tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-79157324993351160582024-03-13T12:18:24.256-07:00Amazing Grace, How Sweet the SoundCarriehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02971623631413388442noreply@blogger.comBlogger758125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7915732499335116058.post-6450598925737315372018-02-02T13:30:00.001-08:002018-02-02T13:30:13.151-08:00Goal Setting/ProgressGoals are nothing if you don't have a plan to work forward in them. This year, I have a long list of things I would like to work toward. I may or may not complete them, but having them in the forefront of my mind helps me at least think about them.<br />I have not made STELLAR progress on ANY of my goals...but baby steps in a few. <br />
Some progress has been made in Reading, Crafting, Blogging and re-reading The House That Cleans Itself. <br />
My computer crashed, but my IT lady was able to give a fix, that I am HOPING will last for a little while.<br />I am going a little backwards on getting healthier as I have been OFF PLAN with THM for about a month now...This is the one I am most concerned about.<br />
Math has also fallen to the wayside as we left off ALL subjects for the speech tournament we were preparing for. We had a recovery week and will hit the books again next week.<br />
All money related goals are being set aside for now too...won't go into details on that, but can't be helped.<br />
Cookies...well let's just say until I can handle getting dinner on the table, learning how to do this will be set aside too! <br />
I am hoping that posting the progress will help me have a small measure of accountability!<br />
How are you doing with your goals? How do you stay on track? <br />
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Blessings!<br />CarrieCarriehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02971623631413388442noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7915732499335116058.post-91053039357761545742018-01-05T07:00:00.000-08:002018-01-05T07:00:22.216-08:00Dandelion Wine<br />
Dandelion Wine<br />
Ray Bradbury<br />
Doubleday Publishing<br />
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We are finishing up this book this week. We are behind and that is making me cranky, but I think we are getting some good stuff done. We will probably be working through my list of books through the summer. My daughter is enjoying the books we have read. That may change with the upcoming books.<br /><br />I had heard good things about Dandelion Wine and wanted to add it into our lineup for the year. It has not disappointed! I am really enjoying it and can't wait to find out how it ends.<br />
<br />For this book, I decided to have the main activity be Annotating. I thought I had never done this before, but I realized that I do some version of it all the time in my Bible. <br /><br />First, I had my daughter read a couple of articles on it...<br /><br /><b style="text-align: -webkit-center;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"><a href="http://chuma.cas.usf.edu/~pinsky/mark_a_book.htm" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">How to Mark a Book</a></span></b><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><a href="http://www.aplithelp.com/annotation-for-smarties-5-tips-for-teaching-students-active-reading-and-critical-thinking/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Annotation for Smarties</a></span><span style="font-family: "Roboto Slab"; font-size: 49px;"> </span></h1>
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<span style="font-family: "Roboto Slab";"><a href="http://www.davestuartjr.com/purposeful-annotation-close-reading/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Purposeful Annotation- A Close Reading Strategy</a></span></div>
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We also found this <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=muZcJXlfCWs" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">video</a>, which I thought was helpful</div>
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I think we are going to do more annotating with future books.</div>
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We also worked on this <a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Dandelion-Wine-Study-Guide-and-Key-1666441" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">study guide</a></div>
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That is it for Dandelion Wine! We will be onto Little Women!</div>
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<a href="http://www.mylivesignature.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54488/394/D6BB3FAFEF983434F3EFBF9E2C14D8E5.png" style="background: transparent; border: 0px;" /></a>Carriehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02971623631413388442noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7915732499335116058.post-9736800139212784252018-01-01T00:00:00.000-08:002018-02-02T13:19:34.971-08:0018 Goals in 20182018...I cannot believe we are here already! Happy New Year to you and yours!<br />
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Last time, I shared some of my favorite things from 2017...this time, I think I will share a few goals I have. I am not saying resolutions, because it seems so strong of a word and I often forget about mine about mid March. I have noticed though, if I don't have a plan for what's ahead, I will not have a way of measuring where I am in regard to what I hope to do in life. Some of these are very specific...some, much more general...but I hope to see progress toward achieving what I am laying out in this coming year.<br />
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1} Become healthier- this includes eating right, exercising and seeing the doctor about a few concerns. I have put this off for too long and need to make this a focus area. I did get this started in 2017 and made some good progress...hoping to get back on track and move forward. I will not list specific markers, mostly because I haven't laid that all out yet.<br />
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2} Read- I have a shelf that I set aside for the books I am hoping to work through next. This stack of books has been shoved aside by reading I am doing for school assignments for the kids. I am still hoping to work through this stack.<br />
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3} Blog- I am hoping to move my blog and be more intentional about how/when I post.<br />
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4} The Big Math Catch-up- We are already about halfway to this goal...this was a HUGE school focus for us this year. The kids are doing a great job on this!<br />
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5} Craft a Month- You know all those projects many of us have laying around and all the ideas we want to come to? Well, it is my goal to create something each month. This has been shoved aside for too long and bags of supplies need to be used. Here is the <a href="https://lillyella.com/2015/12/04/undercover-maker-mat-pattern/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">first thing</a> I want to make.<br />
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6} Cookies- Have you seen all the cool decorated cookies people have been making? I have had a few sets made and let me tell you...I want to learn how to do this...<br />
Here are some sets that I ordered through <a href="ttps://www.facebook.com/thetallcookie/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Diane</a>. If you get some from her, tell her I sent you!<br />
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7} Build up our Christmas movie collection- This might seem silly...but I am hoping to get at least 24 Christmas movies collected this year. We enjoy watching a movie a night in December...but we are mostly dependent upon whatever we can find at the library. We have seen some good movies, but some pretty corny ones too.<br />
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8} Build up our Emergency Fund- this has been used quite a bit in the last year or so and is sadly lacking.<br />
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9} Budget Buckets- Along with the emergency fund, I would like to get these full...the budget buckets are categories in our budget that only come along once or twice a year...Christmas, birthdays, school fees and such all fall in this category.<br />
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10} Get ovens fixed/new ovens- we are without ovens right now...which is interesting. Thankfully, we live in a time when there are many ways to cook food! While I am thankful for all those other ways to cook, I am looking forward to getting working ovens again.<br />
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11} Lead the children to more independent school work- This has come a long way so far this year...we are probably about halfway on this goal too...Mostly my younger guy needs work on this. Since I am working a little bit now, ,I need them to be able to be productive when I am not here.<br />
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12} Re-read The House That Cleans Itself and implement a plan for staying on top of cleaning projects.<br />
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13} Weekly De-Clutter Day- I AM THE WORST at this! Pray for me! I need all the help I can get here...both because I have no time AND because I am an infamous pile stacker.<br />
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14} Regular Meal Planning- Life runs so much more smoothly when I actually sit down and do this. It will help with my first goal too!<br />
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15} Get a new computer- Mine has been acting up. I need to see my IT lady and see what she thinks.<br />
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16} Go on more hikes- NICER WEATHER- I am a fair weather hiker...so more in late spring, through early fall for this one.<br />
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17} Finish a one year history book in one year! I did this for the first time EVER last year! I was so happy and I know I can do it again this year!!! We are on track to meet this goal too!<br />
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18} Get a new camera- My camera was stolen several years ago...along with it, 8 years of photos I can never get back, including the flag ceremony at my dad's memorial service. When it was stolen, I lost all motivation for taking pictures and scrapbooking. I miss that and would like to get that back. In the grand scheme of life, this is pretty low on my list...but I needed an 18...so there you go.<br />
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I think that is it for now! Once again, Happy New Year!<br />
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With much love!<br />
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Carrie<br />
<br />Carriehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02971623631413388442noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7915732499335116058.post-74244607403103282482017-12-31T05:00:00.000-08:002018-01-01T15:11:17.545-08:0017 Faves in 2017Hello all,<br />
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We are at the end of another year...How on earth do these go by so very quickly? I listened to a fascinating Ted Talk on how time seems to fly by the older you get. I can't find the exact one I watched, but it was really interesting...I had never thought of it before, but I sure feel the effects!<br />
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So, as we are at the end of another year, I thought I would share a few of my favorites of 2017. Just a way of setting a year apart from another. These are in no particular order.<br />
{Disclosure: All Amazon links are affiliate links.}<br />
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1} Favorite book...of course, I can't have one...so I will separate them a little<br />
<a href="http://amzn.to/2EmLlbp" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Life in a Jar</a>- This book was AMAZING! I learned about it when I saw a short video on Facebook about the Life of Irena Sendler. Seeing that video made me curious about her life, and upon further digging, I found this book. I just loved seeing the impact ONE PERSON can have. Often, we feel like we can't change things or feel frustrated thinking we don't have an impact. To those children she rescued, Irena's courageous work had a HUGE impact. There is power in ONE.<br />
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My other favorite, I will place more in a home schooling category- <a href="http://amzn.to/2zT4wGI" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">The Reading Promise</a> .<br />
This was an amazing book of a commitment of reading aloud every single night. This father and daughter continued this for nine years. Seeing the impact of that time and their commitment to keeping the streak was amazing. If I had to pick only one more, <a href="http://amzn.to/2zQS6yO" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Deconstructing Penguins</a> would be on this list as well...I LOVED this book.<br />
Ok, I will leave the books now...I could seriously write pages on good books.<br />
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2} So, I lied...Favorite book for youth- This HAD to be its own category...<br />
HANDS DOWN, it is <a href="http://amzn.to/2BWqn1D" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Navigating Early</a>. I LOVE Clare Vanderpool's writing style...In some ways, her writing reminds me of Charles Dickens, in that things you see early on in the book, come around full circle at the end. Pay attention to ALL THE DETAILS with this one. I cannot recommend this highly enough. She also wrote <a href="http://amzn.to/2BXBebM" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Moon Over Manifest</a>, which is good as well, but I really enjoyed Navigating Early so much! I hope to see many more books by this author.<br />
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3} Favorite Movie- It is hard to remember what all you have seen over the course of a year, but to the best of my recollection, I have two... <a href="http://amzn.to/2C0UtkD" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Sully</a> and <a href="http://amzn.to/2zQwR0d" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Hidden Figures</a>. Both of these films were so very good and will become a part of our home movie library.<br />
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4} Song- Either Even If by Mercy Me or Matt Maher's <a href="http://amzn.to/2zQSLAi" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">I Need You</a>. Every hour...<br />
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5} Kitchen Tool- <a href="http://amzn.to/2BYHqjN" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Kitchenaid Slicer/Shredder attachment</a>- This has been the MOST AMAZING tool for the kitchen this year!!! I LOVE the shredder part of it and use it OFTEN for grating cheese!!! I can grate 2 pounds of cheese in around 5 minutes! I LOVE THAT!!! I do not usually buy pre-grated cheese because it has natamycin and cellulose in it. That seriously grosses me out. But, I am also a BUSY mom...With this shredder attachment, it is so quick and easy, I don't even think twice about it. This is PROBABLY my daughter's favorite kitchen tool too, because she was the resident grater prior to this discovery.<br />
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6} Home School Tool- <a href="https://myhomeschoolgrades.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">My Home School Grades</a>- Another NO BRAINER WIN for the year...this makes my home school record keeping UNBELIEVABLY simple. Created by a home school grad and a home school dad, this program is intuitive and easy to use. With a good mix of pre- loaded curriculum and options of customizing your own thing, you can choose to give a final grade, grades by assignment or pass/fail. AND, can you say Transcript? Talk about a professional document, this is a thing to behold. On top of all the wonderful things I can say about My Home School Grades, John Echols, the homeschool dad of the team, is so wonderful in responding to your questions, suggestions and concerns. And, I ALMOST forgot, because this is web based, you can access it wherever you are...phone, library computer, at Starbucks, etc.<br />
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7} Makeup Item- This is an area of great sadness for me...In 2017, my favorite skin care/makeup company {BeautiControl} was closed by the parent company {Tupperware}. I have been using their products for about 25 years...it was a HUGE SHOCK to hear. While this is sad, the good news is that Rick Heath (son of the founders of BC) and Gary Jones (So involved in BCs research and development for SO MANY YEARS) have partnered together to bring us <a href="https://truaurabeauty.com/carriecannon" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">TruAura</a>. I am looking forward to seeing what they are planning. I really like what I have seen so far about the Prebiotics and Probiotics with regard to our skin's microbiome. I am signing up as a consultant, mostly to get my products at a discount. Watch for the launch on February 1, 2018. And feel free to ask me any questions...while I don't know much yet, I will do my best to get you an answer.<br />
That said, aside from my BeautiControl products I LOVE, I will say that my favorite item for the year is either Young Living's Savvy Minerals blush Smashing, OR Younique's lipstick Stinking Rich. The blush has a little sparkle to it that is lovely and the lipstick is a GORGEOUS cool red. I think I need to order another one of these.<br />
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8} Snack- <a href="http://amzn.to/2zRrmOV" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Lily's Salted Almond Milk Chocolate Bar</a>- Trying to get my health in order, I have been sugar free for most of 2017....until the dreaded Christmas fiasco...seriously NEED TO GET THE SWEETS OUT OF THE HOUSE!!! Anyway, this bar is sweetened with Stevia and is such a wonderful treat that supports the way I am trying to eat now. There are several varieties to choose from, but this is my favorite.<br />
