Amazing Grace, How Sweet the Sound

Sufficiency of Scripture

2012-01-29T06:32:00.000-08:00

In Iconium they entered the synagogue of the Jews together, and spoke in such a manner that a large number of people believed, both of Jews and of Greeks. But the Jews who disbelieved stirred up the minds of the Gentiles and embittered them against the brethren. Therefore they spent a long time there speaking boldly with reliance upon the Lord, who was testifying to the word of His grace, granting that signs and wonders be done by their hands. But the people of the city were divided; and some sided with the Jews, and some with the apostles. And when an attempt was made by both the Gentiles and the Jews with their rulers, to mistreat and to stone them, they became aware of it and fled to the cities of Lycaonia, Lystra and Derbe, and the surrounding region; and there they continued to preach the gospel.
At Lystra a man was sitting who had no strength in his feet, lame from his mother’s womb, who had never walked. This man was listening to Paul as he spoke, who, when he had fixed his gaze on him and had seen that he had faith to be made well, said with a loud voice, “Stand upright on your feet.” And he leaped up and began to walk. When the crowds saw what Paul had done, they raised their voice, saying in the Lycaonian language, “The gods have become like men and have come down to us.” And they began calling Barnabas, Zeus, and Paul, Hermes, because he was the chief speaker. The priest of Zeus, whose temple was just outside the city, brought oxen and garlands to the gates, and wanted to offer sacrifice with the crowds. But when the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard of it, they tore their robes and rushed out into the crowd, crying out and saying, “Men, why are you doing these things? We are also men of the same nature as you, and preach the gospel to you that you should turn from these vain things to a living God, WHO MADE THE HEAVEN AND THE EARTH AND THE SEA AND ALL THAT IS IN THEM. In the generations gone by He permitted all the nations to go their own ways; and yet He did not leave Himself without witness, in that He did good and gave you rains from heaven and fruitful seasons, satisfying your hearts with food and gladness.” Even saying these things, with difficulty they restrained the crowds from offering sacrifice to them.

But Jews came from Antioch and Iconium, and having won over the crowds, they stoned Paul and dragged him out of the city, supposing him to be dead. But while the disciples stood around him, he got up and entered the city. The next day he went away with Barnabas to Derbe. After they had preached the gospel to that city and had made many disciples, they returned to Lystra and to Iconium and to Antioch, strengthening the souls of the disciples, encouraging them to continue in the faith, and saying, “Through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God.” When they had appointed elders for them in every church, having prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord in whom they had believed.

They passed through Pisidia and came into Pamphylia. When they had spoken the word in Perga, they went down to Attalia. From there they sailed to Antioch, from which they had been commended to the grace of God for the work that they had accomplished. When they had arrived and gathered the church together, they began to report all things that God had done with them and how He had opened a door of faith to the Gentiles. And they spent a long time with the disciples.

Acts 14

Pinterest Inspiration

2012-01-28T16:41:00.000-08:00

Once again, my fridge is getting a face lift thanks to Pinterest....

So here is the original....

and here is our version...

I think this is a GREAT VALENTINE MESSAGE...thank you Pinterest...

Blessings,
C~

Hmm...

2012-01-28T16:37:00.000-08:00

You know those puzzles where you look at two pictures and you try to figure out what is different between the two...
Well, I have one for you...

This is Ruthie...one of the American dolls Grace has...

Can anyone tell me what is wrong....

yes, Ruthie got a VERY UNEXPECTED hair cut...after many tears...and some correction for the person who will remain nameless....we have a new story in our life...Now, our Ruthie will have to go to the doll hospital and have surgery...how very sad...

Sufficiency of Scripture

2012-01-22T07:23:00.000-08:00

Now Paul and his companions put out to sea from Paphos and came to Perga in Pamphylia; but John left them and returned to Jerusalem. But going on from Perga, they arrived at Pisidian Antioch, and on the Sabbath day they went into the synagogue and sat down. After the reading of the Law and the Prophets the synagogue officials sent to them, saying, “Brethren, if you have any word of exhortation for the people, say it.” Paul stood up, and motioning with his hand said,

“Men of Israel, and you who fear God, listen: The God of this people Israel chose our fathers and made the people great during their stay in the land of Egypt, and with an uplifted arm He led them out from it. For a period of about forty years He put up with them in the wilderness. When He had destroyed seven nations in the land of Canaan, He distributed their land as an inheritance—all of which took about four hundred and fifty years. After these things He gave them judges until Samuel the prophet. Then they asked for a king, and God gave them Saul the son of Kish, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, for forty years. After He had removed him, He raised up David to be their king, concerning whom He also testified and said, ‘I HAVE FOUND DAVID the son of Jesse, A MAN AFTER MY HEART, who will do all My will.’ From the descendants of this man, according to promise, God has brought to Israel a Savior, Jesus, after John had proclaimed before His coming a baptism of repentance to all the people of Israel. And while John was completing his course, he kept saying, ‘What do you suppose that I am? I am not He. But behold, one is coming after me the sandals of whose feet I am not worthy to untie.’

“Brethren, sons of Abraham’s family, and those among you who fear God, to us the message of this salvation has been sent. For those who live in Jerusalem, and their rulers, recognizing neither Him nor the utterances of the prophets which are read every Sabbath, fulfilled these by condemning Him. And though they found no ground for putting Him to death, they asked Pilate that He be executed. When they had carried out all that was written concerning Him, they took Him down from the cross and laid Him in a tomb. But God raised Him from the dead; and for many days He appeared to those who came up with Him from Galilee to Jerusalem, the very ones who are now His witnesses to the people. And we preach to you the good news of the promise made to the fathers, that God has fulfilled this promise to our children in that He raised up Jesus, as it is also written in the second Psalm, ‘YOU ARE MY SON; TODAY I HAVE BEGOTTEN YOU.’ As for the fact that He raised Him up from the dead, no longer to return to decay, He has spoken in this way: ‘I WILL GIVE YOU THE HOLY and SURE blessings OF DAVID.’ Therefore He also says in another Psalm, ‘YOU WILL NOT ALLOW YOUR HOLY ONE TO UNDERGO DECAY.’ For David, after he had served the purpose of God in his own generation, fell asleep, and was laid among his fathers and underwent decay; but He whom God raised did not undergo decay. Therefore let it be known to you, brethren, that through Him forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you, and through Him everyone who believes is freed from all things, from which you could not be freed through the Law of Moses. Therefore take heed, so that the thing spoken of in the Prophets may not come upon you:

‘BEHOLD, YOU SCOFFERS, AND MARVEL, AND PERISH;
FOR I AM ACCOMPLISHING A WORK IN YOUR DAYS,
A WORK WHICH YOU WILL NEVER BELIEVE, THOUGH SOMEONE SHOULD DESCRIBE IT TO YOU.’”

As Paul and Barnabas were going out, the people kept begging that these things might be spoken to them the next Sabbath. Now when the meeting of the synagogue had broken up, many of the Jews and of the God-fearing proselytes followed Paul and Barnabas, who, speaking to them, were urging them to continue in the grace of God.

The next Sabbath nearly the whole city assembled to hear the word of the Lord. But when the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy and began contradicting the things spoken by Paul, and were blaspheming. Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly and said, “It was necessary that the word of God be spoken to you first; since you repudiate it and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, behold, we are turning to the Gentiles. For so the Lord has commanded us,
‘I HAVE PLACED YOU AS A LIGHT FOR THE GENTILES,
THAT YOU MAY BRING SALVATION TO THE END OF THE EARTH.’”

When the Gentiles heard this, they began rejoicing and glorifying the word of the Lord; and as many as had been appointed to eternal life believed. And the word of the Lord was being spread through the whole region. But the Jews incited the devout women of prominence and the leading men of the city, and instigated a persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and drove them out of their district. But they shook off the dust of their feet in protest against them and went to Iconium. And the disciples were continually filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.

Acts 13:13-52

We Choose Virtues

2012-01-17T08:02:00.000-08:00

We Choose Virtues
Price varies
ages:3-18

We Choose Virtues was created by Heather McMillan out of her love for children and her desire to see them reach their personal potential. As a preschool teacher and a children’s pastor, it concerned her how often she came across children whose lack of self control, honesty and perseverance was almost debilitating. How could they succeed in life without the skills that come from good character?

We Choose Virtues is not unit study that you use once and then move on from. It is actually a character development tool that you use every day, every year. You introduce the Virtues, then demonstrate them, memorize the catchphrases, then learn the antonyms, then capture teachable moments when they are being used…or aren’t. You will be amazed how fast you will all learn to obey (not just learn what obedience is, but actually learn to obey!)…and 11 other Virtues too! There are 13 Parenting Cards, one card is the Butterfly and Caterpillar Card. It teaches that everyone was born able to change.

We received the Virtue Clues card set which was a set of business card sized Virtues cards. The set includes one of each of the virtues, plus a card showing how the cards can be used. The cards are brightly colored with adorable characters to help the child remember the character trait being taught. The trait is stated in the affirmative...I am Attentive..and then it is described in the catchphrase: I watch and listen carefully... as well as in the antonym: I am NOT forgetful, distracted or distracting, and I don't ignore or interrupt! The back of the card gives something to work on throughout the day...Choose to go the whole day without someone needing to remind you "Listen!" or "Don't Forget!" Airplane Betty Jane knows you can do it! These cards are normally $7.95, but are on sale right now for $5.99

We also received the Teacher's Handbook which gives steps for teaching virtues and is available as a download for $4.99. I thought that this handbook was most likely more useful for a teacher in a classroom setting rather than for a momma in a home setting, but it had helpful information in it for me too. One thing I LOVED in the handbook was the three "classroom" rules...really I think they should be called LIFE rules...but they are:
Obey
Be Kind
Be a Helper

Then watch how the character traits fall into line with these three rules...
Obey:
I am obedient
I am attentive
I am self controlled
I am honest

Be Kind:
I am kind
I am forgiving
I am patient
I am gentle

Be a Helper
I am helpful
I am perseverant
I am diligent
I am content

In the handbook it says: "The Three Rules cover three vital civil responsibilities...Just think about it! At the age of 16 we hand a driver's license over to a person who must know how to obey every law, be patient on the road, be attentive to other drivers, be honest about his or her mistakes, and use self-control at all times...all while they are under pressure from their friends (and themselves!) to do the opposite. Are we preparing children for this level of citizenship? The Three Rules cover those issues at a core level. OBEY (Honor authority), BE KIND (Respect others), and BE A HELPER (Be responsible)."

The next item we received was a Coloring book. It has coloring pages of each of the Virtue Characters. Each of these characters has a catchy name which gives a CLUE to the Character trait they represent...Cake Jake..Content, Hockey Stick Nick...Honest, Stop Sign Madeline..Self- Controlled, and so on... The characters are cute and memorable. I printed the coloring book off for my younger two, ages 5 and 9...they really enjoyed it. The Principessa tried to use the colors from the Clue Cards, DD colored the WHOLE page...(HIS emphasis...I guess he was being attentive and diligent!) The coloring book is available as a download for $3.00

We also received two items that are available as a free download on the website:

The Family Character Assessment which helps each of us become/stay accountable to each other...

AND...the Kids Memory Verses, Bible Heroes and Truths, which is a list of Memory verses and Bible Heroes, one for each trait. We studied each trait for a week, reading the passage of Scripture listed a couple of times throughout the week and working on the memory verse each day. Since there is not alot of direction in how to TEACH the virtues on the Clue Cards (That comes on the backs of both the teacher and parent cards.), this sheet was a great bonus for me personally in structuring our time in using these cards.

One other thing I want to share that I loved about We Choose Virtues are the icons that remind us that we are doing a GOOD JOB (butterfly)...or that we can do better (caterpillar). The road to having good character is a process. It will not happen overnight...AND I am sure that there will be many successes and failures (speaking from personal experience!) These icons are a cute reminder that it IS a process without a lot of condemnation, lectures or finger pointing. From start to finish, it is very apparent that quite a bit of thought went into EACH ASPECT of the We Choose Virtues Product line. While I have talked about a few of the products they carry, there is SO MUCH MORE to choose from. Something I want to be sure to point out for those who are teaching or have children in schools is that there is a Community based set of cards that has been used in schools with a great deal of success. It might be something you would want to look into for your school.

While these say they can be used with children aged 3-18 (yes, they can!), you may want to look into the Youth based set if you have some in the 12-18 age range.

Confused on what would be best for your family? This chart may help...it does not have the youth items on it though.

And, because everyone LOVES a sale:you can only use ONE CODE...
VIRTUE15 for 15 % off your total purchase
FAMILY for $3 off the Kids Virtue Poster
SHIPFREE for free worldwide shipping
ALSO
The Kids of VirtueVille Coloring Book is FREE with ANY kit…
and JUST for JANUARY
YOU get the 100 Days of Virtue Chart FREE in your Homeschool Kit purchase!

Finally, after having interacted with Heather via email about an issue I had (MY FAULT), that she handled in such a generous and gracious manner, I would say that this is a company that practices what they preach and I believe that you can buy their products with confidence. Just in case you couldn't tell, I really LOVED the items I was given and hope to be able to buy the parent set of cards soon!

See what my fellow crew mates had to say about We Choose Virtues here

Disclaimer: I received this item for the purpose of writing a fair and honest review. I received no other compensation. All the opinions expressed are my own.

A sneak peek...

2012-01-16T15:53:00.000-08:00

Just a little taste of what I did for you Mrs. Serah...I hope you like what you see SO FAR...

My latest "fridge" project

2012-01-16T13:01:00.000-08:00

I shared with you all my last project...Frosty the Fridge-man which was SO fun and a GREAT way to keep the FRIDGE CLEAN....well, I have a NEW inspiration for my fridge...which comes AGAIN from Pinterest....

I am having a hard time finding the original source, but if/when I can, I will post it here...I LOVE it...Going to see if I can get it done today...
What do you think?

Blessings,
C~

Sufficiency of Scripture

2012-01-15T07:21:00.000-08:00

Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Hebrews 12:1-2

Sufficiency of Scripture

2012-01-08T07:09:00.000-08:00

Give ear to my words, O LORD,
Consider my groaning.
Heed the sound of my cry for help, my King and my God,
For to You I pray.
In the morning, O LORD, You will hear my voice;
In the morning I will order my prayer to You and eagerly watch.

For You are not a God who takes pleasure in wickedness;
No evil dwells with You.
The boastful shall not stand before Your eyes;
You hate all who do iniquity.
You destroy those who speak falsehood;
The LORD abhors the man of bloodshed and deceit.
But as for me, by Your abundant lovingkindness I will enter Your house,
At Your holy temple I will bow in reverence for You.

O LORD, lead me in Your righteousness because of my foes;
Make Your way straight before me.
There is nothing reliable in what they say;
Their inward part is destruction itself.
Their throat is an open grave;
They flatter with their tongue.
Hold them guilty, O God;
By their own devices let them fall!
In the multitude of their transgressions thrust them out,
For they are rebellious against You.

