Mother's Day Giveaway 2008 Winner

We are thrilled to announce that we have chosen a winner for our 2008 Mother’s Day Giveaway.

Our core team and sponsors shed many tears as we read through all of the entries we received but in the end it was a unanimous decision that the Lord was leading us to Christina Barricks and her family.

Nominated by her sister, Tristan Rowlee, here is the official nomination:

I want to nominate Christina Barrick. She is an amazing young homeschooling mom, and my sister. She and her husband Justin have 3 children so far, Isaiah is 6, Justin is 3 and Hannah is 6 mos.

Her husband serves our country in the Army and has already been deployed for a year to Kuwait when Justin was just 1. He will be deploying again, this time to Iraq, during the next school year. They have moved recently to the Fort Lewis base in Washington state, far from any family.

My sister is so good at teaching her boys in the way they learn best, following their interests, and making learning fun. I know that being chosen for this gift could make the next year of homeschooling easier and more manageable for her, and free up a lot of her preparation time to spend every possible minute with Daddy before he leaves. Homeschooling helps their family to BE a family. It gives them the time to make memories for the times they aren't together.

I know having things ready to use would also make homeschooling doable once daddy deploys. I have watched her be a single parent, doing all the teaching, shopping, and caring for a young family the last time he had to deploy. There are no breaks or time off for her. No one else can stay up with a sick child. No one else will be there to watch the kids while she gets groceries or library books, or gets the car fixed. She will have to take three young children with her everywhere. No one will be able to help with baths. She'll shower as quick as she can and hope the kids don't take apart the house while she's in there.

She will have to comfort three little children who miss their daddy every day, all the while not knowing if he will make it home safely or become another soldier lost in action. Every time the news says another soldier was injured or killed she will have to wonder if it was her husband, and wait for his next phone call or letter.

And when those letters or calls come she will have to comfort and strengthen her sweetheart who is seeing humanity at it's worst. She will have to help the little ones hold the phone so they can talk to daddy, and try not to cry when they ask how soon he's coming home. Every time there is a knock at the door she will be afraid to answer it, because there might be a uniformed officer on the other side with news no wife wants to hear, that her husband gave his life so others can live free. She is so far from family(we are in Ohio) that there will be no one to share the burden with.

I don't know how she does it. She amazes me with her trust in God to provide for her family and watch over her husband. She humbles me on the days when I feel like complaining that my husband got home late from work or I'm needing a break from the kids. She won't see her husband for a year or more, she won't have any breaks to regain peace. She will keep going, day after day, because she is the mommy, and that is what moms do. They keep the family together even when they are half a world away.

We will have a list of all the nominations, and excerpts from the emails we recieved nomintating them, in the near future.

A special thank you goes to all of our wonderful sponsors:

Castle Heights Press - One unit study of choice ($12.95 value)
Math Facts NOW! - Math Facts NOW! cd ($13.95 value)
Share HIS Story - Family Story Bracelet ($65.00 value)
The Mystery of History - Volume I: Creation to the Resurrection CD Audio Set ($42.95 value)
Homeschool in the Woods - The Old Testament Hands-On History Activity Pak ($18.95 value)
Treasure Box Press - Gift certificate ($40.00 value)
Notebook Learning - One notebooking set of choice ($5.95 value)
CurrClick - Gift certificate ($50.00 value)
Darlene Schacht - The Mom Complex book ($14.95 value)
Blue Thistle Books - Gift certificate ($30.00 value)
Heart of Wisdom - The Heart of Wisdom Teaching Approach ($34.94)
Steward Ship - Everything You Need to Know About Homeschool Unit Studies ($19.95 value)
Split Decisionz - Custom Blogger Blog Template ($75.00 value)
If you don’t already have a blog then I can personally help you to set one up on Blogger.
Whole Heart Ministries - Seasons of a Mother’s Heart (2nd edition) by Sally Clarkson ($13.95 value)
Vision Forum - Gift certificate ($50.00 value)
The Old Schoolhouse Magazine - One-year subscription to the print edition magazine, 3 audio books on homeschooling and a $25 certificate to the Schoolhouse Store ($104.00 value)
Heart of the Matter Online Virtual Conference - Free admission to the 2008 conference ($29.95 value) - this will be given to you and your sister since she nominated you.
The Foil Hat - The Gee Gift Box. Contains: a GIANT scrub, a generous 4 oz. tub of whipped shea butter, 3 soaps, 8 oz body or linen spray, a poufy scrubby, cushy spa socks, a soap deck AND a pumice stone. ($50.00 value)
Homemaking 911 - Chaos to Order, 25 Tools Bringing Organization to Your Home, as well as the accompanying audio CD of the workshop with the same title. ($15.00 value)

Congratulations, Christina!
The Team at Heart of the Matter