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9} Perfume- <a href="http://amzn.to/2CtrmaG" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Do Son</a>- I got a little sample of this perfume in an Ipsy bag. I absolutely LOVE this scent. I need to grab a bottle. Here is the description from the website: <span style="background-color: white; color: #6d6d6d; font-family: "calluna" , "times new roman" , "georgia" , serif; font-size: 15px;">Divinely mysterious tuberose unveils its powers of seduction on a bed of berries and flowers. It is embraced by the fresh sweetness of a sea breeze, like a pagoda on the edge of the Gulf of Tonkin.</span><br />
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10}Wallet- <a href="http://amzn.to/2CoRxSa" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Hobo Lauren</a>- I absolutely LOVE this wallet! It is a pretty good sized wallet with two sides. Each side has a snap closure. It fits my budget envelopes nicely as well as all the other things that gather in my wallet.<br />
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11} Planner- My BUJO- have you heard about <a href="http://bulletjournal.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Bullet Journaling</a>? Well, I love the flexabilty of it... It can be used for whatever need I have and then I just go to the next page for whatever my next need is. I love that nothing is wasted and no blank pages are staring at you counting off your planner failures. AND, it is whatever I NEED...not whatever the planner creator thought I would need. Some people have very artsy BUJOs, but mine is messy and very utilitarian. One day, maybe it will be a work of art...just not today! I am a pen and paper gal, but my hubby prefers the electronic way, so I use <a href="http://www.cozi.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">COZI</a> for him.<br />
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12} Field Trip- This is going to be a toss up between seeing the Chinese Terra Cotta Warriors and a senior trip we took to Friday Harbor in the San Juans. It was a perfect day when we went and the English Camp was GORGEOUS!!! We had a blast. I was hoping to make it back there with my family, but that just didn't happen. Maybe next summer. If you are in Washington State and it is a beautiful day, please make the trek to Friday Harbor. You will not be disappointed.<br />
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13} Leggings- So I went to the Lula Side...these leggings are buttery soft and many have fun patterns. I also scored a black pair when that line was introduced. Like wearing your pajamas! If you haven't tried them, I think you might love them!<br />
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14} Soda- Going sugar free, I miss my old Diet Coke. On Trim Healthy Mama, Diet Coke is NOT on plan...Probably better for me too! So I have been enjoying <a href="http://amzn.to/2CflCUW" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Zevia's Ginger Ale</a>.<br />
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15} Organizing tool- 31 Bags- I have two styles that I like...The <a href="https://www.mythirtyone.com/product/4451" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Zip Top Organizing Utility Tote</a> with the <a href="https://www.mythirtyone.com/product/3890/fold-n-file-charcoal-crosshatch" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Fold and File</a> insert is my most favorite bag. I have one of these bags for everything...one for Bible Study, one for co-op, one for Awana...etc. I love how great these are for my various needs.<br />
My second favorite is the <a href="https://www.mythirtyone.com/product/3121/large-utility-tote-blue-crosshatch" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Large Utility Tote</a>. I added the insert, but I don't love it as much as I thought I would. The bags are great though and I keep them in my van. Keeps lots of various things from rolling around all over in there.<br />
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16} Young Living Essential Oil- Ok...I really can't have just one...I need them all, really...but I love how Tangerine makes me feel so happy and Thieves and RC when we are feeling a little under the weather. Also, can we say Frankincense? Well, many other favorites, but I will end there and save you all a major ramble. If you are interested in learning more about Essential Oils, feel free to let me know or check it out <a href="http://yl.pe/4cd3" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">here</a>.<br />
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17} Budget tool- The last Favorite from 2017 is a tablet I made for our budget. We do a weekly budget and as a pen and paper gal, I used to write each line out each week on a small yellow pad. I got tired of writing out the same thing over and over and over, so I had tablets made. I love these. They work PERFECTLY for me...<br />
I do KNOW that I can do this in excel...but I do not LOVE Excel...and I am a pen and paper gal. There is just something so satisfying in writing this out for me.<br />
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Well, that is my list...sorry it is so long. I hope you have a fantastic 2018! Next post will be my goals for 2018!<br />
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<a href="http://www.mylivesignature.com/" target="_blank"><img src="https://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54488/394/D6BB3FAFEF983434F3EFBF9E2C14D8E5.png" style="background: transparent; border: 0;" /></a>Carriehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02971623631413388442noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7915732499335116058.post-81731906407516376402017-12-08T14:39:00.000-08:002017-12-10T08:33:58.771-08:00The CrucibleThe theme for this year in Literature for my daughter seems to be to read all the books that Mom has never read before. So this book is no exception. The Crucible is a play by Arthur Miller about The Salem Witch hunt/trials in the late 1600's. What I did not know until I began researching this book, was that it was also speaking about Red Scare in the 1950's and The House Un-American Activities Committee. As we just finished up this time period in history last year, it was a fascinating connection for me to make and since it is fresh in our minds, will make for some interesting discussion.<br />
Here are the resources I am looking into using for The Crucible.<br />
First, we will be using this Character Analysis Graphic <a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/The-Crucible-Character-Analysis-Graphic-Organizers-2826563" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Organizer</a> from Teacher's Pay Teachers and this <a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/THE-CRUCIBLE-READING-LITERATURE-GUIDE-FLIP-BOOK-790752" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">flip book</a>.<br />
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So, life took a HUGE detour...and the Character Analysis organizer was the main assignment for this book. I am also having Grace do a One pager for this book. I added the book, The Wave to her reading as well.<br />
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This was a book recommended by a friend. We should have read it last year for history, but it has a powerful message. </div>
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That is all we got to for this book.</div>
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<a href="http://www.mylivesignature.com/" target="_blank"><img src="https://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54488/394/D6BB3FAFEF983434F3EFBF9E2C14D8E5.png" style="background: transparent; border: 0px;"></a>Carriehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02971623631413388442noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7915732499335116058.post-23998288082058616712017-10-20T16:31:00.000-07:002017-10-20T16:31:04.792-07:00Fall's Golden Days<br />
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Fall’s Golden Days</h1>
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by <span class="entry-author" itemprop="author" itemscope="itemscope" itemtype="http://schema.org/Person" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><a class="entry-author-link" href="http://homeschoolmosaics.com/author/carrie-cannon/" itemprop="url" rel="author" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; text-decoration: none; transition: all 0.1s ease-in-out;">Carrie Cannon</a></span><span class="entry-comments-link" style="box-sizing: border-box;"></span><br />
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Halfway between school starting and Thanksgiving is where I find myself today…It is a lovely day in my neighborhood, and we have been homeschooling for several weeks now. We have a busy schedule this year, but that is a story for another article…maybe…if I survive it! So as I stare at a blank screen…preparing to write…I’ve got nothing.<br />
Fall is a time in our home to catch our breath and hold on…everything starts, school is amped up and running, and we are just trying to get used to our new schedules, hoping I have the brain power to remember we need dinner. We are hoping to implement some Sabbath rest weeks into our school year to give us respite…but, right now, we are nose to the grindstone. I thought it might be fun to share some lesser known holidays for October…maybe you can find one to color your month, bless someone else, or just create a memory together.<br />
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October 2- Name Your Car Day<br />
October 4- National Frappe Day<br />
October 4- International Frugal Fun Day<br />
October 5- Do Something Nice Day<br />
October 11- It’s My Party Day<br />
October 11- Take Your Teddy Bear to Work Day<br />
October 14- National Dessert Day<br />
October 17- Wear Something Gaudy Day<br />
October 18- Sweetest Day<br />
October 21- Count Your Buttons Day<br />
October 21- National Pumpkin Cheesecake Day<br />
October 24- National Bologna Day<br />
October 25- Make a Difference Day<br />
October 26- Mother In Law Day<br />
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We may try a couple of these…just for fun! When we do, we will add them to our Year Book in a Box from the <a href="http://www.smartkidslaunchpad.com/activities/yearbook-in-a-box" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Smart Kids Launchpad</a>. We will be gathering pictures and memorabilia throughout our school year to remind our children of all the great things we have done this year. The Smart Kids Launchpad is a FANTASTIC site filled with activities for you to do with your children to teach them responsibility, money and the value of hard work. I have several of these activities open in my web browser.</div>
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Since I have included a couple of dessert holidays, I will not leave you high and dry with nothing to make. Let me recommend some Gingerbread, Pumpkin Bread, Pumpkin Cheesecake , or this Apple Cake…Now, I already hear it…the groanings…but NOT ALL APPLE CAKES are created alike. I think you might really enjoy this one. Originally from a 1997 Cooking Light magazine, I switched out all the low fat subs for the real deal and this has been a family favorite ever since. Feel free to make the switch back to the low fat equivalents – we just prefer to eat certain things, like butter rather than margarine.</div>
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Apple Cake</h2>
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Ingredients:<br />
• 1 ¾ cups sugar, divided<br />
• ½ stick butter, softened<br />
• 1 tsp vanilla<br />
• 6 oz. cream cheese, softened<br />
• 2 large eggs<br />
• 1 ½ cups all purpose flour<br />
• 1 ½ tsp. baking powder<br />
• ¼ tsp. salt<br />
• 2 tsp. ground cinnamon<br />
• 3 cups chopped peeled apples (use a type good for cooking. My recipe suggests Romes, but I usually use Jonagolds or Fujis for this cake)</div>
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Directions:<br />
1. Preheat oven to 350.<br />
2. Beat 1 ½ cups sugar, butter, vanilla and cream cheese until well blended.<br />
3. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.<br />
4. Combine flour, baking powder and salt. Add flour mixture to creamed mixture beating on low until just blended.<br />
5. Combine ¼ cup sugar with cinnamon. Sprinkle 2 Tablespoons of the cinnamon sugar over the chopped apples, stirring to combine.<br />
6. Fold apples into batter. Pour batter into a 9 inch springform pan and sprinkle with reserved cinnamon sugar mix.<br />
7. Bake for one hour, 10 minutes or until cake pulls away from the sides.<br />
8. Cool completely on a wire rack. Cut with a serrated knife.<br />
9. Serve with whipped cream if desired.<br />
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Hoping your fall into fall is colored with love and fun, but just in case it is a rougher transition for you, remember, MANY of us get to Fall Back on November 5th! </div>
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;">Originally Posted at Home and School Mosaics</span><br />
<a href="http://www.mylivesignature.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54488/394/D6BB3FAFEF983434F3EFBF9E2C14D8E5.png" style="background: transparent; border: 0 !important;" /></a>Carriehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02971623631413388442noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7915732499335116058.post-37716405506490650542017-10-20T14:30:00.001-07:002017-10-20T14:30:27.765-07:00The Catcher in the RyeHello! I am back again as we are wrapping up this book. I had never read The Catcher in the Rye before and was a little concerned as I was reading it. I almost axed it, but decided to leave it in our line-up. I will say that there is an extensive use of God's name in here that is not what you would call reverent It was so frequent, that it was distracting. Also, there is some sexual content that you might want to be aware of. Definitely pre-read this before deciding whether or not it is appropriate for your family.<br />
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So, here are some resources we used for this book:<br /><br />First, I enjoyed the Crash Course videos on this book. I don't always agree with what he says...so you may want to watch this before your student as well.<br />
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We used this <a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Catcher-in-the-Rye-Worksheets-Quizzes-Discussion-HW-for-JD-Salingers-Novel-832612" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">resource</a> from Teacher's Pay Teachers as a Study Guide. This should be the Pinterest Link for that <a href="https://www.pinterest.com/pin/557250153863887124/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">study guide</a> if you can't see it on the other one.<br />
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We printed this <a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Catcher-in-the-Rye-FREE-Timeline-Review-Worksheet-for-JD-Salingers-Novel-833088" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">timeline</a> off and this <a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/THE-CATCHER-IN-THE-RYE-Plot-Chart-Organizer-Diagram-Arc-Freytags-Pyramid-819610" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">plot diagram</a>. I believe both of these resources were free when we did this.<br />
We also used pages 7-13 of this <a href="https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwiiua74j4DXAhWrw1QKHfTCBNcQFggoMAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.sausd.us%2Fcms%2Flib5%2FCA01000471%2FCentricity%2FDomain%2F2277%2FCatcher%2520in%2520the%2520Rye%2520Student%2520Packet.doc&usg=AOvVaw38VFUUc8xA9BFva9zEZCLE" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">resource</a>. It was creating journal entries as if you were Holden. We are not finished with the book yet, but my daughter has enjoyed doing this.<br />
I had her read this <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/books/page-turner/who-was-j-d-salinger" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">article</a> (The link was not working when I grabbed it...It is the New Yorker article Who Was J.D. Salinger by Adam Gopnik, September 5, 2013, in case it is still not working when you go to look.)<br />
I wanted to do a mind map similar to the one in this <a href="http://www.essaydocs.org/the-catcher-in-the-rye-student-packet-the-catcher-in-the-rye-a.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">packet</a>, but we haven't done it yet and I don't see it getting added in at this point in time. A One Pager would be a good idea too.<br />
I think that is it! Next up, The Crucible!<br />
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<a href="http://www.mylivesignature.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54488/394/D6BB3FAFEF983434F3EFBF9E2C14D8E5.png" style="background: transparent; border: 0px;" /></a>Carriehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02971623631413388442noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7915732499335116058.post-78163086720690307322017-09-28T17:05:00.001-07:002017-09-28T17:05:24.733-07:002.0 and To Kill a MockingbirdThe last two years, we have been greatly blessed to be a part of a small co-op that we called 2.0. It was run by a small group of moms and we had a particular focus with this...getting these kids ready for college classes. I don't know if you are aware or not, but homeschool families have particular things we don't do well. DEADLINES are one of those...Anyway, that is not all that important right now, but we were blessed to have the strengths of others to teach some wonderful things. My good friend was one of those blessings. She gave two of my children a love for some great books. I am trying to re-create that for my girl this year, but I am no where near as wonderful as she is. And we also don't have that wonderful group atmosphere either...BUT, this momma desires her sanity.<br />