But let all who take refuge in You be glad,
Let them ever sing for joy;
And may You shelter them,
That those who love Your name may exult in You.
For it is You who blesses the righteous man, O LORD,
You surround him with favor as with a shield.
Psalm 5

Maestro Classics- Swan Lake

2012-01-06T09:08:00.000-08:00

Maestro Classics- Swan Lake

$16.98 or $9.98 to download an MP3

The Story of Swan Lake, Tchaikovsky’s greatest ballet score, is the tale of a prince who falls in love with a beautiful princess. The princess, however, has been turned into a swan by an evil magician, and only the prince’s love can break the spell. This narrated version of the classic tale for children is sure to delight all who love ballet and enchanting storytelling.
A 24-page activity book included with the CD contains a biography of Tchaikovsky, information on acoustic and electric guitars, sheet music and words for a sing-along song, explanation of major and minor keys, puzzles and more.

The Story of Swan Lake CD has 7 tracks which I will detail below...

The First Track plays portions of Tchaikovsky's Ballet Score with narrations of the story throughout. The shortened version is appropriate for younger listeners to help give them an appreciation and a familiarity with the ballet. When they are introduced to the full length version at some point in their life, they will then recognize the "signposts along the way, because they met them all before." In about 33 minutes, you will hear the greatest music from Swan Lake. I was not previously familiar with Swan Lake, and cannot really comment on that part, but from having gone to the Nutcracker before without really knowing anything about the story, I can really appreciate the concept behind this product. I look forward to getting some of the other CDs and I really hope they have plans to create new products and I look forward to getting an opportunity to see Swan Lake now.

The second track is a biography about Tchaikovsky's life. It begins with some very familiar pieces of his work...and then goes into his story.

The third track is the Swan Lake Speed Metal Version played by Joe Stump...this was at least ONE of my children's FAVORITE versions!

Track four tells a little more about the music. The Conductor explains some of the music that was just heard. I really LOVED this part of the CD. It gives us all something to listen for. It is only about 6 minutes long, but very valuable in my opinion.

Now, track 5 is probably THE MOST MEMORABLE part of the ballet... "Tchai-kov-sky wrote a great bal-let, its name was Swa-ha-ha-han Lake. I can tell you...every time I hear this piece of music, I WILL remember that this is Tchaikovsky and from Swan Lake. I may never know the names of the pieces of music, but I will know where they belong.

Track six & seven are the Prepare to Perform and Sing Along tracks. This gives YOU the opportunity to sing the memorable song.

There is also a 24 page booklet with some information and activities. You can also find more ways to enrich the CD online with the Curriculum Guide. Scroll down to find Swan Lake...then you can build on the CD in any direction you choose...with academics, music or home projects. There is quite a bit of information on the website as well. A valuable resource to come alongside parents to give their children a love and appreciation for music.
We really enjoyed listening to Maestro Classics The Story of Swan Lake...I hope your family enjoys it as well.

See what my fellow Crew Mates had to say about Maestro Classics Swan Lake here

Disclaimer: I received this item for the purpose of writing a fair and honest review. I received no other compensation. All the opinions expressed are my own.

Z-Guides to the Movies

2012-01-05T21:59:00.000-08:00

Z-Guide to the Movies- The Adventures of Bullwhip Griffin
Zeezok Publishing
$12.99

So, first, I will give some basics from the Zeezok website so you know what a Z-Guide is...then I will share about our particular experiences with the one we received.

What is a Z-Guide?
If your student enjoys watching movies, we just made it easy for you to incorporate them into your curriculum. We have dozens of guides— each of them falling within a specific time in history. All of the guides contain ten educational activities that build upon the movie. The guides are movie specific. We tell you exactly which movie we used, and almost all are available through Netflix. Most you can probably get through your local library. So you don’t even need to buy the movie to use our guides!

Each guide starts out with a topic overview. This overview provides the student with more information regarding the specific time period in which the movie is based. Next is a movie synopsis. The synopsis will assist the student in understanding what is going on in the movie and how relationships, situations, and events all relate together.

The first activity is always review questions. We recommend the student answer these as they watch the movie. We want to be sure they are paying attention and being an active learner versus a passive viewer.

The next several activities all build around the historical time of the movie. The questions in these activities may be more about the people or events that happened in the movie. These questions cannot be answered from watching the movie. (We all know you don’t get accurate facts from a Hollywood movie.) The student will learn research skills because he will need to use either the library or the internet to properly answer these questions. Some of the activities involve writing an essay. For example, in the Scarlet Pimpernel the student is asked to write a one page essay condemning or condoning the actions of the Scarlet Pimpernel. So the student is learning research and writing skills during the process.

Each guide also contains at least one hands-on activity, a worldview activity, and The Filmmaker’s Art activity. The hands-on activities for the active learner vary depending on the guide and include activities such as creating a treasure hunt, completing an art project, or planning and making a meal for the family.

The worldview activity helps the child to understand the movie’s worldview. This activity is not to impress on the student our personal worldview, but to get the student to think critically through what he believes and what is being presented in the movie. Family discussion questions also develop this critical thinking from the worldview promoted within your family.

The Filmmaker’s Art activity helps the student recognize the tools being used to influence the viewer. The various guides discuss how filming techniques, music, lighting, humor, character development, irony, foreshadowing, and even character names are used by the director and producer to influence the viewer to get their agenda across. We want the student to be able to discern not only the agenda of the movie, but also how they are being influenced by it. The goal is that when the student goes to the theatre and watches Harry Potter or Avatar or Happy Feet, he walks out not thinking it was an entertaining movie, but understanding the bigger message behind each film.

So we chose to receive the Z-Guide for The Adventures of Bullwhip Griffin. We came across this movie a couple of months ago from our local library...it is an OLDER Disney movie of a boy who tries to save his family from financial ruin and the proper butler who follows to bring him back home. A series of unbelievable adventures awaits them throughout the film which is set in 1849 and the California Gold Rush. We enjoyed the corny comedy of this movie and thought it would be a fun one to review.

The topics covered by this Z-Guide are the California Gold Rush, Integrity and Honesty, Gold Hunting Techniques, and Slapstick Comedy. Sounds like fun, doesn't it?

Here is what we did...
First, we watched the movie a couple of times to be sure we were very familiar with the film. Then we sat down and worked through the review questions together while watching the film. The Z-Guide recommends reading the topic overview, movie synopsis and review questions before watching the movie and then answering the questions while watching the film for the first time. We did this over Christmas break, and I did not read through the guide prior to watching the film or I would have done it the way they suggest. These questions were fairly easy for the children to answer. They were all straight from the film.

The Z-Guide also gives a suggested schedule for working through the guide, doing two activities a day. I thought that was very reasonable to add to our daily schoolwork. After we finished the questions, I had my children make the Edible Golden Treasures...and let me tell you...THIS was the HIT of the entire session.

The next day, we went through the Topic Overview together and did some research on the California Gold Rush. While we are all working through this, the focus for this review will be my 4th and 8th graders. They worked on a project of their choice about the Gold Rush and their projects are still in process...I will post pictures as soon as I can.

We skipped over Activity two and will get back to it, but went on to do the Vocabulary. My 8th grader had NO trouble completing this, but my 4th grader had a little more trouble...She had trouble with words like scratch line, grubstake and fisticuffs...

The next activity was the one to decide which route we would have taken to California. We mapped out the three route options and researched the pros/cons of each one.

Panning for gold practice was also deemed pretty fun in our home. We found out that we can pan for gold in a town pretty close to us and I can tell you...we will be doing that! We need to wait until warmer weather though...brrr...One interesting tidbit that we learned was that Gold is a very soft metal and so miners would bite on a nugget (EVER WONDER WHY THEY DID THAT???) and if their teeth didn't break (OUCH) and the nugget showed their teeth marks, they were pretty sure they had the real deal.

Four coloring pages made for good busy work while we listened to Gold Rush songs. We found a fun CD called Hard Times in the Promised Land . We are hard pressed to choose only one favorite, but among the top ones were Promised Land, Wayfaring Stranger, Few Days and Hard Times.

We will be coming back to finish up the guide...we still have a few activities to do.

We loved that there were a variety of Z-Guides to cover a wide range of historical periods from Ancient Egypt to the Cold War. A movie is ALWAYS a breath of fresh air from our regular bookwork.

The Z-Guide we received was 34 pages long, which included the answers. I LOVE that it is enough work to "justify" watching a movie for school work, but also fun and often easy so it is not distasteful.

I really enjoy that the Z-Guide delves deeper into the subject than the movie, so you get a better grasp of the history of the period involved. We learned quite a bit about the California Gold Rush and the long term impact the one year "event" had on our nation.

I REALLY LOVED the movie Synopsis part of the Z-Guide...I am not always able to sit down and watch a movie when it is good for the children. That is EXTREMELY HELPFUL!

I also LOVED that it was SHORT...it could be done within one week and was not a HUGE unit study that would disrupt regular school plans. I thought it fit in well as an add-in. I find this valuable, because I often get a "brilliant" idea to study something that someone finds interesting. Those who want to delve deeper can easily make it a HUGE unit study by adding in books/projects related to the topic.

If you would like to look a little closer at a Z-Guide, there is a Sample for you to "thumb" through. Try it and see what you think.

See what my fellow Crew Mates had to say about Zeezok's Z-Guide to the Movies here

Disclaimer: I received this item for the purpose of writing a fair and honest review. I received no other compensation. All the opinions expressed are my own.

Happy New Year!

2011-12-31T23:59:00.000-08:00

Wishing you and yours a Happy New Year!

And, yes, I know...my Sunday post posted on Saturday...and I would love for you to believe that I just wanted to give you a special treat today...but it is really because I am a dork...and got my days confused! So, enjoy!

Blessings!
C~
p.s. Image Courtesy of Two Crazy Crafters...a wonderful source of all things crafty and vintage and a very sweet place to visit and look around!

Sufficiency of Scripture

2011-12-31T07:00:00.000-08:00

Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful; and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near.

Hebrews 10:23-25

Scrapbooking goal

2011-12-27T11:08:00.000-08:00

So, like many scrapbookers, I have piles of pictures around here that need to be dealt with...but then there is life that needs to be dealt with too...like dishes, and loving babies (well not babies) and laundry, and loving babies, and meals, and loving babies, and....well, I think you get the idea...
And...as every scrapbooker can relate...what is the best way to get it all done...and I am not sure any of us can get it ALL done...but how can we make progress with the pictures while not neglecting our daily spiritual and physical duties...so I am going to try to work on this this year...I mean...two of my children have ZERO in their books...
This year, I will work on a monthly challenge of pages to get done...I haven't worked on pages for a while, so I am not sure what I should set as my goal...I think I will have a scrap day and see how many pages I get done...then set a goal from that...OR maybe my goal should be to set aside one day a month to work on scrapping...

What scrap goal do you have for yourselves?

Blessings,
C~

Sufficiency of Scripture

2011-12-25T07:02:00.000-08:00

Now in those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus, that a census be taken of all the inhabited earth. This was the first census taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria. And everyone was on his way to register for the census, each to his own city. Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the city of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family of David, in order to register along with Mary, who was engaged to him, and was with child. While they were there, the days were completed for her to give birth. And she gave birth to her firstborn son; and she wrapped Him in cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.
In the same region there were some shepherds staying out in the fields and keeping watch over their flock by night.And an angel of the Lord suddenly stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them; and they were terribly frightened. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people; for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” And suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,

“Glory to God in the highest,
And on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased.”

When the angels had gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds began saying to one another, “Let us go straight to Bethlehem then, and see this thing that has happened which the Lord has made known to us.” So they came in a hurry and found their way to Mary and Joseph, and the baby as He lay in the manger. When they had seen this, they made known the statement which had been told them about this Child. And all who heard it wondered at the things which were told them by the shepherds. But Mary treasured all these things, pondering them in her heart. The shepherds went back, glorifying and praising God for all that they had heard and seen, just as had been told them.

Luke 2:1-20

Merry Christmas

2011-12-24T23:58:00.000-08:00

Wishing you and yours a blessed holy night!

A silent night...

A time of peace and joy as we celebrate the Savior's birth....

Blessings,
C~

The World's Greatest Stories

2011-12-19T12:45:00.000-08:00

The World's Greatest Stories
George W. Sarris
Cd or Cassette Tape Format
NIV or KJV
$7.95 each

Ok...I am going to state RIGHT up front...I LOVE THIS PRODUCT. We received The World's Greatest Stories Volume 1, The Prophets to review and the MOMENT I put this CD in, I was HOOKED...
There are SO MANY things I LOVE about this...which I will go into in a moment.

First, The World's Greatest Stories CDs (or tapes) are actual, word for word dramatizations of Scripture...there are no paraphrases, so subtle changes of things to make it more "palatable" or understandable for children...it IS God's Word! And...you can have your choice of KJV, which many love for the way the words flow...or because it was what they grew up with, OR NIV...which is what I received.

Then, Mr. Sarris actually MEMORIZES the portion of Scripture that he is dramatizing...his website says it better than I can, so: "That is what gives the stories such power. Mr. Sarris is not just reading the text. He has carefully thought through and meditated on the subtle nuances of the stories to understand them and make them come alive." Let me tell you...these really do seem to come alive...many different voices and background effects combine for a truly wonderful effect...Mr. Sarris is a joy to listen to...his voice flows in such a nice way...even when switching from the different people he is dramatizing...I did not notice anything but smooth transitions...for me, that was beautiful. Then, there are the actual voices he brings to the characters...the drunkeness of Belshazzar, or the RAGE of Nebuchadnezzar, the prophets of Baal calling for Baal to hear, or the fear in Jonah...you can actually feel and hear the Word. It is amazing!

There are 6 volumes available right now:
1- Prophets
2. The Life of Christ
3. Beginnings
4. Joshua and Esther
5. Joseph and His Brothers
6. Defeating Giants
There is also another item on the website: The Real Story of Easter

One thing I might suggest when listening to these CDs...it might be a good idea to listen to one account from the CD, say The Blazing Furnace, and then turn off the CD for a little bit. That would give everyone the chance to think about what they had just listened to...I found that if I just played it straight through too much, everyone just tuned out.

The World's Greatest Stories proves, in my opinion, that we do not need to water down the Word in order for children to enjoy listening to the Greatest Stories ever! Check it out for yourselves and see what you think (these are AUDIO CDs, but I found this video of Jonah on YouTube)

See what my fellow Crew Mates had to say about The World's Greatest Stories here

Disclaimer: I received this item for the purpose of writing a fair and honest review. I received no other compensation. All the opinions expressed are my own.

Vintage Remedies for Guys

2011-12-18T09:01:00.000-08:00

Vintage Remedies for Guys
Jessie Hawkins
$45
for guys 7-13

From the Vintage Remedies Website:

Vintage Remedies for Guys teaches healthy and natural living to boys ages 7-13. Our new workbook is packed with over 200 pages covering every aspect of natural living including wellness, nutrition, herbal medicine, immunity, natural living and hygiene, and the conservative use of valuable natural resources. Young guys will learn how to identify unhealthy foods, how to create a healthy real foods get together (and practice with some friends), how to select and even make natural skin care, how to make cheese, how to grow culinary and medicinal herbs, how to create basic herbal preparations, and much, much more!

The most wonderful time of year is also the most BUSY time of year...we were given Vintage Remedies for Guys to review, but I must say right up front, the busyness of the season and the special ingredients needed to complete the projects in this book have meant that we have not been able to do many of the projects in the book yet...but let me tell you...I LOVE this book!

