Congratulations Aubrey for your winning entry in our contest.  Our contest was to tell us your favorite part of homeschooling in the Spring.  Aubrey responded:

Homeschooling in the spring means we can think about our garden, now buried in over 2 feet of snow. We can consider what vegetables we will plant, that once summer comes, we will enjoy the fruits of our labors. It is wonderful to have the children plan, shop, plant, tend, and harvest from our small city garden. My 10 year old will share the fruits of our labors(fresh picked vegetables) with the children on our block, who are fascinated with the garden (plants and critters) each year. Knowing that winter is followed by spring brings great joy! Homeschooling THIS spring will mean my high school junior will be one year closer to graduating! How can this be? I recall the times (spring season?) when I would watch him as a toddler feeding the ants outside next to our garden. This year, I will be so mindful of the fact that he is on his way to beginning a new phase of his life, college! I am so grateful to God and my husband for the opportunity to have homeschooled him from the beginning. The years still remain for his sisters, grades 9 and 4.

My husband read me all the entries on the way home from church today (without revealing any names).  I liked this comment because it made me remember all the great times we had homeschooling in the Spring as well.

Thank you everyone for participating.  Aubrey, I’ll send you your conference tickets by email.

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I have a complimentary ticket to Heart of the Matter Online Homeschool Refresher Conference on February 22-25, 2010.

Are your feet dragging? Do you need a little pick-me-up? Winter is wrapping up and we are anxious for spring — for green, for sunshine, for life, for a little oomph in our homeschool day. It’s easy to get bogged down and for things to turn hum-drum.

A Woman Inspired and Heart of the Matter Online are excited to bring you a Homeschool Refresher conference that is sure to give you a boost. This conference will feature some speakers chosen specifically for their ability to revive, rejuvenate, and renew the hearts and minds of their audience. You are sure to walk away motivated and inspired to achieve great things! To be entered to win the tickets, just comment on this blog post and tell me your favorite part about homeschooling in the Spring.  We will choose a winner on Sunday!.  Good luck!

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Julie in Texas won my blog contest this month!

Julie said, “Thank you so much!  I appreciate your generous give away.  After reading the description of your audio course, I knew I wanted to hear it, so I’m thrilled that I’m the winner!”

Julie has been homeschooling 9 years, and she has two boys in grades 6 and 9.  Her favorite advice to younger homeschoolers is: “It’s hard to fix something that isn’t broken.” She confessed that deciding to continue homeschooling high school was a big decision last spring. She add, “However, with help and wisdom from “completed” homeschoolers like you, who have not only finished, but finished well, I’m encouraged about our journey too.”

Audrey in Pennsylvania won my newsletter forwarding contest this month!

Audrey said, “Yippee!!  Every day is a blessing, but this is a special day. God bless you and your efforts. Thank you.” Audrey is homeschooling a 10th grade son, 8th grade daughter, and 3rd grade daughter.  Her husband says their cat LOVES homeschooling, and probably has a Master’s Degree!  Her suggestion is “Birthdays are a holiday for the children and I. That is our way to let home school rule our school calender.”

That sounds like a GREAT way to stay sane while homeschooling.  I did that too, in our homeschool!

Here’s a nice photo with me and my SHS Loopies.  Kathy and Cindy have been my friends for years!  Thank you for all of you who have voted for my blog today.  We are in a very tight contest and really need your support.  Thanks!!

My husband’s first “superheroes” article was published on Heart of the Matter Online Magazine, and they are doing a giveaway!  If you leave a comment after the article, you will be registered to win the free audio course. The magazine will do a random drawing of the comments to determine a winner. I have to say that “High School Testing” is BY FAR my favorite HomeScholar course! First of all, I look much thinner on audio, which just thrills me! But it’s more than that! When we made the audio course, my husband told me I could talk about testing for as long as I wanted, and record the course without any time limits. I actually got to say EVERYTHING I wanted to say, so it was very satisfying. And because my husband did such a wonderful job of editing the course, he took out every “ummm” and “uhhhh” and pause. I sound like a genius! Full of information with not a single misspoken word!  <giggles!>

If you would like to read more about “High School Testing” on audio CD, or buy it for yourself, check my description on the website.

At conventions I usually have a gaggle of teenage girls standing around waiting for the drawing. I carefully mixed up the names, and randomly chose one of the girls to draw the winner. I was careful to make sure that the girl turned her back and covered her eyes when she drew. When the girl looked at the winner’s name, she screamed, “It’s my Mom! Lorrie Flem is my Mom!” She was SO excited! What a thrill for her to choose her own mother as the winner!

“I’ve been so impressed with the info in the newsletter, that it was certainly something I thought others would benefit from as well,” said Renée.

Win “A Moment of Peace” for yourself! You will have the opportunity to win “A Moment of Peace” at the Pacific Northwest Homeschool College Fair October 27, 2007 at CascadiaCommunity College.

Thank you to everyone who encouraged their friends to sign up for my free newsletter! A big thanks to Chrissie Hasenohrl, Sharon Hicks, Sonja Knight, Kristine McGowan, Chris Ryan, and Karla Sigrist. The winner of our July contest is Renee Gardiner in Germany! Renee was named by the most new subscribers, and she wins a free one hour telephone consultation.

Congratulations to Sharon Bedard for winning a “Moment of Peace” gift basket, our Washington Homeschool Organization Convention giveaway. Sharon was our lucky winner from over 180 entries. Everyone one who signed up for the “Moment of Peace” received a complimentary subscription to The HomeScholar Record newsletter! Look for another “Moment of Peace” contest at the WATCH convention this August!

Congratulations also go out to Carie Fagan for winning last month’s Starbucks gift card giveaway. Carie was the person who e-mailed our newsletter to the most friends! She forwarded our newsletter to an unbelievable 60 friends, many of whom are now new subscribers! Thank you, Carie! And thank you to everyone else who forwarded last month’s HomeScholar Record.

Joan Purswell was the winner of our drawing to win “A Moment of Peace.” Joan was visiting the Christian Heritage Convention in Washington to research homeschooling for her grandchild.

Congratulations, Joan!!