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So, I thought I would share some of what we are doing for each book. I want to be able to remember what we did...and HOPEFULLY be able to find it again! You can take it, leave it or give your feedback. I know there is a variety of thoughts about what we should allow our children to read and all. We have an interesting list this year, but I would like to expose my children to these titles when we can talk about them together.<br />
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I read To Kill a Mockingbird for the first time two years ago and LOVED it! I knew that I wanted my children to read it. We watched the Gregory Peck movie then, so we didn't watch it again this time, but I would recommend that...after you read the book.<br />
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We did not do tons for this book, because I was not on top of my game early enough...but I did LOVE this<a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/To-Kill-A-Mockingbird-Student-Workbooks-1962238" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"> resource</a> from Teachers Pay Teachers...You may need to be logged in to see it...if so, here is the <a href="https://www.pinterest.com/pin/519884350713723123/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Pinterest</a> link for it<br />
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<a href="https://i.pinimg.com/564x/af/b2/a0/afb2a041c81c0b622c7dba70339c0b97.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="401" height="320" src="https://i.pinimg.com/564x/af/b2/a0/afb2a041c81c0b622c7dba70339c0b97.jpg" width="160" /></a></div>
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I also had my daughter do a <a href="http://www.easthighavid.com/uploads/1/3/3/6/13367187/the_one_pager.pdf" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">One Pager</a>. Here are some <a href="https://www.google.com/search?q=Literature+one+pager&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwivot23gsnWAhUKymMKHQZJBTQQsAQIJw" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">examples</a>. I have not looked at all of these, so use caution...you just never know what will pop up in a Google search.<br />
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We did not do everything in this <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B-FMyl7j8Ux-YmJiZGMyMTktOGM2NS00Zjg0LTgyM2ItNzU2ODZlYjM2Mjdi/view?hl=en" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">resource</a>, but we did play with creating a <a href="https://www.classtools.net/FB/home-page" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Fakebook</a> page for one of the characters...It was fun!<br />
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I also had her write an essay...I can't remember where I grabbed the questions I gave her, but here is a <a href="http://www.gradesaver.com/to-kill-a-mockingbird/study-guide/essay-questions" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">list</a>.<br />
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I think that is it!<br />
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<br />
<a href="http://www.mylivesignature.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54488/394/D6BB3FAFEF983434F3EFBF9E2C14D8E5.png" style="background: transparent; border: 0px;" /></a>Carriehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02971623631413388442noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7915732499335116058.post-63145819846564395592017-07-10T16:30:00.000-07:002017-07-10T16:30:00.182-07:00If You Give a Mouse a Cookie<br />
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BOOK Club–‘If You Give a Mouse a Cookie”</h1>
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Originally Posted on Home & School Mosaics:<br />
This month we are focusing on the book, <span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;"><em style="box-sizing: border-box;">If You Give a Mouse a Cookie</em>, by Laura Numeroff</span>. Two of our writers took on the challenge of this book in their homes and they will be sharing their thoughts and some activities you can do. The writer for this month is Carrie Cannon.<br />
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-BV58RKz5fic/Vyj6Q4k46YI/AAAAAAAABVQ/OIItzfzTffE-GFs6i3kWiEBMMiuzumqIQCLcB/s1600/mouse-a-cookie.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-BV58RKz5fic/Vyj6Q4k46YI/AAAAAAAABVQ/OIItzfzTffE-GFs6i3kWiEBMMiuzumqIQCLcB/s320/mouse-a-cookie.jpg" width="276" /></a></div>
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<span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">Did you enjoy the book? Why? Why not?</span></div>
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I LOVE this book. The charming illustrations combined with the innocent and silly series of cause and effect instances that happen when you give a Mouse a Cookie are amusing and entertaining for children.</div>
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<span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">How did the book compare to other books by the author (or other books in the same genre)?</span></div>
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The author has a series of books that follow the same lines of what happens when you do this. They are fun as well, but If You Give a Mouse a Cookie is by far my most favorite. She has several other books, but I have not read any of those yet.</div>
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<span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">What about the plot? Did it pull you in; or did you feel you had to force yourself to read the book?</span></div>
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The book is so fun and the illustrations are so wonderful, that you find yourself turning the pages to find out what happens next. I LOVE that it circles back to the beginning…you can see the whole thing happening again!</div>
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<span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">How realistic was the characterization? Would you want to meet any of the characters? Did you like them? Hate them?</span></div>
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I loved the characterization. I am not sure I would call it realistic, but the characters are sweet throughout the story. I love that the mouse seems to gather energy throughout the book, while the boy is continually cleaning up behind the mouse and looks pretty worn out by the end of the story. Many of the actions remind me of life at home with children. Their wonderful energy, never ending flow of ideas, their creativity, their boundless energy paired with my fatigue at the end of the day, the mouse wanting to sign his name on his picture with a pen, getting scotch tape…my children would have so much fun with a roll of scotch tape.</div>
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<span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">Did the actions of the characters seem plausible? Why? Why not?</span></div>
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Setting aside the fact that this is a mouse doing these things, I do believe the actions of the characters are plausible. One thing just leads to another all throughout the story. The mouse bounces from one activity to the next with enthusiasm, a little bit of drama and a sweetness that is irresistible to readers of all ages.</div>
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<span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">Did the book end the way you expected?</span></div>
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I can’t remember what I expected the first time I read it…it has been so long ago. Now, when we read it, it just seems like that is the way it HAS to be.</div>
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<span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">Would you recommend this book to other readers? To your close friend?</span></div>
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Absolutely YES! My family has all loved this book! It has a nice story with the BEST illustrations. A wonderful book for children!</div>
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The <b>Title</b> of this book is ” If You Give a Mouse a Cookie”. The <span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">Title</span> is simply the name of the book.</div>
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Laura Joffe Numberoff is the Author of the book and her <a href="https://lauranumeroff.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Website</a> is here and you can read about the author <a href="http://www.kidsreads.com/authors/laura-numeroff" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">here</a>.</div>
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An <span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">Author</span> is a person who writes a book.</div>
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Felicia Bond is the Illustrator and you can find out more about her <a href="http://feliciabond.brandyourself.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">here</a>.</div>
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An<span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;"> Illustrator</span> is the person who draws the pictures in a book.</div>
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Activities for “If You Give a Mouse a Cookie”</h3>
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<a href="https://www.pinterest.com/amazingrace67/if-you-give-a-mouse-a-cookie/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">See my Pinterest Board</a></div>
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My children are all a little too old to do many of the activities for this book, but I had my youngest do a couple of them so I would have pictures! We also took some cookies and a copy of the book to our neighbor for a treat!</div>
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Try walking through each step of the story. Have a cookie, ask for a glass of milk, see if you have a milk mustache, get a hair cut…and so on.</div>
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Make cookies…<a href="http://amazingracehowsweetthesound.blogspot.com/2015/07/melissas-chocolate-chip-cookies.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">here is our favorite recipe</a><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">.</span></div>
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Make a bed…either your bed or make up a bed somewhere in the house out of something else….snuggle down and looks at books…or take a NAP!!!</div>
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Make a family portrait and sign it with a pen. Hang it on the fridge.</div>
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Have fun with scotch tape</div>
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Clean up after yourself</div>
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Start your own if you give a….. story…</div>
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Take cookies/the book to a neighbor or friend<br />
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Make “signs” of the nouns in the picture…tape them onto the item</div>
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Note the verbs…do the actions</div>
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Here is a couple of wonderful Chocolate Chip Cookie printables, which are also on my Pinterest board, but you can create all kinds of games with these…numbers, colors, letters, whatever you are working on in your home!<br />
<b><a href="http://www.playdoughtoplato.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/Cookies.pdf" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Numbers</a></b></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.stirthewonder.com/if-you-give-a-mouse-a-cookie-felt-mouse-tutorial/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Make a felt mouse</a></b></div>
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<b><a href="https://lindseyfoushee.wordpress.com/lesson-plans-2/paper-bag-puppets/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Make a paper bag Puppet</a></b></div>
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Talk with your child or children about when happens when we do this and introduce the idea of cause and effect. <a href="http://www.readingrockets.org/article/cause-and-effect" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Here is a good article on that.</a></div>
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;">Originally Posted at Home and School Mosaics</span><br />
<a href="http://www.mylivesignature.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54488/394/D6BB3FAFEF983434F3EFBF9E2C14D8E5.png" style="background: transparent; border: 0 !important;" /></a>Carriehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02971623631413388442noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7915732499335116058.post-29264193527041663192017-05-01T16:22:00.000-07:002017-05-01T16:22:00.172-07:00Raising Mission's Minded Children<br />
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Raising Missions-Minded Children</h1>
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by <span class="entry-author" itemprop="author" itemscope="itemscope" itemtype="http://schema.org/Person" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><a class="entry-author-link" href="http://homeschoolmosaics.com/author/carrie-cannon/" itemprop="url" rel="author" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; text-decoration: none; transition: all 0.1s ease-in-out;">Carrie Cannon</a></span><br />
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We have always had a soft spot in our hearts for Missions/Missionaries. We have been very blessed to create strong friendships with many missionaries because of this. We raised our children around Missionaries, with Missionary stories, etc. We know that not everyone can go to Africa, but we can all support Missions/Missionaries in a variety of ways. <span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">Here is a short list of some of the things we have done in our family that have helped instill a Missions-Minded Heart:</span></div>
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We began our adventure in being Missions Minded by <span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">writing to the Missionaries our church supported. </span>It began before we had children and continued for many years. As more children came and homeschooling began, those letters really slowed down. I cannot tell you how humbling it was to hear that my letters were the only contact one missionary had while overseas. Especially when I had known I had not written much. Missionaries were always gracious in writing back. This was the best gift to us! Please be VERY careful when writing missionaries. Some countries are not very friendly to the gospel. Also, packages are not as helpful as you might think. Some are opened and things are stolen, but often times, the packages are given pretty heavy fees. More than you would pay for the items being sent. Some good friends of ours are in the process of becoming a missionary family. It will be so much fun for my children to write to them when they go into the field and those children will be blessed as well! Most of the missionary friends we had in the early days did not have children with them in the field.</div>
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<span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">Attend Missions Conferences if your church has them.</span> Most of the missionaries we know come home once every four years. This is a very busy time for them as they are reporting in with supporting churches, seeing family, taking care of needs, preparing to go back, getting some continuing education, raising more support, and so many other things we all take for granted. These times of “furlough” or home assignment are often filled with more activity than being away. It is a sign of respect and love to attend these meetings. This is where they get to see that they are loved and not forgotten. Can you imagine what it would be like to be alone in a foreign country where you speak very little of the language? We have had missionaries stay in our homes while in town for these conferences, which has blessed us all. I will never forget my little girl crying out incredulously, “YOU WERE BORN IN A TOILET???” at the end of a story a missionary was telling us. We have all formed strong bonds with those who have stayed in our homes. Our children have seen that missionaries are just normal people with a passion to share the gospel with a particular part of the world.</div>
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<span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">If you can afford it at all, support missionaries.</span> Our regular giving to our church supports several missionaries, we take up special offerings as needs arise, support missionaries independently of our church, and are sometimes led for a particular gift. Any amount helps, even if only $5 a month. Throw all your change in a jar and save that for a missionary need. You will never miss it, and I am sure it will greatly bless someone! I will never forget one day when one of my children was younger. A need for a missionary came up and we knew we were going to take up a collection for it. He took every bit of money he had and put it into the offering plate…every dollar, every coin (I am sure the treasurer LOVED that!)…as his momma, I was tempted to tell him he didn’t have to do that…but I didn’t. My child got so much joy in giving that gift. Children can often be such natural and generous givers. Let them know how important their gift is.</div>
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<span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">Read biographies of missionaries.</span> YWAM has a great collection of children’s missionary biographies included in their <a href="http://www.ywampublishing.com/c-39-hero-biographies.aspx" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Heroes of the Faith</a> series. Not everyone of these are missionary stories, but they have several that are. My children LOVED these books about Gladys Aylward, George Mueller, Eric Liddell, Nate Saint and more. We learned of their great faith and more about OUR GREAT GOD! Often times, after reading the YWAM book, I would look for more books on that person to learn more about their life. These really are great books!</div>