From the Vintage Remedies website:
Our wellness philosophy is that the body was designed to benefit from fresh, real, whole foods and when provided with clean air, pure water and nutrient dense foods, the body is capable of achieving wellness. We believe that valuable resources were placed here for our physical benefit and are always excited at the discoveries and the complexity of natural plant matter. By understanding these principles, these resources can be used wisely to encourage the body to attain and maintain health. We don’t approach health with a disease + treatment model, rather the whole mind, body and spirit integrative approach of whole health or holistic health. It is a system focused on wellness, not medicine. Our materials reflect this philosophy and teach health from that viewpoint.

Vintage Remedies talks about trying to conserve and recycle, etc, but I appreciate that the focus is more on healthier living rather than on "being Green" because everyone else is. We have always believed that you should use as few chemicals as possible, be careful with the use of medicines and try to eat foods that are nutrient dense and we have had varying degrees of success in this as life goes on, but our focus is because it is better for the health of our bodies, not because it is "cool" right now to do so.

So, about the Vintage Remedies for Guys Workbook...broken down into three sections (Food, Nutrition and Culinary Skills, Health and Body, and Natural Living), we focused on sections two and three.
In section two, the topics are Healthy Living Through Hygiene, Immunity and Prevention, Coughs and Colds, Summertime Fun, and Backyard Medicine. We skipped the last two sections and really focused on Hygiene and Coughs and Colds. Each chapter will talk about the subject, hygiene for instance focused on taking care of your face, the smelly parts of the body and then the rest of your body. Jessie talked about products that are popular for guys this age (without naming other brands) and shared some of the dangers of using those products. Having a guy at the upper range of the age range, I kept wishing there were more details, but had to keep reminding myself that 7 year olds were using this curriculum as well. Each chapter ends with a Parent/Leader Guide which includes a supply list of items needed to complete the project. I love having a brief synopsis of the chapter with the list, but I wish it was in the beginning of the chapter or even in the beginning of the book. One project we will be trying soon are the Herbal Candies from the Cough and Cold chapter. These feature Slippery Elm Bark and are supposed to be good for sore throats, which is very needed this time of year. I have not had the chance to locate Slippery Elm Bark powder yet, so that is a project to come back to.

The Section on Natural Living has some great tips as well that many people are already doing...use cloth napkins and dishrags, use glass dishes instead of paper, serve juice in a glass instead of juice boxes at a party, plan meals to discourage from quick runs to fast food, natural cleaning supplies, etc. Many of these ideas were not "new" to our family, but having my son read them from someone other than MOM helps to give support to those things we already do...I'm not sure why, but it seems that we often receive some information best from those we are not related to...

In January when we are back up and running full steam again, we will come back to this and complete more projects...I am sure the food related ones will be a HIT with my guy...he is wonderful in the kitchen! I think, for our family, I will look into some of the other courses offered by Vintage Remedies...I can't decide between the Natural Wellness and Family Herbalist courses...but I think we are ready to dig a little deeper and my oldest...techy guy is doing some of his own digging to find some information on helping his arthritis through nutrition. I will also be looking more thoroughly through The Kitchen Herbal which was sent to me as a gift for reviewing Vintage Remedies for Guys. There is also Vintage Remedies for Kids, Vintage Remedies for Girls, Vintage Remedies for Tweens and Vintage Remedies Guide to Bread (this is on my wish list too!). I think you are really going to enjoy these books!

See what my fellow Crew Mates had to say about Vintage Remedies here

Disclaimer: I received this item for the purpose of writing a fair and honest review. I received no other compensation. All the opinions expressed are my own.

Sufficiency of Scripture

2011-12-18T07:00:00.000-08:00

But from there you will seek the LORD your God, and you will find Him if you search for Him with all your heart and all your soul. When you are in distress and all these things have come upon you, in the latter days you will return to the LORD your God and listen to His voice. For the LORD your God is a compassionate God; He will not fail you nor destroy you nor forget the covenant with your fathers which He swore to them.

Deuteronomy 4:29-31

A very appropriate word...

2011-12-17T15:08:00.000-08:00

One of my dear friends had this posted on her blog and the perspective it illustrates was SO wonderful, I thought I would post it too!
Enjoy!

Blessings!

Fractazmic

2011-12-15T15:15:00.000-08:00

Fractazmic
I See Cards
$6.95
Recommended for 2-4 players from grades 1-8

Fractazmic Decks Include:
60 Math Learning Cards
Each card clearly numbered
Each card clearly labeled with the fraction and reinforcing graphic.

What makes Fractazmic Decks Special:
Quickly learn to convert and add fractions.
Reinforces relationship between fractions and measurements.
Shows real world use of fractions.

Fractazmic gives EVERYONE lots of practice adding and converting fractions in a way that is fun. The cards can be used in different ways for different knowledge or skill levels. I called two of my older boys in to play the game with me and we tried both the Trap game and the Rummy versions with the cards. The deck is broken up into three different suits:
GREEN is the TENTHS suit
BLUE is the TWELFTHS suit
RED (looks kinda brownish orange to me) is the SIXTEENTHS suit

Within the MAIN SUIT, you also have equivalent fractions too...so in the TWELFTHS suit you will see these fractions: 1/12, 1/6, 1/4, 1/3, 5/12, and 1/2...The point of the two games we played was to make 0ne whole...so 10/10, 12/12 or 16/16...or if you could use the smaller fractions you could make 5/5, etc.
So, to play Trap, you hold your cards in your hand and are discarding to try to come up with a whole OR force the player next to you to go over one whole...you can watch how to play the Fractazmic version of TRAP

Trap plays very quickly and is very good for younger players or in shorter time periods.

In the RUMMY version, you are collecting a run that equals one whole...

This took quite a bit of thinking and converting of fractions and was my personal favorite way to play the game.
What we LOVED about Fractazmic:

I love that this gives children a lot of practice with adding and converting fractions. I REALLY LOVED the pictures on the cards, which if doing the math in the head was a challenge, you could count on the cards and get the answer as well. The games were fun...we found the Rummy version took a little more time to play out a round than the TRAP version and found that we preferred the Rummy version as well. I think that these cards will be excellent for teaching about adding and converting fractions and provide an EXCELLENT visual tool/practice in equivalent fractions. I LOVED that this was practice in adding REAL fractions that you would use in life as opposed to adding totally random fractions in pointless practice...
There is a FABULOUS booklet you can download called Dr. Ron's Succeeding in Mathematics with Games

If your child is struggling with adding fractions, just learning about fractions or completely understands equivalent fractions, Fractazmic is a game you can feel good about playing together. Want to try to get a FREE deck, you can play an online speed game here

See what my fellow Crew Mates had to say about Fractazmic here

Disclaimer: I received this item for the purpose of writing a fair and honest review. I received no other compensation. All the opinions expressed are my own.

Sufficiency of Scripture

2011-12-11T07:09:00.000-08:00

Two are better than one because they have a good return for their labor. For if either of them falls, the one will lift up his companion. But woe to the one who falls when there is not another to lift him up. Furthermore, if two lie down together they keep warm, but how can one be warm alone? And if one can overpower him who is alone, two can resist him. A cord of three strands is not quickly torn apart.

Ecclesiastes 4:9-12

Pitsco Medieval Machines Homeschool Pack

2011-12-08T15:04:00.000-08:00

Medieval Machines Homeschool Pack
Pitsco
$21.95

As a family with a strong male population, those of that persuasion love anything that can be used as a weapon, so I was SO excited to get the opportunity to review the Medieval Machines Homeschool Pack. I mean, WHO would not LOVE to hurl objects across a room and what MOM would not LOVE to have that activity be a learning opportunity to boot…

We received the Medieval Machines Homeschool Pack which includes a catapult, a trebuchet, mass plates, and a Siege Machines book. Not included in the pack, we also received a package of Kleen Klay to use as objects of “mass destruction”.

So I set two of my older boys on the task of constructing these machines. First was the catapult…The boys put it together in a short period of time quite easily…the pieces were easy to pop out and went together nicely after a small bit of trouble finding the right glue for the project. We think wood glue would have been the best option for us, but did not have any, so we tried a craft glue and that did not work for us…might be that it just needed longer to dry…but we all know how patient some people can be…so we moved to super glue…not a problem after that, but if you do something wrong…good luck trying to fix it! Thankfully we did not have that problem! We did have one small piece that broke…it was the trigger for the catapult, but it still works just fine without it. It snapped when other pieces were being put in…which means that some care is needed when constructing these machines. The pieces are a punchout basswood making it easy to construct, but again some care is needed. After the catapult was done, the clay boulders began to fly…and EVERYONE was quite pleased to be a part of the battle…imagine what would happen if we had 5 or 6 of these! The Siege Machines book then gives several suggestions for those learning opportunities I was talking about. One measures mass vs. distance, one that gives practice in converting our standard system of measuring into metric, practice in finding averages, a lesson on elasticity, and testing different rubber bands…I will not share our results to the experiments we did so that you can explore and discover without any bias…there are many variables that can affect the results, so have FUN with that part!

Next was the Trebuchet and we had a little more difficulty with this machine. The construction was still easy, but we had some difficulty getting the machine to work…so we went back to the drawing board and tried again…noting what others said was helpful to them and reviewing the directions again. When the directions were ACTUALLY FOLLOWED, there was SUCCESS…hmmm…well once again the boys had fun flinging things through the air with the greatest of ease…and activities mentioned in the Siege Machines book again deal with math and science related topics both to grasp how the math and science we learn applies to the REAL WORLD and to get practice using the machine.

The Siege Machines book covers a WIDE range of information in it and I think is a wonderful resource to have. It talks about the history of siege machines, gives activities to use with the machines that cover math and science and has a section that gives the standards addressed by these activities. The stardards listed are from three national education organizations: The National Science Teachers Association (NTSA), the International Technology Education Association (ITEA) and National Council of Teachers of Math (NCTM) which I will confess was much like reading an upper math book in my opinion…There was VERY LITTLE comprehension for this math /science reluctant mom…I really enjoyed the history part of the book though…really shows my preferences! The back of the book makes some suggestions for books/videos and websites if your children really want to TAKE off on this subject and make a HUGE UNIT study from it. I wish we would have had this during our Medieval study in history...it would have been a PERFECT addition!

Pitsco carries a wide variety of kits and curriculum options and you can request a catalog.

What we LOVED: Well, truth be told...flinging things through the air was the favorite part of this product! I loved that the price was very reasonable and the machines were completely put together by my older boys. I appreciated the Siege Machines book more than I anticipated.

What was a challenge: I think I covered that already...we had some issues with the trebuchet...which were not due to anything related to the kit, but carelessness on the part of the assemblers!

See what my fellow crew mates have to say about Pitsco Medieval Machines Homeschool Pack here

Disclaimer: I received this item for the purpose of writing a fair and honest review. I received no other compensation. All the opinions expressed are my own.

ARTistic Pursuits

2011-12-06T23:35:00.000-08:00

ARTistic Pursuits
Junior High level, book one
Price: $42.95

About ARTistic Pursuits
ARTisitc Pursuits is a comprehensive art curriculum designed to be easy enough for the student to walk through it mostly unassisted and yet deep enough to cover a wide variety of art techniques as well as cover art history. We received Junior High level, book one for the purposes of reviewing, so I will be referring to that from here on out...different levels cover different art skills and you can read more about ARTistic Pursuit's philosophy and approach to teaching art.

ARTistic Pursuits Junior High book one contains 16 units and each unit has 4 lessons, making this a year's worth of Art curriculum completing 2 lessons each week. Each unit is broken into four lessons:
Lesson One is Building a Visual Vocabulary. This is a topic of focus to observe in their environment to make real world to artwork connections. The focus for Unit One is SPACE. All lessons within the unit will address SPACE.

Lesson Two is Art Appreciation and Art History. This is a look at how art masters have used this focus topic in their works of art and learn how to apply it in practice. They also learn about artists, great works of art, and art in different cultures. Unit one features "Portrait of the Elephant, Dal Badal, Chasing His Attendant" showing how the use of SPACE is used in this work and then talks about Indian art and different cultures.

Lesson Three gives students the opportunity to practice the Techniques they learn in creating an original work of art. The technique for Unit One is Making a rough sketch and thinking through where to place the object within the SPACE of the page without taking the time to do a lengthy sketch.

Lesson Four is the Application phase of the unit, using the elements or techniques that has been practiced to create a final project.

My Art Loving Boy really enjoyed working through the ARTistic Pursuits book. His art really improved in the short time he had been working through this book. He found the lessons to be very helpful and learned some skills that he could begin to apply to his art right from the very first lesson. For instance, in lesson one, it suggested writing his signature in the upper right hand corner of the page (like you would normally sign it) and then stretch his signature from the left edge of the paper to the right edge to give a feel for the space on the page. He found that it took a couple of tries to fill up the space and he learned how much space it would take and to judge how size it to fill the page.

What we LOVED:
The lessons were easy to work through. Lou was able to do this completely on his own and create work that was continually improving as he learned to apply different techniques to his artwork. I loved that the supply list used basic and readily available art supplies and was pretty inexpensive. I love that the ARTistic Pursuits curriculum is non-consumable and can be used over and over.

What was a CHALLENGE:
Art has always been a tough subject for me to work in. We get so caught up the the 3 R's and we forget the things that make school a joy, like art. We had a very BUSY month and it was difficult to work everything in and did not get as far into this ARTistic Pursuits book as I would have liked. Another challenge was to schedule it in. You cannot schedule an hour for art...it may take 15 minutes to work through a lesson...or it could take 3 hours...however inspiration motivates...you just cannot say, put it away for today and then you can get back to it later or tomorrow...you have to let the creative juices flow and continue until the artwork is finished. The price is a little higher than I would normally consider and was originally a concern, but after seeing the results and my son's reaction to what he did, I would not hesitate to purchase more of these books.

Overall, we were VERY pleased with the ARTistic Pursuits curriculum...the lessons followed a logical sequence and allowed for quite a bit of application. Lou's art improved from the very first lesson and he is looking forward to working through the rest of the book. I think he would really enjoy working through the rest of the books ARTistic Pursuits has available.

See what my fellow crew mates have to say about ARTistic Pursuits here

Disclaimer: I received this item for the purpose of writing a fair and honest review. I received no other compensation. All the opinions expressed are my own.

Sufficiency of Scripture

2011-12-04T07:07:00.000-08:00

O taste and see that the LORD is good;
How blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him!

