Random tagging

There has been a game of "tag" going on through the blogosphere lately. I was starting to feel a bit left out and then I was tagged not once but twice in the course of the week. Ha! So I'm answering both sets of questions here and now.

Renita at Homedaze tagged me first with these eight questions:


1.  How did you meet your husband? I've shared that story some already on my blog and I don't want to go in too many details right now. Why? I'm participating in the "Young Adult Years" session over at Mommy's Piggy Tales. I put up a post every Monday & next week I'll be sharing about how hubby & I met!

2.  How did you choose the names for your children? Names are really important to me. I'm sure that's true for most people. I felt deprived as a child since I had such a short name and there really weren't any nicknames for me. I know. It's lame but there you have it. I also wanted to honor people in our lives with the names of our children. The hard part here, I don't use my boys real names on the blog but I can share who they were named after.


Our oldest was named for my great-grandfather (his middle name). This name has been past down through my family for the last few generations. I hope it continues. His first name is after Grandsire Berry who helped found the town we live in. In fact, he is buried in the family cemetery right behind our house.


Our middle son was named for my husband's cousin. He was in a car accident at the age of 16 and died of his injuries. This is our son's middle name. His first name was actually supposed to be Gabriel (it's not) but a few short weeks before he was born we changed our minds for various reasons. Then we found out his first name is also after a relative on my hubby's side - Grandsire Berry's son (or brother - I forget which  now).


Our youngest son's middle name covers pretty much all the male relatives on BOTH sides of the families! It's my hubby's first name (and he's a III) so it covers hubby's father and grandfather as well.  It's also my Dad & oldest brother's first name. I was thinking he would be our last and possibly our last boy so I wanted to be sure to honor all of those men. His first name. We simply liked it. How's that for a change!


All three of our boys have VERY long names. PLENTY of nicknames for all!

3.  What is a life lesson you wish your children would learn without experience? Staying debt-free. Only paying using cash and being a good steward of their finances. This has caused a lot of problems over the course of my marriage - some not so good. I hope we can spare them that pain.

4.  What is the one book you could read over and over again and why? I have a few. I really like the Outlander series (I'm reading that again for the 3-4th time). It's set in historical Scotland and America so I find that interesting. I also love the Mitford series. And probably my most favorite is Francine River's Mark of the Lion series. That's an amazing story set in ancient Rome just after Jesus has been crucified. 

5.  What/when/where was your favorite family vacation? We don't really take family vacations. We will go to our family's camp up north for a few days. It's pretty rustic and really not my favorite place to go but since I enjoy being with my family I do it. My overall favorite vacation was one hubby & I took when our oldest was around two years old. We had the chance to go to England for 10 days. It was so much fun!

6.  When you were 17, what did you see yourself doing?  Is it what you are doing now? HA! At 17 I thought I would be working with the deaf. I'm chronically all this in my Monday contributions to Mommy's Piggy Tales about my "Young Adult Years." I never, ever, ever dreamed I would be a stay-at-home-homeschooling Mom. It wasn't even on my radar. Thinking back it was a bit surprising I never really thought I'd be a SAHM since my Mom stayed home for 25 years before returning to the work place. However, I love being a homeschooling SAHM and really am so thankful I can be.

7.  Books or movies?  Why? Depends. Most often I read the books. There is so much more to the scope of my imagination than any director/productor/actor can ever put on a screen. However, sometimes it's just nice to veg in front of a movie.

8.  How has God blessed you recently? Every single day.


Sara at Embracing Destiny also tagged me with these eight questions:


1. What is your favorite thing about the upcoming holidays? I'm not sure. I just really love this holiday season. It starts now for me as I start listening to Christmas music early. I love Thanksgiving but Christmas is truly my favorite holiday. 

2.  Do you enjoy winter weather?  Why or why not? Not usually. I'm not a really cold or really  hot weather gal so when those extremes come in, I get cranky. I'm a bit like Golidlocks - I like it to be "just right." If it's not extremely cold though, winter doesn't bother me too much. I'm not a huge fan of driving in the snow and I really get annoyed when the weather interferes with my plans, but overall it's not horrid. Just not my favorite.

3.  If you could have only 5 books on your bookshelf, which 5 would you choose? Oh wow! This one is TOUGH. First off would be The Bible. The Francine River's Mark of the Lion series would be there too (that's three more). To top it off.....hmmmmmm......maybe War and Peace? Simply because if I only have five books total, I would want them to last!

4.  If money were no object, what would your dream vacation be? Either a trip through Europe or a cruise.

5.  If you could live anywhere you wanted, where would it be? Right where I am, but we would build our dream house.

6.  Do you like to bake?  If so, what is your favorite thing to bake?  Yes, especially the older I get. I'm not a huge baker though. Favorite? Probably congo bars. 

7.  Do you make homemade Christmas ornaments or use only store-bought? We have a mixture of both. Most of the homemade ones are those the boys have made.

8.  Do you do the Thanksgiving cooking for your family or go to another family member's house? We always go somewhere. I've never hosted Thanksgiving. In the past we always went to my side of the family. A lot of it depends on if my sister is working since she typically hosts.


My eight questions are these....


1. How early do you start listening to Christmas music?
2. What sort of holiday traditions from when you were young do you incorporate in to your family now?
3. What is the best gift you ever received at Christmas?
4. What is the worse gift or funniest?
5. How do you make each child feel special? (any traditions?)
6. How long have you been married?
7. If you could have any wish granted, what would it be?
8. Are you a "glass-half-full" or "glass-half-empty" person?


I'm tagging......anyone who is reading this who has NOT been tagged previously and wants to play along! Be sure to leave me a comment so I can come see your answers! Facebook friends....write a new note and tag me there! ;-)