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<span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">Study different countries and cultures, especially the ones you have missionary friends in.</span> Learn about the country’s people, customs, environment, and culture. Try their food! It would be fun to make it for your missionary friends when they come to your neck of the woods.</div>
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<span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">If your child starts talking like they want to go to Africa, encourage that.</span> Do not treat being a missionary like they are doing this because they couldn’t get a better job anywhere else. You might never say this to your child, but we sometimes communicate that when it comes to OUR child wanting to go into Missions. These missionaries have a heart for God and a passion for getting the gospel out to people who are perishing. A great missionary, Jim Elliot, once said, “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose.” If God is calling your child into missions, let them go with your blessing and with great joy.<br />
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<span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">Be missionaries to those around you who do not know Christ</span>. Speak truth, be loving and gracious, be involved in their lives, listen to them…this list is really endless. Jesus said, “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations…” This essentially makes every one of us a missionary.</div>
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This is not a complete list by any means, and I am sure you can think of more ideas, maybe <a href="http://cogop.org/children/growing-mission-minded-kids/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">even better ideas</a>. This is just a list of things we have done in our house to encourage and support missions and missionaries. We currently have a boy talking about going to Africa when he is older. I don’t know if that will happen or not, but I will trust God to lead each of us along the path He has for us!</div>
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;">Originally Posted at Home and School Mosaics</span><br />
<a href="http://www.mylivesignature.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54488/394/D6BB3FAFEF983434F3EFBF9E2C14D8E5.png" style="background: transparent; border: 0 !important;" /></a>Carriehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02971623631413388442noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7915732499335116058.post-73071949841944190092017-04-03T16:16:00.000-07:002017-10-20T14:41:46.206-07:00Just a Little Flat<br />
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Just a Little Flat</h1>
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by <span class="entry-author" itemprop="author" itemscope="itemscope" itemtype="http://schema.org/Person" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><a class="entry-author-link" href="http://homeschoolmosaics.com/author/carrie-cannon/" itemprop="url" rel="author" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; text-decoration: none; transition: all 0.1s ease-in-out;">Carrie Cannon</a></span> </div>
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I’ve mentioned before that I go to the World’s Best Co-op Evah…did I happen to mention <a href="http://amazingracehowsweetthesound.blogspot.com/2016/03/to-co-op-or-not-to-co-op.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Biology Dissection Lab</a>? Well, it is co-op season again and we are midterm into this session of co-op. <span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">One of the classes I have done before, and am teaching again now, is a Flat Stanley Class.</span> There are so many ways you can take a Flat Stanley Class, that I thought I would share a few of my ideas and maybe this would encourage you as well.</div>
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<span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">First,</span> <span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">we begin with reading “Flat Stanley” out loud and making our Flats</span>. We will make 3 to send out and one more for me to keep until the end of class for a surprise. I LOVE using the Cricut Everyday Paper Doll Cartridge (# 291042) for these. They really turned out CUTE! (Now, because it is just disturbing to me to have their little behinds all nake-y, I flip the paper over after I have cut one set of clothes and cut a second set for the back side so it all matches up…if you are ok with naked little backsides, by all means leave them bare.) I have planned two class periods for this.<br />
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<span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">The next week, we will ATTEMPT to work on addressing an envelope.</span> Last time I did this, I thought, we would do this each week. Well, with 4 boys aged K-2, that QUICKLY got thrown out the window. This year, I have the same age group, but much more realistic expectations. We are still going to try to do this one time, but will talk more about the proper way to address it, where the stamp goes, and what happens next. You could work in a full Post Office/Mail unit study if you like. (Update: This went so much better than I could have expected this time! So glad we did it! Also emphasized that a STAMP is NOT a STICKER!)</div>
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<span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">After the third week, we will read portions of some of the remaining books.</span> From these, I am planning for one food item and one activity for each book. Things I learned last time: Papier Mache piñatas MIGHT be the way to go. DO NOT TRY to create your own from cardboard and tape…unless you want to be VERY FRUSTRATED. WE have not yet done the Papier Mache, so I may scrap it entirely if that doesn’t work either. ALWAYS practice the origami project before attempting to teach it. We barely got a Ninja Star done last time. Have a wonderful helper who lives to fill in the gaps you leave by flying by the seat of her pants! I have had the best helpers ever and they totally save face for me before these kids as I can be a whirlwind type in this kind of a class…(UPDATE: Ditch the <a href="http://amazingracehowsweetthesound.blogspot.com/2015/03/yep.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><b>pinatas</b></a>...TRUST ME on this one!)</div>
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So, here are some ideas I am thinking over with the books and which weeks I am planning on using them. I am writing this article at the beginning of the class, and I have already told you I am a fly by the seat of my pants kind of girl, so this MAY change AND since it is at the beginning, I have not yet had the opportunity to tell you what went well and what did not. I will try to post updates to my blog so you can keep up to speed on it if you are interested. (UPDATE: That did not happen...but you can still check out my <a href="http://amazingracehowsweetthesound.blogspot.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">blog</a>! AND by this time, I THINK I will be most of the way through my third time with this class...so you just never know!!!)</div>
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<span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">Week 4: Mount Rushmore Calamity</span> – I will be talking a bit about the History of Mount Rushmore and why the four presidents were chosen. We will take a look at the South Dakota and Mount Rushmore Quarters just for fun, try some beef jerky, and make a Mount Rushmore Card to take home. This week, we will also begin some light map work, coloring in the area we are talking about. I have glued a U.S. map and a World map into a file folder to keep these neat. I had a hard time deciding what to do this week. Many crafts for Mount Rushmore were rubbings of a Quarter, Nickel, Dime and Penny to create the mountain, but it bothered me that Franklin D. Roosevelt was used for Theodore Roosevelt. I got the card idea from a <a href="https://cplsstorytime.wordpress.com/2014/02/04/mount-rushmore-after-school-art/comment-page-1/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">blog post I found on the Clearwater Public Library Family Connection</a> site . My version is a tweak on what they did, but I was pleased to get the inspiration! </div>
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(Update: This class time went very well…I forgot to get pictures of their cards, but I will try to explain as best as I can: We folded over a sheet of blue construction paper. On the front, we glued a color picture of Mount Rushmore. Inside, we glued a copy of the coloring page that is linked in the post above. <a href="http://homeschooling.about.com/od/holidays/ss/October-Worksheets3.htm#step14" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Here it is</a> just to keep life easy. For the back, I printed off the <a href="http://homeschooling4less.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/US-Presidents-PrintablePDF.pdf" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">four presidents from some cards</a> I found and cut around them. We glued them on and wrote what they represented: Washington represents birth, Jefferson growth, Roosevelt development, and Lincoln preservation.)<br />
(ANOTHER UPDATE: I could not get the pictures to load from the Library blog post...not sure what the issue is there...Big bummer!)</div>
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<span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">Week 5: Australian Boomerang Bonanza</span> – I MAY try to see if I can find some Vegemite for the kids to try…I hear this is a BIG deal down under. If not, I know there are some cookies that are also very popular. We will also be making boomerangs from foam core board and I will bring in <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_kprLtErg8U" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">origami boomerangs</a> that actually SHOULD return to you when you throw them. I will make these at home though…I don’t think that my group can be this precise. (UPDATE: I waited too long to find Vegemite...I think I found some Australian candy for them)</div>
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<span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">Week 6: The Amazing Mexican Secret</span> – We will be making cheese quesadillas with the SECRET ingredient and making a piñata. The Piñata MAY take two weeks…if it does, we will not do the activity planned for week 12. (UPDATE: Just say no to the Pinata!!! Get something like <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Unknown-Vinyl-Fiesta-Donkey-Pinatas/dp/B004350P62/ref=sr_1_2?s=toys-and-games&ie=UTF8&qid=1462301977&sr=1-2&keywords=mini+pinatas" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">these</a> instead if YOU HAVE TO DO THEM...and if the link is gone, just search mini pinatas on Amazon...PLEASE TRUST ME ON THIS!)</div>
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<span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">Week 7: Japanese Ninja Surprise-Origami</span> – We will try a Ninja Star and I will send home some papers for them, with directions, to make a crane to make at home. We will have the children try Roasted Seaweed Sheets that you can get at Costco. We have MANY people at our co-op who love these, so MANY of the children enjoy them as well. I will have a back up treat if that fails…maybe pocky…(upate: Have an Origami NINJA helper if this is not your gift! We did the one project and sent the other home. Did the seaweed and pocky)</div>
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<span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">Week 8: The Flying Chinese Wonders</span> – I have not yet fully developed this one because I just received the book …but I have a fantastic picture of The Great Wall of China that my husband’s great aunt took when she was there and I will bring that in as well as some of those rice paper candy things you can get at the store. We used to get these from time to time in the Chinese Restaurant when we were little. The book mentions Chinese New Year, talks a little about determination and lists some Chinese Food. The book also covers quite a bit about acrobatics…maybe this will be a good time to do somersaults or cartwheels. Emperor Qin’s Terra Cotta Army is mentioned too and that would be a fabulous thing to show the students as well. We will either make a Chinese Dragon Puppet or a paper lantern. We will have fortune cookies and tea too!</div>
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<span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">Week 9: The Great Egyptian Grave Robbery</span> – I will be making falafel and bringing in my good friend’s <a href="http://amazingracehowsweetthesound.blogspot.com/2015/03/persian-yogurt-and-cucumber-dip.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Persian dip</a>. I have a pin on my Flat Stanley board for making mummies in a sarcophagus , or we can use hieroglyphics and make a Cartouche. I also have a pin for a death mask…so LOTS of ideas for this one.</div>
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<span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">Week 10: The Intrepid Canadian Expedition</span> – For Canada, I am thinking of creating Northern Lights Art and serving up some poutine. If poutine isn’t in the cards, I may try to get my hands on some Canadian snack. Growing up in a hockey family, I may JUST HAVE to talk about the Stanley Cup too! (Update: I had a friend who was going up into Canada close to when my class was and she brought back some candy. I cannot even believe I was thinking about making poutine...)</div>
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<span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">Week 11: The U.S. Capital Commotion</span> – For the U.S. Capital week, there are so many different directions to go, that I am having a hard time focusing. I may try making<a href="http://www.classroomzoom.com/lessons/323/make-a-washington-monument" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"> a model of the Washington Monument</a>, or we may make newspaper hats. Many D.C. attractions are mentioned and there will be no end of what we can talk about. I may give just an overview of them all. For a snack, I was thinking Apple Pie, because what is more American than that, but Nachos/Chips and Salsa are mentioned in the book so I may do that instead. (Update: I cannot even remember what we did here...it was week 11 for goodness sakes! And actually, I think this ended up being week 12 because something took longer.)</div>
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<span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">Week 12: The African Safari Discovery</span> -The African Safari book is my ace in the hole. I don’t think we will get to it, because I am pretty sure week six will be two weeks long. It is the book I am also having the most trouble pulling ideas from. I would LOVE your suggestions on what you would find interesting to do with this one. (Update: We did NOT end up doing this one!)<br />
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Check out some of the links I have used on my <a href="https://www.pinterest.com/amazingrace67/flat-stanley/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Flat Stanley Pinterest Board</a>. I have not used all of these ideas, but some did spur on other ideas or are for future use too!</div>
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So, a couple of last thoughts:</div>
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In this class, I send out all the flats. I want to be sure they get sent and not set aside and forgotten. I have notified all the parents that I will need three addresses before co-op starts, so they are prepared to have that for me either the second or third week. If my children can, I have them address the envelopes we are sending out. If not, then I do it and mail it with a letter for the person receiving it.</div>
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I chose to send out three flats, HOPING they would at least get one back. This time, I made a 4th flat for each child and I am HOPING to create a little book for each one. This might be a bit adventurous when push comes to shove, so we will see if it gets finished, but my thought was just in case someone did not get anything back. (Update: The book did not happen, but I had a friend make a cookie for them that looked like their flat...it was AMAZING!)</div>
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<span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">Have you ever done a class on Flat Stanley?</span> If so, I’d love to hear your ideas! If not, I hope I’ve inspired you!</div>
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Originally Posted at Home and School Mosaics<br />
<a href="http://www.mylivesignature.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54488/394/D6BB3FAFEF983434F3EFBF9E2C14D8E5.png" style="background: transparent; border: 0 !important;" /></a>Carriehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02971623631413388442noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7915732499335116058.post-29163855075646925682017-03-24T16:57:00.000-07:002017-03-24T16:57:17.944-07:00For Love and Honor<a href="http://www.zondervan.com/for-love-and-honor" target="_blank">For Love and Honor</a><br />
Written by Jody Hedlund<br />
Published by Zondervan Publishing<br />
Ages: Young Adult<br />
Cost: $12.99<br />
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I have had some HEAVY reading on my list recently, so when I finished my latest 425 page book on the cousin kings of World War I, I was so happy to have some easy reading to give my brain some pleasure.<br />