Psalm 34:8

Great Commission Language- Le Francais Facile

2011-12-02T11:18:00.000-08:00

Great Commission Language- Le Francais Facile!
Junior Level
Written by Marie Filion
Illustrated by Monica Fraske-Bornyk
ages: K-3
price: $69.95

A Complete French Curriculum!
Easy to teach, even if you don't know any french at all!
French Scripture, songs, games and coloring pages
Great for homeschool co-op groups!
Printable free activity sheets: no purchasing consumable activity books or photocopying!
Teaches French language and French grammar through literature based entertaining storylines
3 year program for younger students
1 year program for older students and Fast track option for teens
Follows Charlotte Mason Method, Bloom’s Taxonomy and higher order theories by Dr. Jeanne Chall
Certificate of Completion available with submission of two projects

Great Commission Language’s Le Francais Facile has many aspects that we LOVED! It begins with a mix of French and English conversation so that new vocabulary can be learned and comprehension is increased. The language is introduced in very much the same way that we teach children to talk, word by word and in conversation…rather than trying to conjugate verbs, etc. There are many activities that my Principessa was able to pick and choose from…such as from Lesson 11: An “I Spy” pizza book, vocabulary index cards, playing the game “I Spy”, and an It’s Me! Book that the students are working on throughout the course. There are cultural notes within the lessons and an extra resource section in the beginning of the book where you can learn more about famous French people.

I love the thought that went into this book making it an excellent product for homeschool families…there is a CD-ROM which you can use to print over 200 activity sheet…you can pick and choose the ones you want and use this one book for all of your children. It is great for children of many ages…younger children would just take a longer time to go through it. There is an audio cd for practice with pronunciation.

I think one thing I LOVE best about this product is that when you finish one level, you can send Le Francais Facile to Wycliffe Bible Translators (following directions from the company) and receive a credit towards the purchase of the next level…talk about a blessing!

Click to see more about the mandate for this company . Great Commission Language is a company that I feel great about recommending and purchasing from. My Principessa has really enjoyed beginning to learn French and it has been fun to refresh my French as well.

Sample Lessons

If you have looked over the sample lessons, but still cannot decide if this is a good fit for your family, you can purchase a sampler CD for $15. This Sampler CD contains the first few lessons of ALL of the programs! And - when you decide you're ready to purchase the full program, they will give you a $15 rebate (that's right, 100% of the purchase price of the CD!) and you can give the sampler CD to a friend!

See what my fellow crew mates have to say about Great Commission Languages; Le Francais Facile here

Disclaimer: I received this item for the purpose of writing a fair and honest review. I received no other compensation. All the opinions expressed are my own.

Sufficiency of Scripture

2011-11-27T07:05:00.000-08:00

Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment, so that it will give grace to those who hear. Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.

Ephesians 4:29-32

The Reading Game

2011-11-26T11:56:00.000-08:00

The Reading Game

Price: $24.95

Contents:
6 decks of memory playing cards
6 storybooks
Parent/Teacher guide

The Reading Game is a
fast-action memory card game.

It includes a series of six
beautifully illustrated storybooks.

The Cards & Books work
together to make learning to read exciting and enjoyable.

Game sessions are fun-filled with a winner every few seconds.

After completing the first memory card game, the student has thirty words “hardwired” into memory.

The Skunk story, Book One
in the series, is told using
only those thirty words.

On completing the series,
the student has a reading vocabulary of 180 words.

Almost half of them are among the one hundred most commonly used words in the English language.

The Reading Game was created
by “Wordly Wise” author,
Kenneth Hodkinson.

What we liked:
We loved that this was not just reading, but played in the format of a memory game...DD really loved playing the Reading Game and the games went VERY FAST! I think that helps to keep the child's focus on the game, rather than straying off task often. We were able to play several times in each session without it being a strain.

I love the concept behind the Reading Game...using common words, the child having to frequently read them, and when they have mastery, going on to put those skills to work reading the story for the level. By that time, the child really knows the words well.

While there are 30 words in each level (skunk, snake, bear, penguins, unicorn & zebra), you work with only 5 words at a time, making it easier for the child to do the "work" of the game and making each game quick.

Only lowercase letters are used, which I loved because it re-inforces the idea to the child that these are the letters that are used most often...my guy likes to use a mix of upper & lower case letters when he writes them. The exception to the rule here is the word, "I". That is done correctly.

The game is played with the child and a tutor...the Reading Game is suggested for ages 4+. I think that age recommendation is appropriate, but may need to be adjusted according to skill. When I was able, I acted as the tutor, but my older boys were able to jump in quickly if I could not work with DD. I appreciated being able to hand that off as needed without a lot of prep work in teaching my olders 'How-To"

What was a challenge for us:

DD is at the beginning stages of phonics, using the rules he has learned to de-code the words he sees. He has not learned all of the blend sounds yet and struggled with sh, th, wh and words like kind and stripe that we have not covered the rules for. For us, I think this would have given DD more tools to be able to decode more quickly.

DD wanted to move on to the next stage before he had mastered the words. I think it was frustrating for him to stay on skunk stage 3 (just pulled an example out) until he was able to read all the words every time. He wanted to just jump to the next one and into reading the book.

Overall, I think that the Reading Game is a helpful part of what we are using to teach reading in our home. The Reading Game is affordable and it is a fun way to teach reading.

See what my fellow crew mates have to say about the Reading Game here

Disclaimer: I received this item for the purpose of writing a fair and honest review. I received no other compensation. All the opinions expressed are my own.

Happy Thanksgiving

2011-11-24T06:25:00.000-08:00

Wishing you and yours a VERY Happy Thanksgiving. May you find many things to be grateful for during the entire holiday season.

Holiday Fun via Pinterest

2011-11-21T14:22:00.000-08:00

I recently spent a little time on Pinterest and can tell already...it could be a dangerous place to be...if I am not careful with how much time I spend. Lots of fun things to look at, try and create. WOW...
So one thing I found here was a clever decoration idea...something I have never thought of doing before, but decided to copy...
The original post was here

Isn't that a GREAT USE of space...no more cluttered mess...my fridge has become a gathering spot for a little of this and that...I should have taken a picture of my fridge before...
BUT...here is my rendition of the indoor Snowman...

it's hard to see the brim of the hat, but it is there....

My thanks to Tami for her wonderful idea!

A couple Cannon Children are more excited about this than the others...

My thanks to Josh & Lou...you guys are such good sports to humor your Momma...

Now...how many of you are going to copy this?

Sufficiency of Scripture

2011-11-20T07:04:00.000-08:00

And do not neglect doing good and sharing, for with such sacrifices God is pleased

Hebrews 13:16

Time Timer

2011-11-18T10:29:00.000-08:00

Time Timer

Price: Starts at $30

Ever wonder HOW on earth you can get your child to understand how much TIME there is in 15 minutes? Well, the Time Timer is here to help you make every moment count.

Designed to help students understand, "how much longer," no other teaching aid reinforces the concept of elapsed time like the teacher-tested Time Timer. The disappearing red disk allows students to "see" time without knowing how to "tell" time. The Time Timer is perfect for setting time limits, managing transitions and training students to make better use of available time, making every moment count.

Available in different sizes, as a watch, apps or software, there is a Time Timer product for every need.

What we thought of the Time Timer

We received the 3" Time Timer for the purpose of our review. I really LOVED how my children could SEE the passage of time and know they had to stay on task for that amount of time for this purpose. I personally found it helpful when I was doing a task in my day for only a short time period, say 15 or 20 minutes. It helped me use those shorter time periods more effectively to complete a large task that I might not have the time to be able to do one larger chunk...those large time chunks are hard to find in a busy day!
I loved that my DD, who does not tell time yet, could see how long 5 minutes was and grasp the concept of the passage of time.

What was more of a challenge for us:
When the Time Timer is done with the passage of time, it beeps once...we missed the beep several times. It would have been more helpful for us if there were a series of beeps or if the beep was longer. Also, I would really need to be able to see the benefit of the product to spend $30 for it. Many homeschool families have to be careful with what items they choose to spend money on. There is an app for the Time Timer for $1.99...I think I am going to purchase that for my iPod, so I can have it going for two at one time. Overall, I found the Time Timer to be very helpful in our family.

See what my fellow crew mates had to say about the Time Timer here

Disclaimer: I received this item for the purpose of writing a fair and honest review. I received no other compensation. All the opinions expressed are my own.

Math Mammoth

2011-11-17T18:30:00.000-08:00

Math Mammoth
Price: varies between the different options

We got the privilege of Trying Math Mammoth's Light Blue 1st grade book. Navigating through which one to choose was a little confusing to me, but Maria Miller, the author of the books, was EXTREMELY helpful in helping me select which book I thought would be best for DD.

"Math Mammoth offers affordable, yet quality math worktexts and workbooks for grades 1-8, available as both downloads and printed books. These books concentrate on conceptual understanding and are strong in mental math. The directions in the worktexts are written directly to the student, and are often self-teaching, thus requiring little preparation and involvement from the teacher."

We received Math Mammoth 1 A & B, which includes 228 lessons (8 of which are a Kindergarten review)and covers:
addition and subtraction concept and basic facts within 0-10
place value with 2-digit numbers (a.k.a. tens and ones)
some adding and subtracting within 0-100
some geometry and measuring topics
reading clock to the half-hour
counting and using coins (US, Euro, or Canadian)

The Download for the complete set is $34. You can find the printed copy information here . I was a little concerned about having to print the pages off, but it actually became a blessing...if we could not find the page we needed to work on, I could print another off...

Suggested Manipulatives are kept to a minimum for this curriculum, which I appreciate.
A 100-bead abacus (for 1-B; especially in the place value chapter)
An old-fashioned alarm clock or other analog clock where you can turn the minute hand and the hour hand will turn as it is supposed to (for 1-B).
A ruler that measures in inches (for 1-B).
A ruler that measures in centimeters (for 1-B).

So very thankful that there are NO small pieces to lose or step on in the pre-coffee part of the morning.

So, what we thought...

Math Mammoth is almost completely self teaching...DD was able to have a little instruction and then complete the work. It was a little heavy in writing for my young and active boy. I think that just shows his age and is not what I would consider a flaw. I did some of the writing where I thought it was not essential for him to do the writing. Concepts start VERY EASY with lots of pictures and work up to more complex problems within each type of work, addition, subtraction, etc. I really liked that each chapter/subject has a BRIEF introduction and then an index for each concept. I found this helpful when organizing my lesson planning. as well as the pacing suggestions for each grade...helped me see what "normal" might look like if I chose to follow that plan...actually, we stuck pretty close to the suggestions!

When we got our download, it came with a User Guide which had some great helps in it...such as the pacing and FAQs.

If you are considering this curriculum, I would HIGHLY recommend getting the free download of 300 pages...I think that would give a pretty comprehensive overview, and again, Maria is VERY helpful herself!

You can find placement tests here

You can view a sample of the 1st grade books as well...

I think it is a very economical option for math that is well worth looking into.

See what my fellow crew mates had to say about Math Mammoth here

Disclaimer: I received this item for the purpose of writing a fair and honest review. I received no other compensation. All the opinions expressed are my own.

College Prep Genius

2011-11-15T15:35:00.000-08:00

College Prep Genius: The No Brainer Way to SAT Success, 2nd Edition
Textbook, Workbook & DVD set: $99.00

There is no need to spend a fortune on SAT prep. College Prep Genius is a revolutionary program designed to help students master the strategies behind the test and learn how to get the correct answers. This program takes students step by step through each section of the SAT [Critical Reading, Math, Writing,] and gives them a plan for success for each question type.

What we thought of this program: We LOVED this! It was a VERY independent program to use, loaded with great tips and suggestions for preparing to take the PSAT or SAT test, giving not just great strategies for HOW to take the test, but it also a pretty extensive list of sites to look at for applying for scholarships, a chart of 300 math terms needed to take the test (as well as space for writing an example, checklists, vocabulary help, forms for taking practice tests and more. I think that the $99 price is excellent for all of the help this resource gives.
So, the College Prep Genius SAT Prep Course is broken down into 12 easy to manage lessons, with suggestions for how much time students in different grades should be spending weekly on preparing for the test day...Freshmen spend about 1-2 hours per week, whereas a Senior would spend 6-10 hours a week. I found that there was SO MUCH information that you would like to remember that you might want to use a highlighter while working through it. As you work through the lessons, you learn tips for how to find the correct answer and then you Practice, Practice, Practice and then continue on in the book. By the time you get through all the lessons, you should be taking complete SAT practice tests.

One interesting part of this resource is an appendix in the back of the book called, "My Motivation Test." I think this is a great tool so that your student finds out what motivates them and gives them strategies to keep going. My techy guy tested out to be a dreamer...which is what I would have guessed!

A fabulous resource, that is EXTREMELY HELPFUL, put together by a homeschool mom...I highly recommend College Prep Genius! I will be interested in seeing how my techy guy's scores improve throughout the course of this program!

See what my fellow crew Mates had to say about College Prep Genius here

Disclaimer: I received this item for the purpose of writing a fair and honest review. I received no other compensation. All the opinions expressed are my own.

Sufficiency of Scripture

2011-11-13T06:59:00.000-08:00

Yield now and be at peace with Him;
Thereby good will come to you.
“Please receive instruction from His mouth
And establish His words in your heart.
“If you return to the Almighty, you will be restored;
If you remove unrighteousness far from your tent,
And place your gold in the dust,
And the gold of Ophir among the stones of the brooks,
Then the Almighty will be your gold
And choice silver to you.
“For then you will delight in the Almighty
And lift up your face to God.

Job 22:21-26

Ooka Island

2011-11-07T08:13:00.000-08:00

Ooka Island

The Ooka Island Adventure is a downloadable hero-mission in 3D designed to teach young children how to read fluently and well. The Ooka Island Adventure combines the highly engaging components of a state-of-the-art virtual world with the scientifically proven OokaMethod that builds literacy skills.
Carefully embedded within the Ooka Island Adventure are dozens of interactive instructional activities that captivate the child and motivate them as they learn essential pre-reading, reading, spelling, and writing skills. After completing the Ooka Island Adventure, children will be on their way to reading fluently and well for life.

I must say, WE LOVE OOKA ISLAND...We spent a good deal of the review time dealing with issues with my computer, but once DD was playing, he was LOVING it. He really LOVES his "human" as he calls his avatar and would have liked spending countless time adjusting that, but, thankfully, the game does not allow for that...so, below, I will recount our experiences.

The issues we had getting started:
Being the Techy dork that I am, when this came up for review, I thought...I have over 50% free disk space...I would LOVE to review this item...well, little did I know...Free disk space is NOT memory and there began my problems, but the customer service/IT help on the Ooka team was PHENOMENAL...truly outstanding. They helped me try to troubleshoot the problem and ended up sending me an installation disk, which had some issues of their own, not at all related to this game...again, my technical genius at work...a portable DVD drive solved that problem...I know just enough about computers to be scary! So, you need to have some MEMORY on your computer...the download is about 2 G...you do not need a DVD drive UNLESS you cannot download the program. You do need internet access though, even though you download some to your computer...there you have my totally NON-TECHY explanation...So, moving on...

You progress through the game in a methodical order...advancing as you progress, but getting review as you struggle. As far as I know, you are unable to skip activities to choose where you want to go on the island...while frustrating at times for DD, I think this is a great feature which fosters practice and learning, rather going only to the activities that are enjoyable or easy. You do your "WORK" (or play...however you choose to look at it...) for 20 minutes and then you get 8 minutes of "PLAY". I love this feature as well...kind of an eat your veggies before dessert idea of keeping your child focused as they know play time is coming...which is silly to call it playing, because it really is all play as the activities are FUN and ENJOYABLE for the most part with rewards to skating down a mountain or placing a sticker on a chart along the way.

