I was really floored by how beautiful it was. The stone is gorgeous. The engraving is exemplary. The natural look 'chipped' edges look positively terrific. There is nothing weak or shoddy about it and yet it is not bulky looking either. Honestly it's just so... well so beautiful that I just looked at it and ran my fingers over the engraving for about half an hour before I could put it down. I'm not exaggerating when I tell you it's the highest quality stonework I've ever seen. Not that I'm an expert but really it looks amazing. Did I mention I was impressed? Lol!
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If you want to read about my dog whom I decided to get the memorial stone for, go HERE.
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To enter the GIVEAWAY please click HERE! !