<a href="http://www.zondervan.com/for-love-and-honor" target="_blank">For Love and Honor</a> filled the gap beautifully. A story of chivalry, adventure and love, with a historical context (WHICH I LOVE) was a quick and enjoyable read. Both Lady Sabine and Sir Bennett have a secret that drives this book forward to its finish. Will it be true love or a disaster? I am sure you can figure it out, but there were some twists and turns I did not expect along the way, and there is a sweet resolution at the end. <br />
For those concerned about the romantic element, it is all handled modestly...no graphic descriptions, but you can feel the attraction. If you are concerned about the material, an advanced read might be beneficial.<br />
I personally enjoyed this book, ,but I am also careful not to read too much in the romantic genre as I don't find it helpful in real life. <br />
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* I received this product to help facilitate a frank and honest review. All opinions are my own. Your results and/or opinions may vary.<br />
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<a href="http://www.mylivesignature.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54488/394/D6BB3FAFEF983434F3EFBF9E2C14D8E5.png" style="background: transparent; border: 0px;" /></a>Carriehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02971623631413388442noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7915732499335116058.post-69768736239981980882017-03-24T16:43:00.004-07:002017-03-24T17:05:05.048-07:00Promises for You Coloring Devotional<a href="http://www.zondervan.com/children/faithgirlz-promises-for-you-coloring-devotional" target="_blank">Promises for You Coloring Devotional</a><br />
60 Days Discovering God's Hope and Love<br />
ZonderKidz Publishing<br />
Ages: 8-12<br />
Cost: $12.99<br />
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This is a beautiful <a href="http://www.zondervan.com/children/faithgirlz-promises-for-you-coloring-devotional" target="_blank">hard backed book</a> filled with fun coloring pages and 60 devotions. This would be a great way for young girls to begin the habit of a quiet time in a way they would enjoy. There is a page that gives some direction in how to proceed with the book. I LOVE THIS!<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-hYdkfMsUwks/WNWrcELIpbI/AAAAAAAABY4/qg70op5XZnwxiDCJ5hufC7UzzqZUIrDtQCLcB/s1600/devotional%2Bcolor.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-hYdkfMsUwks/WNWrcELIpbI/AAAAAAAABY4/qg70op5XZnwxiDCJ5hufC7UzzqZUIrDtQCLcB/s320/devotional%2Bcolor.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
It has some great tips and suggestions...you do not have to start at the beginning...you can look for a page that looks interesting or fun to color. EVERY word of God is profitable!<br />
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-3Hb4fclUAKI/WNWssnGWLkI/AAAAAAAABZE/rW6PkidtaL4Vh0Pg1z9WYbP5Xrtao6P9ACLcB/s1600/Color%2B1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-3Hb4fclUAKI/WNWssnGWLkI/AAAAAAAABZE/rW6PkidtaL4Vh0Pg1z9WYbP5Xrtao6P9ACLcB/s320/Color%2B1.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
Some of the designs might be a little too detailed for younger or more active girls...<br />
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Some of the devotions might be too simple or short for more advanced or mature readers. This is dependent on where they are in their faith too.<br />
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(aren't these butterflies LOVELY?)<br />
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I personally have some mixed feelings about the content of this devotional, but I do think girls would LOVE IT! It could also be a great way to calm down for the day in preparation for bed or a gentle start to your morning.I wouldn't want this to be the only Bible contact my child had during the week though as it seems to be a little more like a commentary in substance than what we currently do in our family.<br />
One other issue I had, was the book does not lay flat when open. This would seem to be frustrating to girls trying to color. The pages are thick and you could use a variety of art materials for the coloring pages.<br />
It would make a sweet gift!<br />
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* I received this item to help facilitate a frank and honest review. All opinions are my own. Your results and/or opinions may vary.<br />
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<a href="http://www.mylivesignature.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54488/394/D6BB3FAFEF983434F3EFBF9E2C14D8E5.png" style="background: transparent; border: 0;" /></a>Carriehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02971623631413388442noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7915732499335116058.post-50486233955816361362017-03-24T16:13:00.003-07:002017-03-24T16:13:31.862-07:00Light Up New York<a href="http://www.zondervan.com/children/light-up-new-york" target="_blank">Light Up New York</a><br />
Faith Girlz: Glimmer Girls series<br />
Written by Natalie Grant<br />
Illustrated by Cathi Mingus<br />
ZonderKidz Publishing<br />
Age: About 7-12<br />
Cost: $8.99<br />
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<a href="http://www.zondervan.com/children/light-up-new-york" target="_blank">Light Up New York</a> is the latest Glimmer Girl story out on the market. I have really enjoyed these sweet stories with issues young people deal with often, sometimes daily. As the issue of homelessness is seen all around us where I live, I thought this was a timely story, showing what can be done to help out. While most young people do not have a famous singing mother option for public concerts, television show spots and record deals, I still think that young people can take the principles from the book and perhaps see what they might be able to do. I know finding ways to help the homeless is a tender spot for many people today.<br />
I also really liked how the book dealt with a side issue of sibling relationships and give suggestions for how to handle conflict. I won't give a lot of details, but I thought this was handled well. These girls aren't perfect, but conflicts are resolved in healthy ways in all of the books and sets an excellent example for parents and children alike. <br />
As I have said before, each book has a mystery to solve and this one is FUN!!! I LOVE this mystery and it has a takeaway for all of us! Again, no spoilers!!!<br />
Illustrations are simple...not taking away from the story. <br />
I would recommend this book! I really enjoyed it!<br />
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*I received this product to help facilitate a frank and honest review. All opinions are my own. Your results and/or opinions may vary.<br />
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<a href="http://www.mylivesignature.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54488/394/D6BB3FAFEF983434F3EFBF9E2C14D8E5.png" style="background: transparent; border: 0px;" /></a>Carriehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02971623631413388442noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7915732499335116058.post-24864291651004579842017-03-06T16:13:00.000-08:002017-10-20T14:42:11.300-07:00Budget is NOT a Four Letter Word?<br />
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Budget is NOT a Four Letter Word!</h1>
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by <span class="entry-author" itemprop="author" itemscope="itemscope" itemtype="http://schema.org/Person" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><a class="entry-author-link" href="http://homeschoolmosaics.com/author/carrie-cannon/" itemprop="url" rel="author" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; text-decoration: none; transition: all 0.1s ease-in-out;">Carrie Cannon</a></span> </div>
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So as I sit to write another article at the beginning of the year, <span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">money matters are in the forefront of my mind.</span> I don’t intend to write a year’s worth of money articles, but I did want to talk a little about budgeting, after talking last month <span style="color: #e8554e;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; transition: all 0.1s ease-in-out;"><a href="http://amazingracehowsweetthesound.blogspot.com/2017/01/easy-savings-ideas-for-new-year.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">about savings</a></span></span>. As I shared, my family has found some easy ways to boost the savings account a little bit. That said, creating a budget has been the number one way we have gotten a better grasp of our finances. Rather than just living paycheck to paycheck with no real idea of where our money is going, we sit down and we tell our money what we want it to do. It isn’t perfect and sometimes there is more month than money, but we are much more in control with our budget than we were before. </div>
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Here are a few of the things we have learned:</h1>
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First, <span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">a budget is not an ogre telling you that you can never have anything, do anything, or go anywhere.</span> A budget is just a plan…a to-do list for your money, if you will…I think it actually gives you permission to buy things. You create the budget categories you need and then that money can be spent on that category. We all need clothing, there is a category for that. Go get some clothes. Have no guilt. You want to go out to eat and to a movie…we have a category for that. Go do it. Don’t think of the budget as telling you what you can’t do, but instead what you get to do because it is in place. You cannot spend freely though, so a budget helps you determine what is appropriate and when you will need to stop spending.</div>
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Second, <span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">a budget is not a one-time thing.</span> It will change from month to month… you need to make a new one each month. When we began budgeting, I was not sure where to start. I found <a href="https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&ved=0ahUKEwjlrayfyL7MAhVQ6mMKHURzCGgQjxwIAw&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.jenwright.net%2Fblog%2F%3Fp%3D308&bvm=bv.121099550,d.cGc&psig=AFQjCNEQ-EBVumhBT5Fu0STXtmAFBpDkCQ&ust=1462387536198421" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">a template</a> I liked online that gave some budget categories with some percentage ranges. These are not a one size fits all kind of thing, but rather a helpful tool to know where to begin. We tweaked those percentages through trial and error and still use those figures to begin with when breaking down our paychecks. Our family gets paid weekly, so we create a new budget each week (with some specific things that need to be done with that particular check). Those categories sometimes need to slide a little as the heating bills are higher in the winter and the gas category isn’t as high because gas prices are down, for example, but again are a framework to begin with.</div>
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Third, <span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">communication is the KEY!</span> Being the math nerd of the family, I LOVE creating the budget, and it might even be right. If my husband has no input, it is not OUR plan, no matter how perfectly the decimals align, and then the budget can be tossed aside by one splurge at Michael’s or Home Depot….and who really cares anyway and let’s just forget it all. It just doesn’t work. Sit down together with the outline, the bills, the things just on the horizon and have a conversation and be in agreement about what happens.</div>
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Finally, remember<span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">, a budget is just a plan for your money, not a four letter word!</span> You will feel much more in control financially when you have a budget in place, won’t have as many things pop up and say SURPRISE, and may even find there is a bit less month at the end of the money! We have learned A LOT by listening to <a href="http://www.daveramsey.com/home/?snid=home" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Dave Ramsey</a>/reading his books. If you need some help in this area, I HIGHLY recommend his materials.</div>
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;">Originally Posted at Home and School Mosaics</span><br />
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<a href="http://www.mylivesignature.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54488/394/D6BB3FAFEF983434F3EFBF9E2C14D8E5.png" style="background: transparent; border: 0 !important;" /></a>Carriehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02971623631413388442noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7915732499335116058.post-85649535920620736952017-02-01T13:29:00.000-08:002017-10-20T14:42:52.597-07:00Love, Marriage and Baby Carriages<br />
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Love, Marriage, and Baby Carriages</h1>
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by <span class="entry-author" itemprop="author" itemscope="itemscope" itemtype="http://schema.org/Person" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><a class="entry-author-link" href="http://homeschoolmosaics.com/author/carrie-cannon/" itemprop="url" rel="author" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; text-decoration: none; transition: all 0.1s ease-in-out;">Carrie Cannon</a></span><br />
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As Valentine’s Day approaches, a topic heavy on my heart is <b style="box-sizing: border-box;">loving our children</b>. I know this seems silly as we more often think of romantic love; but hindsight is 20/20 and, as I walk along trying to parent a prodigal as well as other children, I want to share some things I have learned along the way. As an older woman <i style="box-sizing: border-box;">(if you can call 29 older…wink, cough, cough)</i>, I hope that the things I have learned can encourage, instruct, and help you as you walk your path. I always say that time flies when measured by growing babies and we only get a very short amount of time to influence them. All of those sleepless nights and laundry piles may be one day wished for again…I know, I am not there yet either! <b style="box-sizing: border-box;">These suggestions are not in a particular order, just as the Spirit leads me through the things on my heart.</b></div>
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While it feels like you will ALWAYS have three in diapers, NEVER be able to shower or catch up on laundry, and you can’t remember what being rested feels like, I tell you…<b style="box-sizing: border-box;">time is flying by.</b> We often cannot see the years for the days, <b style="box-sizing: border-box;">but your children are growing so fast and the time we have with them in our homes is really so short. </b> Engage with them, play, snuggle, read, listen to them, and talk with them. Make the time to do this with them now so that when they are older, they will still come to you and talk and share their lives with you. We can “one more thing” or “just a minute” ourselves to death. These things never end and they are important, but they will still be there. One day, our children will be gone and we cannot turn back or stop THAT clock.</div>
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<b style="box-sizing: border-box;">Children do childish things.</b> Learn to determine what is childish and what needs discipline. This is one area where I feel like I really failed one of my children. He was always busy and active, getting into things, creating concoctions and secret “formlias”. Do not overreact to childish things. I know you’re tired, I know it is a mess, something may have been ruined, etc…but <b style="box-sizing: border-box;">grabbing your child’s heart is much more valuable and trying to see it through their eyes is time very well spent.</b> “What were you thinking buddy? What were you trying to do?” Clean up the mess together and lovingly guide your child to see a better way this could have gone or provide an outlet for their busyness, creativity, and inventiveness.</div>
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The flip side of this coin is discipline. I am not going to go into methods here…we can all find countless resources to help us there. I would rather encourage you to <b style="box-sizing: border-box;">be consistent and calm in your discipline.</b> When you are consistent, your child knows what to expect and can respond to that. When we are too tired, busy or even lazy, our children learn that sometimes we mean what we say and other times we don’t. If we wait until we explode in a rage, we are both exasperating our children and teaching them to listen and respond only when we hit a certain point. Remember, you are modeling behavior for your children. Instead of a feeling of dread…”I’ve become my mother,” wouldn’t it be sweet to have your grown child sigh peacefully and say that with a sense of great joy? The cost is small now and the reward is great later down the way. Try not to lose sight of that in the trenches of mothering.</div>
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<b style="box-sizing: border-box;">We all blow it.</b> We lose our temper, we make mistakes, and we hurt those we love. As soon as possible, go to your child and make a sincere apology. Do not look for ways to justify what happened, cover it up, or make it seem like it was nothing. “I am sorry, I was wrong, will you forgive me?” This models another behavior that is so important…repentance. <b style="box-sizing: border-box;">True repentance restores broken relationship and opens up communication. </b></div>