Challenges: Besides the installation mess that was my fault...the challenges we had were that the game would freeze up a few times during play...which very likely could have been because of my computer and DD's frustration level at times because he couldn't "do his human"...which was most likely due to trying to play our hearts out before review time....again my fault. I really love the approach presented in this game and look forward to walking through it a little more. The one thing I wish was here, and I understand is in the works is a parent feature showing student progress...I am not sure how he is progressing in his reading skills...he is a pre-reader...on the cusp of getting it...that feature would have been a great way to track his strengths and weaknesses.

Ooka Island has a blog as well, which offers more resources/tips, etc to parents/teachers with articles such as Motivational Tools (talks about the positive reinforcement build into the adventure), Ooka Island Activity Pages
...which is SO COOL...I will need to print this off...watch for more to come and Guiding At Risk Little Learners. There really is quite a bit of information on the blog and worth checking out.

Check out what my crew mates had to say about the Ooka Island Adventure here

Disclaimer: I received this item for the purpose of writing a fair and honest review. I received no other compensation. All the opinions expressed are my own.

Sufficiency of Scripture

2011-11-06T06:56:00.000-08:00

I have proclaimed glad tidings of righteousness in the great congregation;
Behold, I will not restrain my lips,
O LORD, You know.
I have not hidden Your righteousness within my heart;
I have spoken of Your faithfulness and Your salvation;
I have not concealed Your lovingkindness and Your truth from the great congregation.

You, O LORD, will not withhold Your compassion from me;
Your lovingkindness and Your truth will continually preserve me.
For evils beyond number have surrounded me;
My iniquities have overtaken me, so that I am not able to see;
They are more numerous than the hairs of my head,
And my heart has failed me.

Be pleased, O LORD, to deliver me;
Make haste, O LORD, to help me.
Let those be ashamed and humiliated together
Who seek my life to destroy it;
Let those be turned back and dishonored
Who delight in my hurt.
Let those be appalled because of their shame
Who say to me, “Aha, aha!”
Let all who seek You rejoice and be glad in You;
Let those who love Your salvation say continually,
“The LORD be magnified!”
Since I am afflicted and needy,
Let the Lord be mindful of me.
You are my help and my deliverer;
Do not delay, O my God.
Psalm 40:9-17

The Person I Marry

2011-11-03T20:48:00.000-07:00

The Person I Marry (Bower Books)
Hardcover- $11.99
Gary & Jan Bower

This is a lovely little book created by husband and wife team Gary and Jan Bower. Gary writes about qualities that make for a good spouse in a memorable rhyme while Jan illustrates each page with heartwarming pictures that cause children to link the words with what that point or trait looks like. Many of the subjects in the artwork come from her own family...I love that!

The Person I Marry from Bower Books on Vimeo.

I think the thing I love best about this little book is that it gets families thinking about the true standards for a spouse long before you get to that point. The Book, "The Person I Marry" lends itself very well to conversations about what kinds of things to look for in a spouse and gives lots of character traits and examples. This book is good for both boys and girls. We received a digital copy of the book, so I set my principessa on one side and DD on the other. With a wedding coming up this weekend, I thought this would be a great time to get their minds thinking about their future husband or wife. They both really enjoyed reading the book and loved all of the pictures. We had some small discussions about husbands and wives, using the upcoming bride and groom (J & S) as our examples. I think this would make a WONDERFUL gift for so many different occasions...maybe for a flower girl or ring bearer...I love that this book came at this time, when we have a wedding to look at and talk through what we read.

I think this book could be appreciated by the entire family. I know I am looking forward to getting a copy for my family.

2010 Book of the Year Christian Small Publisher Association, you can read what others say here, Gary and Jan Bower have other books available as well...What Do Heroes Wear? and Mommy Love are just a couple of the titles available. Want to give your book that EXTRA special touch? Get it autographed...just ask at checkout and Gary and Jan are happy to do that. With free shipping on orders over $30, you might just find a few titles you cannot live without.

Check out what my fellow crew mates have to say here

Disclaimer: I received this item for the purpose of writing a fair and honest review. I received no other compensation. All the opinions expressed are my own.

Blessings,
C~

First Start Reading and Classical Phonics

2011-11-03T13:52:00.000-07:00

Memoria Press
First Start Reading: Phonics, Reading, and Printing
Teacher Guide: $29.95
Student Workbook Set: $21.00
Classical Phonics: $14.95

With lots of children, we have been through LOTS of Phonics/Reading Programs...I was not sure how this would compare/contrast with what I had already used, but I needed something for DD so I was very happy to receive this item.

From the Memoria Press Website: "First Start Reading covers consonants, short vowels, 45 common words, and manuscript printing, accompanied by artist-drawn coloring pictures and drawing pages for every letter. Your child will begin reading in the very first lesson as he progresses through three student books and twenty-five phonetic stories, such as "Hogs and Pigs" and "Jog to the Jet." A Teacher Manual guides you through the program and provides helpful assessments and teaching tips.

Is there really a need for another phonics program? Well, we thought so! The first reading and printing lessons are critical, and although there are many adequate programs out there, we could not find one with the right combination we were looking for–a balanced, age-appropriate approach to phonics and reading and a serious focus on correct pencil grip and letter formation. In addition, many phonics programs today use the ladder approach (consonant vowel blending), which is fine, but we prefer the more traditional (vowel-consonant) approach combined with word families. And one more thing, mastery of the short vowels is the sine qua non of phonics programs, and few programs really give adequate practice in this very important skill."

More information about this program can be found here

Things I loved about this program:
I love the simple look of the pages...I love that the Teacher's guide allows for a student to make comments on the picture before the lesson gets started...that often has been a thing that my young students have focused on...and I am often so "into" the lesson, that I try to plow forward...that step...often took two minutes or less...allowed DD to say all he wanted to say about the pictures and then we could go on. A very small point in the program, but helpful to us. I love that the lessons emphasize good pronunciation, proper pencil hold and letter formation, but without the tiresome repetition of doing the letters over and over and over and over. Very hard for young children. I really liked that the student work was limited to two pages. I like and agree with the foundation of how phonics is taught in this program...word families as opposed to consonant blends. I like that this program is less expensive than many of the other ones I have purchased.

Something I found difficult was the Classical Phonics Book. Perhaps my little guy just isn't there yet, but it seemed overwhelming to open the book up to an entire page of word lists...I think this would be for a little bit older student or a more advanced reader. We are just at the beginning stages of reading. I don't think this is a unnecessary item or bad...I just think we are not quite ready for it yet, which is the beauty of homeschooling. We can add it in when we are ready.

I really liked this program...I liked how easy it was to pick up and use. I like that it emphasized doing things correctly without tiring out little hands. I really liked the simple drawings. I hope you like it too!

See what my Crew Mates had to say about First Start Reading/Classical Phonics here

Disclaimer: I received this item for the purpose of writing a fair and honest review. I received no other compensation. All the opinions expressed are my own.

Excellence in Literature-Introduction to Literature

2011-11-01T15:17:00.000-07:00

Introduction to Literature (English 1)
Janice Campbell
Print book- $29 plus $4.95 priority shipping, 132 pgs
Ebook- $27

"Introduction to Literature is a college-preparatory literature and composition course. Focus works, including novels, short stories, poems, and drama, have been selected for literary quality, and for their place in the historical development of literature. Context readings provide background information about the author, the historical period, and the literary and artistic context of the focus work.
Students will gain an understanding of the development of literature and will practice the skills of close literary analysis through essays, approach papers, and other evaluative writing."
Objectives and literature selections can be reviewed here

The author has a great article on why she selected the literary pieces she did on her blog

Introduction to Literature is broken down into 9 units and each unit has suggestions for weekly breakdowns, leaving the application of the work, largely, up to the student. I love that there is a focus text that really is the anchor of the unit, but that other pieces of literature are given to give the student a better feel for the particular period being covered or the background of the author, giving the student a greater understanding of the focus text. There is some fabulous material in the beginning of the book breaking the main periods of literature into categories, explaining the basic worldview of that period and giving an example of work. I found this very helpful for both myself and my high school son. This course is a college prep course that supplies an English credit, but can do double duty as an honors text if you student would like to take an AP or CLEP test at the end of studying the material. Extra literary pieces and assignments are given for those who would like to have this count as an Honors or AP class.

What I loved:
I LOVE that this was written by a homeschool mom of 4 boys…I appreciate her being “One of Us “and really knowing the unique challenges homeschool parents face in teaching their children and creating a product that helps us be able to offer this course to our children. I really love the thought that went into the writing of this textbook. There are many helps for the student both in the front of the text and in the back where models for papers are, as well as some examples. This is very student directed and self teaching, which is fabulous when you are teaching many children. The pieces of literature have substance and purpose for being in the text and I loved reading about that in the blog piece written by the author. The books selected to be read are easy to find and many of the context pieces are found online for FREE which is ALWAYS a wonderful blessing. For each unit, Janice Campbell gives the students a little bit of direction with the “Something to think about…” and “Be sure to notice…” sections in the introduction to the literary piece for the unit. There is also some information that I found helpful in evaluating my student’s writing.

Something to note in the E-book version-
I really don’t have anything I did not like about this textbook, but there was one small challenge to some…and that was the links to the contextual resources. You will need to copy and paste the link, rather than just click on it. It was not an issue for me as I had a heads up that the “links” were not working…one of my crew mates discovered that they needed to be pasted into a browser. Every link I pasted worked fine.

I think this is an excellent product and would recommend it to someone looking for a high school/college prep level literature course. There are 5 titles available in this series of Curriculum. You can review those here and see the summary of literature pieces covered in all the books here

See what my crew mates had to say about Excellence in Literature Introduction to Literature here

Disclaimer: I received this item for the purpose of writing a fair and honest review. I received no other compensation. All the opinions expressed are my own.

Sufficiency of Scripture

2011-10-30T07:07:00.000-07:00

I waited patiently for the LORD;
And He inclined to me and heard my cry.
He brought me up out of the pit of destruction, out of the miry clay,
And He set my feet upon a rock making my footsteps firm.
He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God;
Many will see and fear
And will trust in the LORD.

How blessed is the man who has made the LORD his trust,
And has not turned to the proud, nor to those who)lapse into falsehood.
Many, O LORD my God, are the wonders which You have done,
And Your thoughts toward us;
There is none to compare with You.
If I would declare and speak of them,
They would be too numerous to count.

Sacrifice and meal offering You have not desired;
My ears You have opened;
Burnt offering and sin offering You have not required.
Then I said, “Behold, I come;
In the scroll of the book it is written of me.
I delight to do Your will, O my God;
Your Law is within my heart.”

Psalm 40:1-8

Say Anything

2011-10-26T13:08:00.000-07:00

Say Anything Family Edition
Price: Varies depending on where you purchase. Say Anything is available on Amazon.com, Target, Borders and Barnes and Noble.
Suggested Ages- 8+
Players- 3-8, or more when working in teams

Say Anything is a light-hearted game about what you and your friends think. It will get people talking, laughing and having fun in minutes. Enjoy it with three to eight family members or as an hilarious party game with adults. So dig deep into your heart or just come up with something witty - this is your chance to Say Anything!

I have been so thankful to get the opportunity to review this game. Say Anything Family Edition is a great game to play with your entire family or with friends. We took this game to Youth Group and the teens all had a great time playing it. It really is a fun game.

One aspect I love about this game is that it is easy to learn how to play. The box says that you can learn how to play this game in about 2 minutes and then play through a game in about 30 minutes. Another thing I love about this game is that you don't have to KNOW answers to play and win...it really is a matter of what YOU think. So, for example, the Question "What would make long car rides more fun?" Could have answers such as "Driving 200 MPH", "A Flying Car", A Stretch Limo with a Hot Tub", etc...(From the back of the box) The answers are often very funny as you never know what answers you will see.

So, how do you play?

Pick a color...you will have color coordinated answer board and meeples discs.
Figure out playing order...you can spin on the SELECT-O-MATIC 6000 to select the first player to judge and then go around the circle.
Ask a Question from one of the cards- Such as, "If I could turn any hobby into my job, what would it be?", "If I could choose any name for myself other than my own, what would it be?", or "Which superhero outfit looks the most uncomfortable?" Everyone except the "judge" writes an answer on their answer board.
The "judge" secretly turns the pointer on the SELECT-O-MATIC 6000 to the color of the answer they like best.
The other players place their meeples tokens on the answer they think the "judge" selected. You can put them on your answer, another person's answer or split them between two answers.
The judge reveals the winning answer and points are awarded based on who had tokens there and who got the winning answer.
The next player gets to be the "judge" and play continues...easy breazy, huh?

We all LOVED playing this game and I think it would make a GREAT FAMILY CHRISTMAS GIFT...My children LOVED playing this game, but it was a little tough for DD...you really need to be able to read and write to play. It is fun to have the little white boards to write your answers on. I loved how quick it was to learn and play. I loved that we did not see any questions that were inappropriate for our family members at their varied age ranges. You never know, your answer could win!

See what my crew mates had to say about Say Anything Family Edition here

Disclaimer: I received this item for the purpose of writing a fair and honest review. I received no other compensation. All the opinions expressed are my own.

Ok...

2011-10-23T10:33:00.000-07:00

Everything is going to be ok….

Isn’t it funny how God uses all things together in life? In BSF, we just studied the passage of Scripture (Acts 12) where believers are praying fervently for Peter because he was in prison and then he knocked at the door…Oh, that COULDN’T be Peter….he is in prison… (see Acts 12:15)

So, Wednesday night, I was praying for things that were burdening me…big things I have no control over…scary things that look impossible…I was telling God, I just need to know everything is going to be ok. So I left my burdens at the throne of grace and went on with life.

Thursday morning, I got a call that ended one of the THE MOST difficult trials I have walked through…it is done…and I went on with life. About 2 hours later, I realized…Wow, I think that was the answer to my prayer…EVERYTHING is going to be ok…all those things that were burdening my heart….ok…how do I know that for sure? I don’t…but I feel it. Peter is at the door…but he couldn’t be…I did it too…I didn’t see with eyes of faith the answer to my prayer that God was giving.

So, later that day, I got another call…my dad was not doing well…you better come and see him…and sure enough, he passed away at 3 am this morning…and I am thankful that I have my answer to prayer…EVERYTHING IS GOING TO BE OK….so, while I don’t KNOW with my head…I KNOW with my spirit…all those things on my heart….God is going to make them ok.

Faith is not blind because we follow without reason…faith is blind because we cannot see what is around the next corner and we need to TRUST that God IS IN CONTROL…I know I am not…and I am so very thankful that HE IS…it gives me the HOPE to continue pressing on…in hard things…with great joy

Blessings,
C~

Sufficiency of Scripture

2011-10-23T07:05:00.000-07:00

Or do you think lightly of the riches of His kindness and tolerance and patience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance?

Romans 2:4

Wits & Wagers Family

2011-10-22T11:09:00.000-07:00

Northstar Games- Wits & Wagers Family

Wits & Wagers Family simplifies the rules and scoring system of the popular Wits & Wagers. Now families and kids can get into the Wits & Wagers action! First, every player writes down a guess to a fun question. Then players try to score points by choosing which guess is closest to the right answer without going over. That is it!
The game features 300 new family-friendly questions. And even better than that, Wits & Wagers Family includes Meeples-- fun, cute, human shaped wooden pieces that the players use to select which answers they think are correct. Meeples have been a hallmark in European style strategy games for years, but this is the first time they have made an appearance in a party game.
So check out Wits & Wagers Family, the game that combines laughter and learning in a way that all ages can enjoy together!