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<b style="box-sizing: border-box;">Be there, Momma.</b> Get off the gadgets, shut down Facebook, and be there for your children. Your children will not remember if you had a Pinterest-worthy home with over the top birthday parties and the best holiday themed decorations. They will remember the silly crafts you did together, the snuggle times, the books you read, how you pretended to grumble when they sneaked into your coffee, or the way you held them when they were sick. As I have said before, time is short. Be there…show them they are more important than your computer, phone, television, or whatever your THING is.</div>
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<b style="box-sizing: border-box;">Tell them you love them…A LOT!</b> Don’t just assume they know. Tell them as often as you can, even if they don’t want to receive it…tell them! Adopt code words to tell them if it is embarrassing to hear I LOVE YOU in front of others, but tell them you love them. They really need to hear it, they need to feel it, and they need to see your love in action. Do not make your love a conditional reward of their behavior…love them.</div>
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<b style="box-sizing: border-box;">Precious Momma, if I could leave you with one final bit of advice, it would be to invite a woman into your life to mentor you.</b> Scripture says that the older women are to teach the younger women and our generation of Mommas has suffered because many do not have anyone to go to for help. I KNOW that I have not had enough wisdom in my experience to do things as I should and there are areas where my family has suffered as a result of that. I am so blessed, though, to have a beautiful mentor in my life who I can count on to give me wise and godly counsel and to be <b style="box-sizing: border-box;">for</b> me and my family. She does not give me the counsel I want or whatever is popular. She gives me the counsel I need, that comes from above and out of her life that is steeped in the Word of God. She <b style="box-sizing: border-box;">always</b> points me to Christ. I know she prays for me often. My parenting is better because I have been vulnerable and shared some ugly things about myself and my family. She helps me to stand in victory when I am tired and cannot stand on my own. She encourages me to be a better wife, mother and woman of God. It is hard to admit you need help, hard to let others see the dirty places in your life, hard to let others see your sin, but there is great strength and support in the vulnerability. There is great wisdom in God’s plan for us!<br />
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;">Originally Posted at Home and School Mosaics.</span><br />
<a href="http://www.mylivesignature.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54488/394/D6BB3FAFEF983434F3EFBF9E2C14D8E5.png" style="background: transparent; border: 0 !important;" /></a>Carriehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02971623631413388442noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7915732499335116058.post-33963181664371693012017-01-02T16:02:00.000-08:002017-10-20T14:42:43.158-07:00Easy Savings Ideas for the New Year<br />
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Easy Savings Ideas for the New Year</h1>
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by <span class="entry-author" itemprop="author" itemscope="itemscope" itemtype="http://schema.org/Person" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><a class="entry-author-link" href="http://homeschoolmosaics.com/author/carrie-cannon/" itemprop="url" rel="author" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; text-decoration: none; transition: all 0.1s ease-in-out;">Carrie Cannon</a></span><br />
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The New Year ushers in a rush of thoughts on what am I going to accomplish this year and what didn’t I accomplish last year and why. We feel the need to have a list of things we are going to pinky promise ourselves that we ARE going to do this year. Goals and resolutions come in all shapes and sizes…health, professional, spiritual, and personal are a few of the categories we focus on as the last days of a year tick by. I think having some goals or things to work towards each year is a good thing. There are many things we all can do better; having a plan helps us get there!</div>
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One area we are developing a plan for in 2015 (Now 2017) is in the area of <span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">personal finance</span>. Having listened to Dave Ramsey on the radio for several years, we have learned many things about ways to handle money. I know everyone has an idea of how to do this; we just really like his Baby Steps program (which you can find listed <span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;"><a href="http://www.daveramsey.com/baby-steps/?ectid=gaw.daveramsey-babysteps2" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">here</a></span>) as outlined in his book, <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">The Total Money Makeover</em>.</div>
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Dave talks pretty extensively about having an emergency fund and saving for the things you need. Personally, we have been through a couple of emergencies fairly stress free because of having an emergency fund. I saw a quote one time on the percentage of emergencies that were covered by a $1,000 starter emergency fund and I was stunned at how high it was. Unfortunately, I was unable to find that percentage when I went to look for it though. Certainly, I do know that not every emergency will be covered by this, but beginning is the key. Dave covers this quite a bit in all of his materials, much more eloquently than I can, but I want to <span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">share a couple of savings tips that we will be implementing in our home.</span></div>
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<span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">Emergency Fund </span>– This is a great time to get that starter fund in place if you don’t have one already. Many people will be receiving the tax documents needed to file their returns and I am sure that some will be getting a refund. If you are one who is expecting a refund, set aside $1,000 for this purpose. It’s not as fun as a new television or camera, a vacation or a wardrobe update, but you will be thankful for it when needed. You can also sell some things or work extra jobs to get this as quickly as possible. I am not kidding…this saved our backsides at least two times this year.</div>
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<span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">Car Savings </span>– My husband and I both drive cars that are over 17 years old. We are grateful to have vehicles that get us to and fro, but as the miles stack up, we know it won’t last forever. We have been working our written budget for quite a while now, but are at a place where one of the paychecks is not NEEDED for our living expenses. Since this is the case, we have decided to set aside an amount to apply to a newer car. While this is not going to be the latest model of anything, it will be a step up from what we currently have. We do not have a target date to buy a new car, but are hoping to save for about 18 months or so.</div>
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<span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">Food </span>– This is one area where I would ALWAYS love to save more money. We do not eat out often as it is terribly expensive, but even eating in is going up in price…have you seen the price of butter lately? While I am NOT an expert on this, ways I have been trying to save more money are by meal planning around what is on sale, limiting my trips out to the store to minimize any impulse items, shopping in the clearance areas of the stores, and trying to make more things from scratch than I currently buy…such as refried beans, granola bars and salad dressings. I have made flavored white sauces for years now as cream soups are not my favorite, but I keep trying to find ways to save at the grocery store. I know that couponing is an option, but I am not at a place in life where that would work for me. I have a good friend who gets some amazing deals, and I can rejoice with her. I have also been trying a <a href="http://5dinners1hour.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><b>meal prep system</b></a> that is new to me...this is pretty new for me, so I don't have much to say on it yet, but I LOVE how it has saved TIME AND MONEY so far.</div>
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<span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">At the Pump </span>–Just kidding…no helps here. Actually gas prices all over the place right now, but have been down a bit from what we have experienced in recent years, which is a blessing for sure! I also read somewhere something about getting more gas if you fill up when it is colder in the day versus when the day warms up. That could just be an Urban Legend; I never looked into it further.</div>
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<span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">Change Jar </span>– This is one of those ways to save money that you really don’t recognize how effective it is until it has piled up a bit. We use an envelope system for most of our budget categories and have quite a bit of change that ends up on the bottom of my purse. Rather than deal with that change in each category, I toss it all into a jar every 2-4 days. At first, it didn’t seem like the jar would ever get full, but it is now almost full. I do not notice the money being gone, but as there is now over $160 in this jar, I sure notice that. We do not have a set category to use this for yet, but I am thinking dinner out with the family would be a great treat. We are all actively involved in this process…both with tossing change into the jar and counting it every once in a while. When this jar is full, it is time to find a bigger jar! (New for this year, I have started to throw $1 bills in too! It is AMAZING how that adds up!)</div>
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<span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">Weekly Savings – </span>This is, by far, my favorite tip…I found out about this challenge back in June of 2014 and it was so easy, I LOVED it! So, the premise of this is that you save up $1 for each week of the year. Week one you will save $1, week 30, $30, etc. and at the end of the year, you will have saved $1,378. The thing I LOVE about this challenge is that you are saving, but the most it costs you is $52. We never really missed the money we set aside. If you get paid every other week, then $103 is the highest, but you can switch around the numbers to work in your budget. I originally thought that we would use this money for Christmas, but we ended up leaving this set aside. This would be a great way to save for an event, put towards a vacation, or use to buy a particular item (CAMERA!). We jumped in more than halfway through the year, so we put in a percentage of our income each week, rather than just the amount for that week. I glued a chart to the front of an envelope and highlighted the amount we put into the fund that pay period. This year, I am planning on doing the weeks reversed. So, for the first week of January, we will save $52 instead of $1. I like the idea of the larger amounts not coinciding with the holiday weeks AND you see the total pile up more quickly that way. We do not have a plan for this money, so it might end up getting put into the car fund or emergency fund as it builds up, but like I said, we did not miss this money at all. If we were to get paid every other week, I would probably pair week one and week 52, rather than week one and two.</div>
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<span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">Well, these are a few suggestions to get you started to a greener 2015 (2017)!</span> I hope these ideas get you thinking of the things you can do in your homes to stretch those dollars a bit further!</div>
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;">Originally Posted at Home and School Mosaics</span><br />
<a href="http://www.mylivesignature.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54488/394/D6BB3FAFEF983434F3EFBF9E2C14D8E5.png" style="background: transparent; border: 0 !important;" /></a>Carriehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02971623631413388442noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7915732499335116058.post-62243467520972690492016-12-07T14:16:00.000-08:002016-12-07T14:16:00.153-08:00Holiday Fudge<br />
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Holiday Fudge</h1>
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by <span class="entry-author" itemprop="author" itemscope="itemscope" itemtype="http://schema.org/Person" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><a class="entry-author-link" href="http://homeschoolmosaics.com/author/carrie-cannon/" itemprop="url" rel="author" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; text-decoration: none; transition: all 0.1s ease-in-out;">Carrie Cannon</a></span></div>
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Did you ever have a recipe that was so good that you were able to brag about it?! Well, this fudge recipe is THAT GOOD! I got this recipe about 19 years ago or so from the mother of a good friend. She would give my family a small tin of it every year. When I asked for the recipe, she graciously gave it to me. Since getting the recipe, I have shared it with many friends. When I give out a recipe that was shared, I try to link it to the person who gave me it…so this was Fudge from the Lord’s. A friend interpreted that as Fudge from the Lord…if that was the case, I am convinced that it would be calorie free…</div>
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One Year, I brought this to co-op to bless the moms there that enrich my life. After co-op, many of the moms reported having super powers…the ability to finish all the laundry in one day, the ability to clean the entire house, the ability to check off every box on your to-do list, etc. This might not sound like much, but it was AFTER co-op! (If you have ever participated in a homeschool co-op, you understand that this is really something.) After detecting this cool side effect, this fudge has a new name among these moms…Magic Fudge.</div>
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The absolute beauty of this recipe is the amazing creaminess in texture. Try it! I hope you will agree that it is the best!<br />
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(enough for a double batch of fudge!)</div>
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Here is what you need:<br />
• 3 cups sugar<br />
• 12 oz. can evaporated milk<br />
• 18 oz. semisweet chocolate chips<br />
• 1 lb. butter, plus more to grease pot/molds<br />
• 7 oz. jar marshmallow cream<br />
• 2 tsp. vanilla<br />
• Molds: Foil mini pie tins or foil muffin tins work best , but you can use a 9 x 13” pan</div>
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Now it’s time to get started:</div>
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Butter the sides of a heavy dutch oven or large pot.</div>
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Grease your container with butter. I prefer to use foil pans – it makes a good way to give it away and it is easy to get the finished fudge out. You can use a regular 9x13 pan. I have done that as well. Recently, I have used those foil muffin liners and those worked beautifully without greasing them (which, with butter often near $5 a pound, is a good thing!)<br />
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(It helps to get all ingredients ready before you begin!)</div>
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Cut the butter into pieces and place into a large bowl with the chocolate chips and marshmallow cream. Set aside.</div>
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Put the sugar, evaporated milk, and 1/2 tsp. salt into the buttered pot. Mix and bring to a gentle boil over medium low heat. Stir constantly (this is the key to the creaminess). If you do not keep stirring, the sugar may crystallize.<br />
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Still stirring, boil gently for 8-10 minutes. I know that this will feel like 9 years, but it really is important.<span id="goog_1858403590"></span></div>
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Pour the hot sugar mixture into the bowl that you set aside earlier.</div>
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Stir gently to mix.</div>
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We used an immersion blender for this as I do not have a hand mixer anymore. A hand mixer would be a much better way of mixing this. The fudge will begin to thicken. Add vanilla.</div>
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Pour into buttered mold(s). Top with one pecan half if desired. It is normal for some of the butter from the molds to sit on the top of the fudge. I have not found it to affect the taste. If this bothers you, I would use the foil muffin cups without the butter.<br />
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Refrigerate overnight.</div>
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NOTE: Makes about 7-8 small pie tins or about 24 muffin cup sized portions. This can be frozen if you make it ahead. I poured my double batch into an 11x17 pan and another pan, probably about 10x10 or so.</div>
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Originally Posted at Home and School Mosaics</div>
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<a href="http://www.mylivesignature.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54488/394/D6BB3FAFEF983434F3EFBF9E2C14D8E5.png" style="background: transparent; border: 0 !important;" /></a>Carriehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02971623631413388442noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7915732499335116058.post-35775070177285077822016-11-27T16:44:00.002-08:002016-11-27T16:48:44.268-08:00NIV Holy Bible For Girls, Journal Edition<h2 style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: "Open Sans"; font-size: 28px; line-height: 1.25; margin: 0px 0px 5px; padding: 0px; text-transform: capitalize;">