Games with Personality doesn't even begin to describe this game...we have had SO MUCH FUN with Wits & Wagers Family Edition. Not knowing much about the game, we just opened up the box and started playing. I appreciated that the rules of the game were so simple, that all of us were able to begin playing right away...not so with some other games.

Another thing I LOVE about this game is that all of us can have fun playing it...from 5 up to, cough, ahem* 29...we all had a GREAT TIME playing. I appreciate that the questions are appropriate for all ages too. There are only 5 answer boards/meeples sets, so that could be an issue in larger groups, but then, maybe breaking into teams would work better in that instance.

So, you ask a question and everyone playing writes down their best guess. So, if the question is "How many doors are there in the White House?" Everyone takes their best guess...hmm...I will guess....127...so I write that number on the little dry erase answer board and they are lined up. Next, everyone gets to put their "meeples" on the answer they think is the right one...you get two Meeples...a bigger one, and a little one...they have point values based on the size. You can place these wherever you like...together or separate. The answer to the question is 412...so the answer that is closest without going over wins. Points are then tabulated based on who had the closest guess, and what meeples are on it...OBVIOUSLY (as you can tell by my guess of 127) you do not need to KNOW the correct answer...and while the box said it was for ages 8 and up, we found DD (5) was able to play as well. The winner of the game is the first to reach 15 points...and games play out in about 20-30 minutes, which is a nice time range for littler ones.

I found, that the price of the game varied widely based on where you got it from...Target. Borders and Barnes & Noble are among the retailers who sell it...it can be found online as well.

Called the Most Award Winning Party Game in History, I can see why...Wits & Wagers Family Edition is a game that is fun for the whole family!

See what my Crew mates had to say about this game here

Disclaimer: I received this item for the purpose of writing a fair and honest review. I received no other compensation. All the opinions expressed are my own.

Educating the Wholehearted Child

2011-10-22T10:33:00.000-07:00

Educating the Wholehearted Child by Clay Clarkson with Sally Clarkson, Third Edition
Published by Apologia Wholeheart, an imprint of Apologia Press
$22.00
Table of Contents
Sample Chapter

I LOVE BOOKS! I have found that sometimes a book comes along a time before you need it and afterwards, you feel like it prepared you for what was to come. Sometimes a book comes along right when you are in the thick of something and helps or encourages you while you are going through that. Every once in a while, you find a book that you wish you would have had way back when…10, 15, 20 years ago. Educating the Wholehearted Child is one of those books for me. Written in an easy to read format, this book is JAM PACKED with so many wonderful nuggets of truth, blessing and encouragement. I do warn you though…it may take a LONG while to actually digest this book. 334 pages of the text with resources behind that, this is not a book to knock through in a few days.

Broken down into the sections of Home, Learning, Methods, Living, The Challenge and Resources, chapter titles include:
The Christian Home -- Learning to be at Home with Christ
Home Nurture--Shepherding your Child’s Spirit to Long for God
Home Discipleship-- Shaping your Child’s Heart to Live for God
The WholeHearted Learning Model-- Living and Learning Together at Home
The WholeHearted Learning Child--Understanding your Child
Discipleship Studies Methods-- The Study of the Bible
Family--Keeping the Vision Alive
Structure--Keeping the Family Together
The Challenge--Keeping Faith in the Family
I told you this book was power packed. Many of you may have already read this book…it was written in 1994, but the copy I received to review is an extensively revised and EXPANDED edition…so you might want to consider getting the new copy and reading it again.

I just want you all to know up front…I LOVE THIS BOOK! It really spoke to my heart and encouraged me to keep on with what we have been convinced is right for our family. One quote I love from Educating the Wholehearted Child, “ Rather than being the discovery of something new, we saw homeschooling as the recovery of something old--the recovery of the biblical home as God had designed it to be His primary institution for spreading His righteousness from one generation to the next.” Another great quote talking about the process of searching the Scriptures to find your reason for homeschooling and life afterwards, “ At this point, it is no longer an opinion, but an issue of conviction, obedience, and faith. Good arguments alone will not carry you very far as a home educator. When you’re up to your eyeballs with children, housework, home business, activities, responsibilities, bills, broken appliances, car problems, and you-don’t-know-the-troubles-I’ve-seen circumstances, those nicely reasoned arguments will ring pretty hollow. When you’re pushed to the limits, only a tested and seasoned faith will take you beyond.” Can I get a HUGE AMEN…talk about hitting me where I am RIGHT NOW…Page after page after page of great writing to bless and encourage and instruct homeschooling families.

“Whether you are a first-time homeschooler or a long-term veteran, this comprehensive guide will equip and empower you for your journey of faith as a family.”
I think this book will be a valuable resource to home educators in many various stages on the journey, but I think this will be an especially wonderful book for the new home educating family, those who don’t know what to do, where to go, etc. I think this book will help them lay a very strong foundation grounded in God’s Word, rather than various educational theories, the plethora of curriculum available, what this or that family does or uses. I think this is a very important book that will help you see the vision for home education.

See What my crew mates thought of Educating the Wholehearted Child Here

Disclaimer: I received this item for the purpose of writing a fair and honest review. I received no other compensation. All the opinions expressed are my own.

Sufficiency of Scripture

2011-10-16T07:02:00.000-07:00

Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him. But he must ask in faith without any doubting, for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind. For that man ought not to expect that he will receive anything from the Lord, being a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.

James 1:2-8

Professor in a Box- Principles of Marketing

2011-10-14T07:07:00.000-07:00

Professor in a Box: Principles of Marketing
Cost: $119. 99, free shipping

Principles of Marketing, by Julie Pirsch, Ph.D, Assistant Professor, Villanova School of Business, is a challenging college level introductory Marketing course similar in content to the first marketing course taken by all students in university and college schools of business across the country. Principles of Marketing is also known as Basic Marketing, Introduction to Marketing, Fundamentals of Marketing, Marketing, or Marketing Principles. Any high school level student with basic reading and math skills can handle this course.
This course was created as an elective for high school students interested in pursuing a career in business and for students interested in taking the CLEP Principles of Marketing Exam. On a more formal level, this course provides students with a description and evaluation of the ways in which goods and services are developed to meet customer and consumer needs, and how they are distributed for domestic and international consumption.

There are 28 lessons in this course with suggestions for making this a year, semester or summer school long course.

The Professor in a Box: Principles of Marketing course is designed to allow students to learn in four simple steps:
Watch the lecture- these are 20-30 minutes in length
Complete the homework problems
Check the solutions
Take the exams

While these are the four basic steps, there are also some online resources that enrich what was taught in the lecture and allow the student to see for themselves the way companies market to their end consumer.
We had a little trouble between the disk and our computers and it took us a while to find a computer that would run the lectures. I am not sure what the problem was, being that I am about as techy as a marshmallow, but our computers would not recognize the disk for some reason, which probably means I am going to have to get an external disk drive to complete the course.

What I love about Principles of Marketing:
There are slides that follow the lecture, making taking notes/keeping up much easier than being distracted by looking at a person. Julie Pirsch, Ph.D has a very pleasing voice and speaks at a speed which is comfortable for note taking.
I love that the online resources uses companies that appeal to high school/college students. I think this makes the course more tangible for the student.
I like that the homework problems allow for the student to go back and correct wrong answers. I think this increases learning for the student.
The entire course comes on one disk...no boring textbook to muddle through with lists of statistics no one cares about- huge PLUS for my student!

Professor in a Box: Principles of Marketing states that it is a college course for high school students. After viewing the lessons, I would say that I think it is more appropriate for Juniors or Seniors, depending on the interest your student has with the subject.

The website states that it is for students interested in business or owning a business, but I think this would be a great course for all students. I think this is information that could be useful in many areas of life.

Please see what my fellow crew mates said about this item here

Disclaimer: I received this item for the purpose of writing a fair and honest review. I received no other compensation. All the opinions expressed are my own.

Scruble Cube

2011-10-11T12:23:00.000-07:00

Scruble Cube
ages: 8+
for 1-4 players

Comes with:
1 Scruble Cube
Sand Timer
Scorepad
Instructions

Downloadable Lesson Plans

"What on earth is THAT THING?" was the FREQUENT question I received for this product. The best way for my to describe it was to say, "Well, it is like a cross between Scrabble and a Rubik's Cube." Then, that person would pick it up and try to make a word somewhere. I found that when I put the Scruble Cube on a table before a group, that people could not HELP but try it out- it holds sort of an irresistable draw for people.

I personally have MASTERED one and two letter words! (hee hee!) But, as you may know, those do not count...so back to the drawing board for me!

WHAT I LOVE:
I love that this is a TOY and a GAME with an educational twist that you can fiddle with alone or play in a fierce competition.
I love that people have to touch it/try to create a word with it- they just LOVE to handle it!
I LOVE that the letters swivel around and that the words do not have to be played on only one face of the cube (so a word can be created on two or more sides of the cube) I felt like that gave it a dynamic that made the player think more and use greater strategic and problem solving skills.
I love that this combines word skills with math skills in a fun way.

The Scruble Cube is a patent pending game that has 96 squares with over 7.4 x 1045 (that’s 7,401 septillion) possible configurations that anyone who can spell can play. And all in a portable format that can be played anywhere- anytime.

The Scruble Cube addresses these skills while your children just think they are playing, giving a power punched dose of TRUE EDUCATION!

Academic Skills
Mathematics Trial & Error
Spelling
Vowel Awareness
Word Building with Rimes
Math Facts
Research Skills
Mechanical Skills
Vocabulary Development

Life Skills
Team Work
Sportsmanship/Competition
Problem Solving Skills
Listening Skills
Oral Communications
Strategic Thinking
Higher Level Thinking

AWARDS:

I love the Scruble Cube...I hope you try it out...I think it would make a GREAT gift!

See what my crew mates think of the Scruble Cube here

Blessings,
C~

Disclaimer: I received this item for the purpose of writing a fair and honest review. I received no other compensation. All the opinions expressed are my own.

Sufficiency of Scripture

2011-10-09T06:59:00.000-07:00

Ho! Every one who thirsts, come to the waters;
And you who have no money come, buy and eat.
Come, buy wine and milk
Without money and without cost.
“Why do you spend money for what is not bread,
And your wages for what does not satisfy?
Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good,
And delight yourself in abundance.
“Incline your ear and come to Me.
Listen, that you may live;
And I will make an everlasting covenant with you,
According to the faithful mercies shown to David.

Isaiah 55:1-3

Sufficiency of Scripture

2011-10-02T06:58:00.000-07:00

Jesus answered and said to him, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our abode with him.
John 14:23

Star Wars Saga on DVD

2011-09-28T08:09:00.000-07:00

As you may or may not know, we are a Star Wars family...now when I say WE, I really mean THEM...the boys, but who's keeping track of all that...
So, an opportunity is before me...review the Star Wars on Blu-Ray...and since May the Fourth is a holiday to at least ONE of my boys, I am making a shameless PLUG to receive this item to review...ON BLU-RAY...the WHOLE THING...so since we own more of these on VHS than DVD, AND I think we are missing at least one, AND one of my boys has been counting down the days until it was released, I am raising my hands, waving frantically and saying...PLEASE PICK ME...I think it would qualify me as being MOM of the year...and what mom REALLY does not need some of that???
So Jono....PUHLEASE, PUHLEASE, PICK ME!!!!

And, for those of you who had to read this and are saying to yourselves how lame it is...you KNOW you'd do it too for one of yours! Just plug in THEIR THING! :-)

C~

Sufficiency of Scripture

2011-09-25T06:56:00.000-07:00

The mind of man plans his way,
But the LORD directs his steps.

Proverbs 16:9

Aletheia Writing Magazine

2011-09-25T06:21:00.000-07:00

Aletheia Writing Magazine
Creativity for Christian Teens (13-19)
Four issues per year. 40 pages. Color. Price includes shipping & handling.
United States- $26, Canada- $29
European Inquiries, please email

Aletheia Writing Magazine is a quarterly publication focusing on the literary and artistic works of Christian teens, ages 13 to 19*.
We are excited to offer Christian teens a healthy platform in which to express themselves, especially in a culture that so definitively shapes and saturates their worldview with unhealthy imagery and values.
In addition to the literary and artistic expressions of Christian teens, each issue offers a variety of unique features: a Writer's Challenge, the Featured Contributor, a book review, Glory to God for the Beauty of Nature, Ancient Ink, and an interview or other feature for edification and enjoyment. (from Aletheia's Website)

Spring 2011

Expecting this item, I was full of what I THOUGHT it was going to be...I thought it would be full of teaching/writing prompts to help students get their creative juices flowing. Boy, was I WRONG...when I saw the magazine, I thought, "Well my teens are sure going to think this is lame." I am happy to say that I was wrong. As one of my children was looking at it and kept reading, he was asking some questions...can anyone send writing in...because so and so is a really great writer, how much is this...how many issues do you get? More questions than I thought I would get...

What I like- This is written by teens, for teens...I think this encourages them to write better work and the readers enjoy it because it is really geared toward their interests and reading levels. I like the special features in each magazine- The featured contributor, the Writer's Challenge, the Glory to God for the Beauty of Nature (OUTSTANDING photography!!!) I like that there is a variety of short stories and poems.

What I was not so fond of- There seemed to be quite a bit of fantasy type work in the magazine...maybe that is what teens are really into, I am not sure, but I would have liked to see a greater range of genres portrayed in the magazine such as biography and historical fiction. I like the writer's challenge, but would have liked to see maybe a little more instruction in writing included...maybe a short lesson on developing your plot or creating complex characters or something of that nature. It seems like many of the stories I read had a very sad feel to them...in the fall issue, most of the writing is pretty sad, dealing with topics such as human trafficking, deep relational issues and hurts, sadness, loneliness, etc. These things do not encourage me, but make me focus on the things that are wrong. I would like to see the admonition of Philippians 4:8 held up as more of a baseline for the stories/work accepted... "Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things." I know that through hard things God works great wonders, but at this age it seems to me that focusing on sad issues could make coping with life more difficult. The magazine does issue this disclaimer: "At Aletheia Writing Magazine, we are excited about our contributors and the articulation of their Christian faith and experiences in writing. This magazine is geared toward youth ages 13 to 19. Because contributors’ ages vary, the maturity level of situational content may likewise vary." I would preview the work before letting your children freely read it if this is a concern to you.

If I am reading this correctly, it looks like the fall issue might be only their third issue, so I think this magazine has great potential and would encourage you to look into it if you have a budding writer. They could see their name in print!

Oh, and just in case you are wondering, Aletheia (pronounced either Ah-LAY-thei-uh or Ah-LEE-thei-uh) means truth or unveiling.

Please see what my fellow crew mates had to say about this item here

Disclaimer: I received this magazine for the purpose of writing a fair and honest review. I received no other compensation. All the opinions expressed are my own.

Games for Competitors- Tri-Cross

2011-09-24T11:45:00.000-07:00

I was so excited to be selected to review this item for TOS and eagerly awaited the box in the mail. I was SO surprised by the generosity of Games for Competitors in sending not only the Eco-version, but the regular full sized version of the game as well.

Hailed as the “new chess”, Tri-Cross challenges competitors in areas of strategy, critical thinking and problem solving. The game itself is sort of a combination of chess and checkers and is good for ages 8 and up and for 2-4 players.

I love that this is a strategy game that really makes you think and plan ahead, but doesn’t have a complex system of rules and moves for pieces. I would say that this would be a great game for those who play checkers, but haven’t grasped chess yet. Another wonderful thing is that the games are played out pretty quickly, so that the players do not give up or get bored.

Video Demos on how the game is played:Beginner

Advanced

One thing that was a challenge for our family was that it did seem a little easy for my older boys and they were not really interested in the game after a few times of playing it through. There is an option of playing with the pieces face down, and that was a little more challenging.

Tri-Cross has receive Dr. Toy’s 2009 100 Best Children’s Products, Creative Child Magazine’s Creative Toy Awards 2008 Game of the Year and earned the National Parenting Center’s Seal of Approval.

The eco-friendly version of the game showcases Games for Competitors’ commitment to responsible manufacturing and thinking outside of the box as to what is done to what could be done. The cardboard box and game board are traded in for a MUCH smaller organic cotton pouch and game board, which are printed with non-toxic soy based inks. The scratch proof pieces and cotton game board fit nicely into the pouch and is WONDERFUL to take on the go with you. There is also the added bonus of no cardboard boxes to get all smashed up…yes, that does happen in our home…sad, but true.

Games for Competitors Eco-friendly version of Tri-Cross sells for $19.95 and the standard version sells for $24.95.

Please see what my crew mates think about Tri-Cross here

Disclaimer: I received these games for the purpose of writing a fair and honest review. I received no other compensation. All the opinions expressed are my own.

Sufficiency of Scripture

2011-09-18T06:54:00.000-07:00

Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous! Do not tremble or be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go
Joshua 1:9

Big IQ Kids

2011-09-14T07:48:00.000-07:00

Big IQ Kids

BigIQkids presents a unique learning method designed to help each child develop the skills needed to perform to his/her full potential. Our award winning programs are designed for students in grades K-12 and promote spelling efficiency, vocabulary building, math fact mastery and US geography knowledge via multimedia reinforcement and independent learning. We offer Free and Premium spelling, math, vocabulary, U.S. states programs.

We did activities in all areas, but really focused on the spelling (4th grade level) as we could customize it with the spelling words my daughter had in her language arts program. I appreciated being able to do double duty, rather than having two complete sets of spelling words. She had a great time with all the activities she did and we both loved that you had to work to be able to play. She earned one game token for each lesson she completed. I was surprised by the number of game options available (3 pages!!!)…I think that kept the Principessa wanting to do more lessons. It is recommended to do one lesson a day in each category (spelling, vocabulary, math, & states), but I found my daughter wanted to do much more to earn more game coins.

The lessons are pretty short and most of the games were very short…I thought the length of both were pretty appropriate…and the lure of game coins keeps the program pretty self motivating.
I love that Big IQ kids has a free option, as well as a Premium option to choose from. With families on a tight budget, this is a great blessing and a wonderful way to enrich what your children are currently learning. Costs of premium memberships depends on which program you would like to add and the premium membership option adds nice benefits such as being able to monitor the progress of your child, being able to identify and target problem areas, parents are emailed progress reports (so you don’t have to figure out how to find that information on the site!), full game page access, limited advertising and the ability to customize a buddy, which my daughter loved more than I thought she would.

As we have 5 children needing to do schoolwork on ONE computer, it was a little tricky to find time to work this in…this is just the dynamics of our own family. Also, the robotic voice of the people guiding you through the lessons, is a little annoying…I don’t think my daughter minded this, but I really found it irritating.

Overall, I was very pleased with the lessons and the material covered. I loved the self motivating factor of the games. I thought the customer service team was very quick to answer the question I had about adding my kindergarten aged son. Even though I do not like to add many computer based programs, I loved this program and would encourage you to consider adding Big IQ Kids for your child/children.

Please see what my fellow crew mates had to say about this item here

Disclaimer: I received two complimentary premium memberships for the purpose of writing a fair and honest review. I received no other compensation. All the opinions expressed are my own.

Time4Learning

2011-09-13T13:11:00.000-07:00

Time4Learning

Cost: The monthly membership is $19.95 for the first child and $14.95 for each additional child, with nothing else to buy.

Money Back Guarantee: 14 Day 100% Satisfaction Guarantee

Time4Learning includes the following:
• Online curriculum for grades Pre-K through 8th
• More than 1,000 interactive animated lessons
• Self paced lessons
• Math & algebra tutorials & printable worksheets
• Language arts, phonics & grammar lessons
• Interactive, project-based reading activities
• Science (grades 1st – 6th) & social studies (grades 2nd – 7th)
• Detailed reporting for easy record keeping
• Extensive lesson plans & teaching tools for parents
• and much more…

Time4Learning is web based, so there is no software to download, no CDs and nothing additional to purchase. Members can access the program 24/7 from anywhere with a computer and an internet connection. It would be great if you needed to be on the road traveling a lot.

Time4Learning is an online education program for preschool through eighth grade that uses multimedia activities to teach standards-based curriculum. It is popular as a homeschool curriculum, afterschool tutorial, skill sharpener for test preparation and for summer study. The grade levels are based upon state standards which could be helpful for those in states where annual testing is required.

Students can access two and sometimes three levels in their grade so that they can truly work at their own pace and at their skill level. I think this is a great feature because I have had strong readers who were not so great in math and those who were strong in math and science, but struggled with reading based subjects. This is one of the beauties of homeschooling in my opinion. Our children work at where their skill level is, not where a grade says they should be. So, I can press them forward and challenge them in areas of strength while giving grace in the areas they need the extra help.

The getting started guide was a HUGE help for me in navigating through the parent’s pages…how to use lesson plans, tracking progress, how many lessons, etc.

I also really liked the sample schedule so you can see how you would lay out a day’s work/plan your year if you choose to use it as a complete curriculum.

What we thought: We focused on Language Arts at mostly 2 levels, 4th and 8th grades, so that we could review more thoroughly. The lessons made learning fun and so they wanted to do more…I do not hear that much with other work…so that is DEFINITELY A BONUS! At the 4th grade level, it covered some areas we had not touched on yet, such as plot, setting, characters and themes, as well as enriched some areas we work on frequently such as grammar and vocabulary. The 8th grade level has similar topics, but at a much higher level, of course. The interactive lessons are full of options, helps and corny jokes that children LOVE! You can try a free demo and see what your children think!

In our home, we have 5 children all needing to use ONE computer PLUS Mom, of course ;-), so it is hard to have too many computer activities going at one time. Due to that issue, this product is probably not a great fit for our family. Although it could be used by some as a complete curriculum, if we were to implement it into our home, we would use it to supplement/enrich what we are currently using.

If you are using this as a complete curriculum, this might be a great value, depending on how you structure your school. I thought this might be a little high as a supplement, especially in larger families.

Please see what my crew mates had to say about this item here

Disclaimer: I received a complimentary one month subscription for the purpose of writing a fair and honest review. I received no other compensation. All the opinions expressed are my own.

Sufficiency of Scripture

2011-09-11T07:02:00.000-07:00

When the LORD brought back the captive ones of Zion,
We were like those who dream.
Then our mouth was filled with laughter
And our tongue with joyful shouting;
Then they said among the nations,
“The LORD has done great things for them.”
The LORD has done great things for us;
We are glad.

Sufficiency of Scripture

2011-09-04T07:05:00.000-07:00

He has told you, O man, what is good;
And what does the LORD require of you
But to do justice, to love kindness,
And to walk humbly with your God?

Micah 6:8

How to Have a H.E.A.R.T. for Your Kids by Rachael Carman

2011-09-04T06:51:00.000-07:00

How to Have a H.E.A.R.T. for Your Kids by Rachael Carman
Apologia Press Publishing
Cost- $13.00
Sample Chapter
Table of Contents

Rachael Carman’s book “How to Have a H.E.A.R.T. For Your Kids” from Apologia Press publishing came to me at “Such a time as this.” I think that very often we busy homeschool mommas get caught up in yes, no, what do you think you’re doing, dishes, laundry, what on earth is for dinner and how many more books can I buy and will they fit on the bookshelves I have, that we often forget that our time is very short with our children. I mean, we have three children who are three and under and our only wish is that a time will come soon when they can all get themselves dressed or buckled in their carseats and then we blink and they are sixteen and we wish for those days back again. If only we would have known back then, but we couldn’t see the forest for the trees and time flies when measured by growing babies. We think, “ I am always going to be…”, but too soon, we find our roles changing and we’re really not ready for it and if we have not captured our children’s hearts, we may not like the place we find ourselves to be.

Rachael Carman's book, How to Have a H.E.A.R.T. for Your Kids is an easy reading power packed book for raising children. It gets right to the HEART of the matter and often made me stop and think, OUCH....I walked away from this book with many things I really need to re-evaluate and implement in my home so that my children know my HEART is for them.
Using the acronym, HEART, this book is broken down into these segments
H: Have a Heart for the things of God
E: Enrich your marriage
A: Accept your kids
R: Release them to God
T: Teach them the truth

H:
I thought I would share a point or so (may be more in certain sections because of where I am in my life) that was something I felt I needed to notice...these may be direct quotes or paraphrases of what the author said
Having a HEART for our kids starts with OUR example of worshipping and obeying our Lord God. We cannot expect our children to exhibit Christ-like behavior if we are graceless and disobedient.

Ephesians 5:1 tells us to be imitators of Christ, to watch and to learn from Him.

E:
When we get down on our knees together, at the foot of the throne of grace, that is where bonding occurs.
There is a revealing of your soul that we share, a point of vulnerability and humility that brings us closer.

A:
Our children were created to bring glory to God. Instead of resisting their bends- their original wiring- I needed to honor the way God wired them. I needed to pray for Him to reveal His plan and purpose for their lives so I could raise them in the way they should go.

R:
This seems easy until the time comes to release your children into His care, for the fulfillment of His purpose, His plan and His will. In the end, it comes down to a trust issue. Not as to whether or not your trust your children. Do you trust the Lord with your children? (BIG OUCH HERE!)

T:
Rachael gives 6 facts about truth that I thought were helpful and I won't take time to share that here, but I mention it so that you can be sure to check it out.
I loved what she shared about Christians reaching a point where she thought we could just take it easy and coast into heaven, but she realized, "There's no coasting this side of heaven."

One point I gleaned from this chapter is that we can live truth by allowing it to set us free from worry, panic, exhaustion and despair. I think we all (and often) need this reminder.

This is a sweet book, that I would heartily recommend. Points in this book have made me sit up and take notice. I want to have a HEART for my children and I want to have their hearts!
Enjoy!

Please check out what my crew mates had to say about this item here

Disclaimer: I received a complimentary copy of this book for the purpose of writing a fair and honest review. I received no other compensation. All the opinions expressed are my own.

Sufficiency of Scripture

2011-08-28T07:02:00.000-07:00

I will give You thanks with all my heart;
I will sing praises to You before the gods.
I will bow down toward Your holy temple
And give thanks to Your name for Your lovingkindness and Your truth;
For You have magnified Your word according to all Your name.
On the day I called, You answered me;
You made me bold with strength in my soul.

All the kings of the earth will give thanks to You, O LORD,
When they have heard the words of Your mouth.
And they will sing of the ways of the LORD,
For great is the glory of the LORD.
For though the LORD is exalted,
Yet He regards the lowly,
But the haughty He knows from afar.

Though I walk in the midst of trouble, You will revive me;
You will stretch forth Your hand against the wrath of my enemies,
And Your right hand will save me.
The LORD will accomplish what concerns me;
Your lovingkindness, O LORD, is everlasting;
Do not forsake the works of Your hands.

Psalm 138

Sufficiency of Scripture

2011-08-21T07:00:00.000-07:00

Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

Hebrews 4:16

Sufficiency of Scripture

2011-08-14T07:10:00.000-07:00

But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh. For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the Law. Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you, just as I have forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.
If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit.

Galatians 5:16-25

Karl Hujus

2011-08-09T21:39:00.000-07:00

Just read part of Karl's story at A Place Called Simplicity and it is truly an amazing story...thought you might want an update/want to read about God's GREAT power!

http://aplacecalledsimplicity.blogspot.com/2011/08/our-holy-ground-part-1.html

and this song is for Karl...we're praying for you! Don't forget to pause my player...down at the bottom of the page!

Blessings!
C~

Chocolate Peanut Butter Ice Cream

2011-08-07T07:18:00.000-07:00

Now you all KNOW one of MY favorite things...and guess how happy I was to find this recipe in Serendipity Sundaes...this is a recipe book from one of the owners of the famous Serendipity restaurants in New York...which in my opinion cannot be anything compared to the Farrell's restaurants from my childhood...but apparently this is a wonderful place to go as well...
So here is one recipe from that book...we have also tried the hot fudge sauce and caramel sauce which were OH SO YUMMY!!!! We have enjoyed (so far) everything we have made from this book...

Ribbons of Peanut Butter
Combine 1/2 cup peanut butter with 2 T sugar in a small saucepan over low heat and stir until melted.
PLace a 12" square of parchment paper on a clean work surface (we used a silpat on a cookie sheet) Spread the Peanut Butter thinly to about a 9 inch square. Place another piece of parchment on top and freeze.
Five minutes before chocolate ice cream is done churning, peel ribbons of peanut butter off the parchment and gently feed into the ice cream maker. The peanut butter softened VERY quickly and we were only able to get about half of it into the maker.

Chocolate Ice Cream- makes one GENEROUS quart
2 cups milk
2 cups light cream
3 large egg yolks
1/2 cup sugar
9 ounces best quality bittersweet chocolate, chopped
2 tsp. vanilla extract

Combine milk and cream in a large heavy bottomed saucepan and heat until warm over low heat.
Meanwhile, combine egg yolks and sugar in a heat safe bowl of an electric mixer and beat until thick and pale yellow...3-5 minutes. Set aside.
When milk is warm, add chocolate.
Heat, stirring constantly, until chocolate is completely melted and mixture is beginning to simmer. Set aside.
Add 1/4 of the warm chocolate milk to the egg yolk mixture and whisk until blended.
Whisk the egg yolk mixture into the remaining milk mixture and cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until thick enough to coat the back of a spoon- 5-10 minutes...(be careful not to overheat as the eggs can curdle. Small lumps will quickly develop, and the correct consistency will be ruined. If testing with a candy thermometer, do not heat past 170 degrees.)
Remove from heat.
(My step) Strain through a colander to remove any bits of egg that cooked
Pour the "batter" into a clean heat safe bowl and cool to room temperature
Whisk the vanilla into the batter, cover and refrigerate overnight...I know...hardest part, right here!
Freeze the "batter" in ice cream maker according to manufacturer instructions. Store in freezer...