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<a href="http://www.zondervan.com/bibles/children-s-bibles/niv-my-journal-bible-hardcover-turquoise-elastic-closure" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">NIV Holy Bible for Girls, Journal Edition</a><br />
Hardcover<br />
Zondervan Publishing<br />
Price: $29.99<br />
Ages: 12 and up<br />
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From the Website:<br />
The <a href="http://www.zondervan.com/bibles/children-s-bibles/niv-my-journal-bible-hardcover-turquoise-elastic-closure" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">NIV Holy Bible for Girls, Journal Edition</a> is the prefect way to apply Scripture to your everyday life. Designed with the thoughtful writer in mind, a whimsical cover and journaling lines inspire reflection in God's Word. This Bible contains the full text of the bestselling New International Version (NIV) translation.<br />
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Features include:<br />
* Lines on each page for journaling and notes<br />
*Thick paper perfect for any writing utensil<br />
* A presentation page for gift giving<br />
* A "How to Use This Bible" page to get started on the right foot<br />
* Ribbon Marker<br />
* The complete text of the bestselling New International Version (NIV)<br />
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What I thought...<br />
First, I am not sure what I was expecting, but this was a surprise for me...I sort of thought there would be space to write your own notes and doodles, but I thought there might be a few things you could color. NOPE...there are just lines on all of the margins. The lines are grey, so they don't POP out at you...you can definitely see them, but it is not the focus. The margins are NICE AND WIDE! I LOVE this feature. From the edge of the text to the edge of the page, there is potentially 2 1/8 inches of usable space. The lines are about 1 5/8 inches wide. Some books have more potentially usable space because of the layout of the passage...say Psalms, for instance. In one place, there is about 3 1/2 inches of space between the edge of the text and the page. This is a HUGE bonus if you like writing in your Bible. I have notes crammed in all over the place in my Bible.<br />
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The website says that the pages are thicker, perfect for any writing utensil. I would test this before I went crazy with this. They do feel SLIGHTLY thicker than a normal page, but not by much. I tested it with a Pilot Precise Rolling ball pen and can see some from the back...I don't think it bled through the page, but you can definitely see shadowing.<br />
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There is a page in the front, giving a few journaling prompts to help you get started, a presentation page and a table of weights and measures. The cover is beautiful with some foil detailing...elegant, but not over the top girly! There is an elastic band to keep all your things from falling out. There is not a concordance in here. I personally find a concordance so helpful, even if it is small. That is the one thing I would change about this Bible.<br />
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Overall, I am very happy with what this Bible offers! This one is going to my daughter...Shhh...don't tell!<br />
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* I received this product in exchange for a frank and honest review. All opinions are my own. Your results and/or opinions may vary.<br />
<a href="http://www.mylivesignature.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54488/394/D6BB3FAFEF983434F3EFBF9E2C14D8E5.png" style="background: transparent; border: 0;" /></a>Carriehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02971623631413388442noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7915732499335116058.post-12730242668242079232016-11-27T16:04:00.002-08:002016-11-27T16:09:19.174-08:00NIV Wonders of Creation Bible<a href="http://www.zondervan.com/niv-wonders-of-creation-holy-bible-hardcover" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Wonders of Creation Bible</a><br />
NIV<br />
Zondervan Publishing<br />
Price: $24.99<br />
Ages: About 7 and up<br />
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From the back of the Bible:<br />
With detailed black and white illustrations of amazing animals, landscapes and other wonders of creation, this Bible features over 50 ready-to-color pages alongside the full text of the New International Version (NIV) translation<br />
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Features Include:<br />
*Lay-flat binding made for the perfect coloring experience<br />
*Over 50 pages of black and white illustrations ready to be colored<br />
*Key verses called out of each coloring page<br />
* Full text of the bestselling New International Version translation<br />
*Presentation page for gift giving<br />
* Ribbon marker<br />
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So, what I thought about the <a href="http://www.zondervan.com/niv-wonders-of-creation-holy-bible-hardcover" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Wonders of Creation Bible</a><br />
First, I am much happier that this is an NIV edition. I am not a fan of the NIrV translation...and while the NIV can be controversial, it is the translation that I have found the most helpful for my children's needs.<br />
Then, the next thing I noticed was the colorful cover. This Bible grabs your attention with the cover. <br />
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There are a LOT of coloring pages in this Bible. They are sprinkled in sets of about 4 every so many pages throughout the text of the Bible. Each picture has a verse on it, but the verses do not line up with where the picture is in relation to the text. In one chunk, you might have one verse from Philippians and another from Genesis...and that set might be placed in 1 Samuel. The binding of the Bible does seem to lie flat, no matter where you are in the text. I really appreciate this feature, not just for coloring or writing in the Bible, but just in case you are juggling a Bible, sermon outline or Bible Study paper and don't have a table to lay it on. The coloring pages, on the other hand, might stick up at first and you may need to smooth them down a little by running your hand across the inside of the spine.<br />
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The coloring pages appear to be pretty intricate, so it is difficult to attach an age to this. I selected 7, because I think it would appeal to that age, but they might become frustrated with the detailing. I know that I am not able to color on pages like this for long periods of time myself, and find I need to come back to a page another time. I think that middle school students would enjoy the coloring, but might find it a little embarrassing to carry this Bible in a public setting if their friends give them grief about it...that should not be a marker for what we do, but I just thought I would mention it. Again, it was hard to put an age on this.<br />
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The text of the Bible is a good size for younger eyes...even my older eyes could read without much trouble. The margins are VERY NARROW though...so it does not appear there is much room to write in it. I am not sure how much those who would use this actually write in a Bible, so I don't think this is really much of a problem.<br />
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There is a table of weights and measures in the back, but NO CONCORDANCE or DICTIONARY. I think these features would greatly add to this Bible. I use the small concordance in the back of my Bible ALL THE TIME! <br />
There is a presentation page: PLEASE WRITE YOUR NAME SOMEWHERE IN YOUR BIBLE!!!<br />
The text of the Bible has paper of the normal weight of regular Bible pages, the coloring pages are slightly thicker. This does cause you to turn to passages in chunks as the coloring pages are placed. The illustrations are on both sides of the paper, with the middle pages being a two page spread.<br />
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Overall, I think this would be a good Bible for a girl (because of the colors/design on the cover) who loves to color!<br />
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* I received this product in exchange for a frank and honest review. All opinions are my own. Your results and/or opinions may vary.<br />
<a href="http://www.mylivesignature.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54488/394/D6BB3FAFEF983434F3EFBF9E2C14D8E5.png" style="background: transparent; border: 0;" /></a>Carriehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02971623631413388442noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7915732499335116058.post-8293728600963356412016-11-25T16:11:00.004-08:002016-11-25T16:11:33.510-08:00Garden of Eden Coloring Book<a href="http://www.zondervan.com/garden-of-eden" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Garden of Eden</a><br />Beautiful Bible Scenes to Color and Inspire<br />
Zondervan Publishing<br />
Illustrated by Paulo Ney Debs<br />
Cost: $12.99<br />
Ages: 8 and up<br />
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Coloring has been proven to be a stress relieving activity for so many, it's no wonder that coloring books abound in the stores. Many enthusiastic artists relish the feeling of cracking open a new box of crayons or picking up a box or tin of colored pencils. If that describes you, you might really enjoy this book.<br />
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<a href="http://www.zondervan.com/garden-of-eden" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Garden of Eden: Beautiful Bible Scenes to Color and Inspire</a> is a collection of 80 drawings that give one artist's idea of what this classic Bible account would look like. Beginning at Genesis 1:1 and going through to Genesis 3, there is a wide variation of drawings to color for all ages. Some of the drawings are simple and realistic, others are more detailed and artistic. Most of the pages include a Scripture reference.<br />
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Illustrations are on both sides of the page and the pages are about 10"x 10". While 10" x !0" is not a traditional frame size, with a mat, you could make a 12x12" frame work if you wanted to frame...BUT, the pictures are on both sides AND SOME LAYOUTS are two page spreads...so this might be difficult if you enjoy framing pages. <br />
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Also, the paper is a nice thickness...but because the drawings are on both sides, bleeding might occur if you are using an art medium that is more wet...say markers. You should not have any troubles if you plan on using crayons or pencils.<br />
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Another thing that was a little bit of an issue for me was the binding...being a lefty, the binding felt a little chunky and the book didn't stay open unless I cracked the binding a little by running my hand over the inside of the spine a little. Coloring close to the binding could be a little bit of an issue as well.<br />
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* I received this above mentioned product is exchange for a frank and honest review. All opinions are my own. Your results and/or opinions may vary.</div>
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<a href="http://www.mylivesignature.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54488/394/D6BB3FAFEF983434F3EFBF9E2C14D8E5.png" style="background: transparent; border: 0px;" /></a>Carriehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02971623631413388442noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7915732499335116058.post-83378633501432320122016-11-25T15:42:00.000-08:002016-11-25T15:42:41.252-08:00Miracle in Music CityFaith Girlz: Glimmer Girls Series<br />
<a href="http://www.zondervan.com/the-miracle-in-music-city" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Miracle in Music City</a><br />
Written by Natalie Grant<br />
Illustrated by Cathi Mingus<br />
ZonderKidz Publishing<br />
Ages: about 7-12<br />
Cost: $8.99<br />
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<a href="http://www.zondervan.com/the-miracle-in-music-city" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Miracle in Music City</a> is Natalie Grant's third book in the Glimmer Girls series, and my favorite so far. The Glimmer girls seem to stumble upon a mystery of some sort each time we join them on their adventures. <br />
This time, the story takes place in Music City and centers upon the historic Grand Ole Opry. The Glimmer family is heading up a benefit to raise money for a local homeless shelter. Mr. and Mrs. Glimmer bring their children, Maddie, Mia and Lulu, in to show them they they are not too young to give back to their community. Gloria Glimmer is a singer who travels around the world. The girls often get to accompany their parents and experience things other children never get the opportunity to do. Miracle in Music City brings up the issue of homelessness in a way that makes if personal for these young girls. <br />
The Glimmer Girls have a motto: "Glimmer girls sparkle and shine...but most of all, they are kind." That message of kindness is really a theme in this book and I love the way that so many difficult issues are dealt with in the book. I won't give any spoilers, but if you have a tween girl...I think they will enjoy this book. Probably my favorite message in this book has to do with having the right heart attitude for all we do in life. <br />
The illustrations are simple and sweet, but there are not a lot, so it doesn't detract from the story line. This could be a pro or con, depending on your preference.<br />
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* I received a copy of the above mentioned product to help facilitate the writing of a frank and honest review. All opinions are my own. Your results and/or opinions may vary.<br />
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<a href="http://www.mylivesignature.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54488/394/D6BB3FAFEF983434F3EFBF9E2C14D8E5.png" style="background: transparent; border: 0;" /></a>Carriehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02971623631413388442noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7915732499335116058.post-76108174879697898542016-11-07T14:13:00.000-08:002016-11-07T14:13:00.193-08:00Blessings & Gratitude<br />
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Blessings & Gratitude</h1>
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by <span class="entry-author" itemprop="author" itemscope="itemscope" itemtype="http://schema.org/Person" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><a class="entry-author-link" href="http://homeschoolmosaics.com/author/carrie-cannon/" itemprop="url" rel="author" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; text-decoration: none; transition: all 0.1s ease-in-out;">Carrie Cannon</a></span></div>
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During November in the United States, we tend to be more intentional about being thankful. We KNOW it is something we should all do more often, but in the busyness of life, what is urgent is what often gets our attention. <span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">I want to challenge you to look for ways to be grateful to God daily, rather than at one time of the year.</span></div>
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Here are <span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">four ways you can begin to implement gratitude into your routine.</span></div>
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<span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">Gratitude: </span><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">the quality of being thankful; readiness to show appreciation for and to return kindness.</span></div>
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In Song:</h2>
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Sing Praises to the Lord, thankful for His loving watch care over you. Matt Redmond’s song, “10,000 Reasons” is a great example of this as it encourages the listeners to name God’s faithfulness in praise each and every day of their lives and recall the many reasons to keep recounting His praises forever.</div>
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“You’re rich in love, and You’re slow to anger<br />
Your name is great, and Your heart is kind</div>
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For all Your goodness I will keep on singing</div>
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Ten thousand reasons for my heart to find…”</div>
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<span style="font-size: 3rem; line-height: 1.2;">In Word:</span></div>
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There is a popular book out (actually it has been out for a while now) called <a href="http://onethousandgifts.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><em style="box-sizing: border-box;">One Thousand Gifts</em> by Ann Voskamp</a>, that challenges us to “Live Life Fully Right Where You Are.” In this book, we discover that as we “express gratitude to God for what we have, we find that we already have the life that we have always wanted.” I haven't read this book, but I know it is pretty popular with many. A couple of years ago, I took Ann’s<b> <a href="http://www.aholyexperience.com/joy-dares/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Joy Dare</a></b> and chronicled 3 gifts for each day for one year. Some of those things were VERY EASY to jot down. Some needed more thoughtful reflection, but some came with many tears as it was a season of hard things. Through that exercise though, I found peace, I found a deeper relationship with God as I recounted His faithfulness to me, I found great joy and a stronger faith as those became memorial stones for me.</div>
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In Deed:</h2>
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Do something kind for someone or fill a need just because of what God has done for you. Prepare a meal, send a card, make a phone call, buy a gift, or help with a chore. There are so many ways this could be done…think about what you do well or pay attention for what is needed and then bless another in Jesus’ name and for His sake. Sometimes, just knowing someone cares or is thinking about us helps us in ways we might never really understand. I try to keep stocked up on Freezer Meals, just so I have something prepared if a need arises. <a href="http://amazingracehowsweetthesound.blogspot.com/2014/10/taco-soup.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Taco Soup</a> is one recipe that is easy to get into the freezer and most people have really enjoyed it</div>
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In Prayer:</h2>
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My prayers can get dry, repetitive and all about me. A tool I use from time to time is the acronym <a href="http://prayercentral.net/engage-me/ways-to-pray/pray-with-acts/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">ACTS</a> to help me get my eyes off of myself and focused on worshipping God. You can use this method to pray using Scripture as your starting point or you can just use it as you step through your prayer time. Another method is to use your fingers to step you through your prayer. I have seen a few of these through the years, but I liked <a href="http://www.bobyoungresources.com/articles/prayer-models.htm" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">this one from Bob Young.</a></div>
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<span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">FIVE-FINGER PRAYER</span></div>
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<li style="box-sizing: border-box; list-style-type: disc;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">Thumb:</span> pray for those closest to you</li>
<li style="box-sizing: border-box; list-style-type: disc;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">Pointing finger:</span> pray for those who guide us: teachers, doctors, counselors, mentors</li>
<li style="box-sizing: border-box; list-style-type: disc;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">Middle finger (tallest one):</span> pray for those who lead us: government, civic, and business leaders, police and firefighters</li>
<li style="box-sizing: border-box; list-style-type: disc;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">Ring finger (weakest one):</span> pray for those who are weak: the poor, sick, disabled, infants, homeless, the powerless, the persecuted</li>
<li style="box-sizing: border-box; list-style-type: disc;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">Pinkie (the smallest, the least):</span> Pray for myself</li>
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This year, let us be a people of God, filled with gratitude; and when people ask why we overflow with such joy, we have the opportunity to share with them the wonder of our Glorious God!</div>
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;">Originally Posted at Home and School Mosaics</span><br />
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Carriehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02971623631413388442noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7915732499335116058.post-90447819466188172762016-10-03T15:58:00.000-07:002016-10-03T15:58:00.140-07:00This Beautiful Life<br />
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This Beautiful Life</h1>
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by <span class="entry-author" itemprop="author" itemscope="itemscope" itemtype="http://schema.org/Person" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><a class="entry-author-link" href="http://homeschoolmosaics.com/author/carrie-cannon/" itemprop="url" rel="author" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; text-decoration: none; transition: all 0.1s ease-in-out;">Carrie Cannon</a></span><span class="entry-comments-link" style="box-sizing: border-box;"></span><br />
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One of my dear friends is just so very lovely that I want to be her when I grow up! She makes her home so warm and inviting, is an amazing hostess, she’s creative, plays the harp, and is just plain fun! My dear friend has written a book that is just so amazing that I wanted to tell you about it! It is so lovely to look at and is so useful in helping me keep my priorities in place. Let me just walk you through it.</div>
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The book is called <a href="https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=This+Beautiful+Life+Chloe+Wilcox&rh=i%3Aaps%2Ck%3AThis+Beautiful+Life+Chloe+Wilcox" rel="nofollow" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #e8554e; text-decoration: none; transition: all 0.1s ease-in-out;" target="_blank"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;"><em style="box-sizing: border-box;">This Beautiful Life: A Priorities Journal for the Christian Woman</em></span></a>. It is divided into five main sections: Vision, Nurture, Focus, Growth, and Celebrate. Chloe takes you from the big picture of what you want your life to look like, has you break that into things you want to intentionally work on, and then has you document the growth steps taken each month. I knew this was a FANTASTIC tool for me as I wanted certain things to be areas that I purposed to continually work on throughout the year. It is so easy to set goals and then never revisit them. This tool has me frequently revisiting the things that are important to me. I will give some brief glimpses into this marvelous book and hope that it is something that you might find useful as well.</div>
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So we begin with a prayer of dedication. You might be able to sit down and know exactly what you want to say or you may prayerfully consider it for a few days or even weeks. I got one of these books in February and just got around to writing mine down in early April. While this is a vital step, I felt like I hit the ground running with a bit of a late start so I dug right in to the places that were easier for me and really tried to prayerfully consider what I wanted to say here.</div>
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In the Vision section, there are many sweet tidbits, but the meat and potatoes of it for me is The Big Five page. This is where you list the five priorities that are those areas you want to focus on. Why five you ask? Chloe has an <a href="https://harmonyofgrace.wordpress.com/2015/03/24/many-things/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">amazing post on this here</a><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">. </span>I had already chosen my five areas, but this clarity helped me solidify that these were the right five for me for this year. Who knows…this list could change or it could remain very much the same from year to year. Your list will be as unique as you are, but to give you an idea of what this could look like, my five are Faith, Family, Friends, Field (work, profession, employment related) and Fun (the creative things I often do not make time for or those things that bring joy). Once I had begun, I liked the fact that all of my five began with the same letter. There are two more topics that are on the outskirts here…Fitness and Finances. I am leaving them there, because these are the things that are MOST important to me at this time.</div>
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I am going to skip over the Nurture section (not because it is lacking, but I want you to discover some of the treasures of this book yourself) and move to the Focus section. This is the area to take each one of your five priorities and note your desire, what it looks like at its best, what it looks like right now and some steps you can take to make the reality become the desired outcome. This section is a work in progress for me as I am taking the time to think, pray, and dream about what this would look like for me.</div>
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Growth is next and this is where you can write down the successes you have had in each area each month. This is the part where talk becomes the walk. Some of the things I have written here are the smallest of baby steps, sometimes nothing has been gained, but I am being very focused day by day as I think on these things and stepping closer to what I want these things to look like.</div>
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There are so many more parts to this wonderful little book, but I do want there to be some sweet surprises for you if you choose to get one of these for yourself <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">(by the way, I am not getting any compensation for these comments…I love this book and want to share it because I find it helpful personally)</em>. One thing that makes this book so lovely is that Chloe has done all the sweet artwork and made it so beautiful that you really want to keep working in it. I did not want to write in it in the beginning, but got over that fairly quickly. I often throw this in my purse or in my bag as I am out and just jot down a couple of things as they come to mind. I do have more to get done in this, but I am ok with that too. I just want to add one quick thing – this HAS to be a walk of grace for me, not a legalistic box of do’s and don’t’s. There are enough places for me to see where I fall short. This has to be a safe place where I am stretching for growth, but can back up if it is too much at this time.</div>
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I have really loved this little journal. A beautiful place where I can keep my First Things, FIRST! What would your BIG FIVE be?</div>
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This was originally posted at Home and School Mosaics<br />
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<a href="http://www.mylivesignature.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54488/394/D6BB3FAFEF983434F3EFBF9E2C14D8E5.png" style="background: transparent; border: 0 !important;" /></a>Carriehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02971623631413388442noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7915732499335116058.post-63774238512477599222016-09-12T15:53:00.000-07:002016-09-12T15:53:00.165-07:00Seasons of Busyness<br />
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Seasons of Busyness</h1>
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by <span class="entry-author" itemprop="author" itemscope="itemscope" itemtype="http://schema.org/Person" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><a class="entry-author-link" href="http://homeschoolmosaics.com/author/carrie-cannon/" itemprop="url" rel="author" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; text-decoration: none; transition: all 0.1s ease-in-out;">Carrie Cannon</a></span> </div>
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This past year was the YEAR OF WAY TOO BUSY! I started this school year with three part time jobs and two extra children (not to mention Orchestra, Band & Choir, Speech Club, Co-op, Bible Study and AWANA). I woke up tired and went to bed even more tired. We were getting hardly ANY school work done; and I knew I could not keep up this pace for too long, but wasn’t sure what would have to give. It is so easy to say yes to everything before we have counted the cost. If you find yourself on this same end of crazy, I hope you are looking for ways to get out of some of your commitments or to slow down, but here are some tips to get through it.</div>
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<span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">— Organization is KEY:</span> Developing a plan is essential to keeping your head on your shoulders during a busy season. This will look different for different families, but calendars, meal planning, budgets, cleaning schedules and lesson plans can be included in this category. The more time I spent in this category, the better things went for me. ESPECIALLY with meal planning. If dinner is taken care of, ALL IS WELL! Have you heard about the <span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;"><a href="http://bulletjournal.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Bullet Journal method</a></span>? This is a system that I am just beginning to implement. I am a pen and paper girl trapped in a digital world. I LOVE this system. I’ll let you know how it goes.</div>
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<span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">–Focus is VITAL:</span> Keeping the important things in their proper place is so very important. We get trapped in putting out the fires of the urgent while the important slips by. Why answer the phone in the middle of a conversation with your teenager? That phone ringing is grabbing our attention away from a conversation that could turn into something that could never be recreated. I have a precious friend who has created a beautiful little book to help us keep these first things FIRST…I will talk more about it next month, but it is a sweet little book that I highly recommend. You can find <span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">This Beautiful Life</span> <a href="https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=This+Beautiful+Life+Chloe+Wilcox&rh=i%3Aaps%2Ck%3AThis+Beautiful+Life+Chloe+Wilcox" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">here</a>. This wonderful tool helps me keep focused on those things I want to intentionally keep front and center.</div>
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<span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">–Simplifying Life is ESSENTIAL:</span> This is not the time to make things more difficult than they are. When I was at the busiest in this season, I was making things as easy as possible. Easy meals, easy cleaning schedule, easy lesson plans (If you could really call them that…school consisted of all the extra things. Co-op, Band, Choir, Speech, Home Ec). This was not the time to introduce Latin, sew everyone’s clothing and cook gourmet, multi-course meals. The crock pot was my best friend, with freezer meals a close second.<a href="http://amazingracehowsweetthesound.blogspot.com/2015/01/3-ingredient-swedish-meatballs.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">This</a> was one of my favorite meals in this season.</div>
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<span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">–Teamwork is IMPERATIVE:</span> I cannot stress enough what a blessing my family has been to me in this season of busyness. They have, of course, ALWAYS been a blessing, but when the pressure is applied, you find out the stuff you are all made of. My family really came together and were exceedingly helpful doing chores, meal prep, holding babies, and just really taking care of all the things that needed getting done. One of our favorite methods for getting things accomplished is the <span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;"><a href="http://amazingracehowsweetthesound.blogspot.com/2016/07/just-whistle-while-you-work.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Job Jar</a></span>. Many hands make light work!</div>
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<span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">–Clearing the Calendar is CRUCIAL:</span> I know I cannot keep up this pace forever, and have already taken steps to slow things down a bit. I have quit one job, and the hours on another job have cut back significantly. We are evaluating our out-of-the-house activities to see if there are any that do not make the cut for next year. Some of these decisions may be very difficult to make, but insanity is ugly and I am closer to it than I want to admit. I see the light at the end of the tunnel though as some things are coming to an end. School books have been dusted off and are being cracked open and the lesson plans are singing with completed work being checked off. Now that we have a driver in the house, I am able to have that child run errands and be the taxi a little more, so that I can be home attending to things only I can do. I know that you cannot get rid of everything and you may need to continue in a season of busyness longer than I have done so far, this too, will look different for each family. Prayerfully consider the things that remain on the calendar and see if they align with the goals you have for your family. So many things look good, are beneficial, but do not accomplish what you desire.</div>
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<span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">–Taking Care of You is REQUIRED:</span> Seasons of busyness are sometimes unavoidable. If you find yourself in one, try to make sure you are taking care of yourself. Get plenty of sleep, eat as healthy as possible, try to exercise at least a little, do something to pour into yourself. Living off energy drinks and four hours of sleep a night will not be a sustainable lifestyle for very long. You need true energy and stamina to get through this season.</div>
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Hopefully, all these tips will help you get through your season of busyness too!<br />
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(*This was written ALMOST 2 years ago and it is not at all lost on me that I could say the very same thing past school year as this year that I was writing about! I am planning on taking my own advice this year! Keep me to it, OK?)</div>
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Originally Posted at Home and School Mosaics<br />
<a href="http://www.mylivesignature.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54488/394/D6BB3FAFEF983434F3EFBF9E2C14D8E5.png" style="background: transparent; border: 0 !important;" /></a>Carriehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02971623631413388442noreply@blogger.com0