Now, we have not tried ours yet...we are trying to get a few different kinds made and then have a party...but how can chocolate and peanut butter NOT be good? I hope you enjoy this!

Love,
C~

Sufficiency of Scripture

2011-08-07T07:14:00.000-07:00

Trust in the LORD with all your heart
And do not lean on your own understanding.
In all your ways acknowledge Him,
And He will make your paths straight.

Proverbs 3:5-6

Sufficiency of Scripture

2011-07-31T07:12:00.000-07:00

Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.

Romans 12:1-2

Home

2011-07-27T07:08:00.000-07:00

Well a Happily Ever After ending to the story of my friend, Grace...she is bringing home Noah (even as I post this) and they will be reunited as a family after being gone for almost 2 months. We have been so blessed to see God's hand everywhere in the process of this adoption and cannot wait to see him thrive in his forever family.
Thanks to all of you who prayed, donated and stood beside this family throughout the entire process...I know this family really appreciates you!

Love,
C~

Unredeemed, again

2011-07-24T08:17:00.001-07:00

Because...it's the Martins...and because I really LOVE their harmonies...and I really LOVE this song...

Sufficiency of Scripture

2011-07-24T06:50:00.000-07:00

Thinking and praying today (7/9...I schedule these posts) for a young man who, by the grace of God, is working for the kingdom...and by the grace of God was spared to us to do more work for His glory...

But I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you shortly, so that I also may be encouraged when I learn of your condition. For I have no one else of kindred spirit who will genuinely be concerned for your welfare. For they all seek after their own interests, not those of Christ Jesus. But you know of his proven worth, that he served with me in the furtherance of the gospel like a child serving his father.Therefore I hope to send him immediately, as soon as I see how things go with me; and I trust in the Lord that I myself also will be coming shortly. But I thought it necessary to send to you Epaphroditus, my brother and fellow worker and fellow soldier, who is also your messenger and minister to my need; because he was longing for you all and was distressed because you had heard that he was sick. For indeed he was sick to the point of death, but God had mercy on him, and not on him only but also on me, so that I would not have sorrow upon sorrow. Therefore I have sent him all the more eagerly so that when you see him again you may rejoice and I may be less concerned about you. Receive him then in the Lord with all joy, and hold men like him in high regard; because he came close to death for the work of Christ, risking his life to complete what was deficient in your service to me.

Philippians 2: 19-30

Blessings,
C~

Unredeemed

2011-07-18T18:34:00.000-07:00

A Beautiful Song recommended by a dear friend...the one who keeps pointing me to Christ...thank you...it means so much more than you know...I can see why this song is sweet...oh and don't forget to scroll down and turn off the player...

The cruelest world
The coldest heart
The deepest wound
The endless dark
The lonely ache
The burning tears
The bitter nights
The wasted years

Life breaks and falls apart
But we know these are
Places where grace is soon to be so amazing
It may be unfulfilled
It may be unrestored
But when anything that's shattered is laid before the Lord
Just watch and see
It will not be unredeemed

For every choice that led to shame
And all the love that never came
For every vow that someone broke
And every life that gave up hope
We live in the shadow of the fall
But the cross says these are all
Places where grace is soon to be so amazing
It may be unfulfilled
It may be unrestored
But when anything that's shattered is laid before the Lord
Just watch and see
It will not be unredeemed

Places where grace is soon to be so amazing
It may be unfulfilled
It may be unrestored
But you never know the miracle the father has in store
Just watch and see
It will not be
Just watch and see
It will not be unredeemed

Blessings,
C~

Sufficiency of Scripture

2011-07-17T07:13:00.000-07:00

The LORD is my shepherd,
I shall not want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures;
He leads me beside quiet waters.
He restores my soul;
He guides me in the paths of righteousness
For His name’s sake.

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I fear no evil, for You are with me;
Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.
You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;
You have anointed my head with oil;
My cup overflows.
Surely goodness and lovingkindness will follow me all the days of my life,
And I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.

Psalm 23

Blessings,
C~

Sufficiency of Scripture

2011-07-10T07:03:00.000-07:00

Who has believed our message?
And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?
For He grew up before Him like a tender shoot,
And like a root out of parched ground;
He has no stately form or majesty
That we should look upon Him,
Nor appearance that we should be attracted to Him.
He was despised and forsaken of men,
A man of sorrows and acquainted with grief;
And like one from whom men hide their face
He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.
Surely our griefs He Himself bore,
And our sorrows He carried;
Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken,
Smitten of God, and afflicted.
But He was pierced through for our transgressions,
He was crushed for our iniquities;
The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him,
And by His scourging we are healed.
All of us like sheep have gone astray,
Each of us has turned to his own way;
But the LORD has caused the iniquity of us all
To fall on Him.

He was oppressed and He was afflicted,
Yet He did not open His mouth;
Like a lamb that is led to slaughter,
And like a sheep that is silent before its shearers,
So He did not open His mouth.
By oppression and judgment He was taken away;
And as for His generation, who considered
That He was cut off out of the land of the living
For the transgression of my people, to whom the stroke was due?
His grave was assigned with wicked men,
Yet He was with a rich man in His death,
Because He had done no violence,
Nor was there any deceit in His mouth.

But the LORD was pleased
To crush Him, putting Him to grief;
If He would render Himself as a guilt offering,
He will see His offspring,
He will prolong His days,
And the good pleasure of the LORD will prosper in His hand.
As a result of the anguish of His soul,
He will see it and be satisfied;
By His knowledge the Righteous One,
My Servant, will justify the many,
As He will bear their iniquities.
Therefore, I will allot Him a portion with the great,
And He will divide the booty with the strong;
Because He poured out Himself to death,
And was numbered with the transgressors;
Yet He Himself bore the sin of many,
And interceded for the transgressors.

Isaiah 53

Blessings,
C~

Sufficiency of Scripture

2011-07-03T07:00:00.000-07:00

“Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also. And where I go you know, and the way you know.”
Thomas said to Him, “Lord, we do not know where You are going, and how can we know the way?”
Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.

John 14:1-6

Blessings,
C~

Please pray...

2011-06-28T11:32:00.000-07:00

The Silva family has been on my heart as they are experiencing delay after delay and all sorts of obstacles. Could you please be in prayer for this family...that they would get a court date set on July 1st and that there would be no more delays in their process of bringing their sweet boy home.

Thanks...
C~

Sufficiency of Scripture

2011-06-26T06:56:00.000-07:00

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm. Stand firm therefore, HAVING GIRDED YOUR LOINS WITH TRUTH, and HAVING PUT ON THE BREASTPLATE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS, and having shod YOUR FEET WITH THE PREPARATION OF THE GOSPEL OF PEACE; in addition to all, taking up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. And take THE HELMET OF SALVATION, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
Ephesians 6:10-17

Blessings,
C~

An Encouraging Word

2011-06-24T15:30:00.000-07:00

This touched me in a very tender place and was an encouraging word for me...from Kristen at We are the Family

When Life is Heavy and Hard to Take

Because sometimes life is-heavy and hard to take.
It can be rock heavy like a diagnosis or feather heavy like a willful child displaying their, um, will in public (okay, VBS this week. Ahem).
But heavy is heavy and it’s hard to take.
I have good news: Lamentations Chapter 3. Yes, the book of the Bible I usually don’t seek out for devotional reading, unless I’m lamenting. For the win.

When life is heavy and hard to take,
go off by yourself. Enter the silence.
Bow in prayers. Don’t ask questions.
Wait for hope to appear.
Don’t run from trouble. Take it full-face.
The “worst” is never the worst.
Why? Because the Master won’t ever walk out and fail to return.
If he works severely, he also works tenderly.
He takes no pleasure in making life hard.

It’s like a 5-step program. Sign me up!

Go off by yourself-find solitude
Enter the silence-stop talking
Bow in prayer-only say what matters
Wait for hope-oh, so hard
Don’t run away-even when that’s the easy choice

So I’ve been practicing this 5-step program this week and I got very encouraging news from test results that my kidney function has returned to normal and even better, stayed at normal the last week. (Yes, we are hoping to reschedule our trip soon!)
Meanwhile some beautiful, truly amazing things are happening at Mercy House Kenya. Basically, I’m learning that by NOT being there, nothing has really changed: God is still building a house of mercy and girls lives are being changed. Please, take a minute to Meet Our Girls (we have 3 residents now!). And read about their amazing first week in the Sustainable Skills Program! Would you take a minute to pray for them?
Because our worst doesn’t touch their worst.
And sometimes that perspective is all we need.

Hope it is an encouraging word for you too!
C~

Sufficiency of Scripture

2011-06-19T05:30:00.000-07:00

Ok, one more Philippians passage...I LOVE this one...

Philippians 4:4-9

Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice! Let your gentle spirit be known to all men. The Lord is near. Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things. The things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.

Blessings,
C~

Cookbook reviews

2011-06-16T09:40:00.000-07:00

So for the past two months, I have pulled a cookbook off of my shelf and cooked all of our meals from it for the month...so I thought I would post about the two I have done.
For May, I cooked from "It's All American Food" by David Rosengarten. It is funny, I bought this book YEARS ago because I saw the author on tv and he cooked one recipe...which EVERYONE LOVED...but other than that recipe, I had never made anything out of it before. So I made list after list until I had my menu plan in one hand and my grocery list in the other.
Here is what we LOVED:
Philly Cheesesteaks- I made, but did not "GET" the cheesesteak loaf...maybe you have to be in Philly to get it...save yourself the trouble and buy buns of some sort. Also, about the Velveeta...I would recommend using less than the recipe says.
Potstickers-GOOD, but VERY time consuming!
The Fried Chicken was good, but I would RECOMMEND using shortening or oil, not lard
The Carolina Pulled Pork Shoulder BBQ with 2 sauces was VERY GOOD...I liked it with the No. Carolina vinegar sauce, my hubby LOVED the South Carolina Mustard BBQ sauce (I didn't try that one)

What we didn't like:
The refried beans...too hammy...
Corn Dogs-not what we were expecting
The Epic 4 hour Tomato gravy/sauce- EPIC FAIL
Chicken Chow Mein-Dana liked this...the rest of us didn't
REAL Texas Chili

Many of these recipes included ingredients that were hard to find, like the rind of a pecorino Romano Cheese, and pork bones...many had HUGE ingredient lists with SPECIAL ingredients like Pho with dark and light soy sauce, fish sauce, whole star anise, etc...many of the recipes took A LONG TIME TO PREPARE or needed a special process...like bbq with wood chips on a certain side of a charcoal grill with a liquid below, etc...So overall, I think that this would be a great cookbook to see if you could try at the library before you buy it...There are enough recipes in here that we enjoyed and still want to try, that I will keep the cookbook, but now I know, this is for a special meal, not the Tuesday Special...and wanna know THE recipe that got me to buy the book in the first place? Boiled Shrimp for Shrimp Cocktail...welll I have never made it into cocktail...just when we want to eat cooked shrimp (the large kind)...the recipe is on pg. 417. My family LOVES these!

The next cookbook is much MORE MY style..."Don't Panic, More Dinner's in the Freezer" by Susie Martinez, Vanda Howell, and Bonnie Garcia which is our June cookbook (And since we are really just beginning, it will cover most of July too!). We have only had a couple of recipes out of this cookbook, but I can just tell...this is gonna be good!
So, over the course of about 4 days, we shopped, chopped, cooked and froze about 40 meals...maybe about 16 different recipes...and now I have a freezer full of dinners...
What looks VERY GOOD...
The 4 Cheese Italian Minestrone looks AMAZING
The Sausage Tortellini soup looks good...I think the tortellini should have been added when you are going to prepare the soup though...
Baked Penne with Sausage, Tomatoes and Cheese has already been tried and is a keeper...this recipe made more than we thought it would, so we got and extra dinner out of it!
The Buffalo Chicken Soup sounded so good...I am not sure about it though...so we will see.
The Clam Chowder looks DELICIOUS...I never have frozen a cream based soup before, so that is making me a little nervous!
Beef Tacquitos- My husband REALLY LOVED THE MEAT FILLING...we haven't tried them all rolled up
Parmesan Garlic Chicken- This recipe made CONSIDERABLY LESS than expected
Santa Fe Chicken Nachos- I had tried this recipe before (as Nachos) and liked the flavor, but the chips were soggy...really ruining it for all of us. So we put this filling into tortillas and made burritos out of it and REALLY enjoy it that way!
Cinnamon Bread Souffle...SO GOOD! Like a french toast casserole
Elliot's Gourmet Burgers- Looks SO yummy! May not be for picky eaters though!

So far, I am really pleased with this cookbook and would heartily recommend it!

Enjoy!
C~

Sufficiency of Scripture

2011-06-12T05:30:00.000-07:00

Like I have already said, my favorite verses change as I walk through life...but the book of Philippians happens to be one of my favorites...there are SO MANY great verses in there...so I will post another today...

Philippians 2:12-16

So then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.

Do all things without grumbling or disputing; so that you will prove yourselves to be blameless and innocent, children of God above reproach in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you appear as lights in the world, holding fast the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I will have reason to glory because I did not run in vain nor toil in vain.

Some versions use the words "shine like stars" instead of "appear like lights"...I think it is a lovely thought...shining like stars to praise and bring glory to our GREAT GOD...

Blessings,
C~

Sufficiency of Scripture

2011-06-05T05:30:00.000-07:00

Well, this verse is one of my NEW favorites...it never ceases to amaze me how God's Word comes to give comfort, conviction, peace, joy, encouragement, etc at just right time...it is relevant to us today...it is living...truly AMAZING...

Isaiah 49:14-16

But Zion said, “The LORD has forsaken me,
And the Lord has forgotten me.”
“Can a woman forget her nursing child
And have no compassion on the son of her womb?
Even these may forget, but I will not forget you.
“Behold, I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands;
Your walls are continually before Me.

Praising God today for BSF...it was for such a time as this!

C~

Noah

2011-06-01T04:58:00.000-07:00

So, for those of you who haven't heard yet, my friends, The Silva's, have a FULLY FUNDED ADOPTION...Grace is getting ready to go pick up their new son in about EIGHT days and so I am not sure if I will get a chance to talk to her before they go, but I am SO VERY EXCITED for them and want to encourage any of you out there facing what looks like is an impossibility...With God, anything is possible.
Thank you to all who have given, helped or prayed for this little boy...He's coming HOME!

Blessings,
C~

Sufficiency of Scripture

2011-05-29T05:25:00.000-07:00

So, I am going to try to start a new "series" for lack of a better word...the Sufficiency of Scripture...for Sundays...a small (or not so small) portion of God's word to meditate upon. For today, I am going to post one of my FAVORITE portions...because the Word is living and active...my favorites change with the ways God is speaking to me...but this remains one of my all time favorites! Enjoy!

Philippians 1:3-11

I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, always offering prayer with joy in my every prayer for you all, in view of your participation in the gospel from the first day until now. For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus. For it is only right for me to feel this way about you all, because I have you in my heart, since both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel, you all are partakers of grace with me. For God is my witness, how I long for you all with the affection of Christ Jesus. And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in real knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve the things that are excellent, in order to be sincere and blameless until the day of Christ; having been filled with the fruit of righteousness which comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.

I have you in my heart!
C~

Seventeen

2011-05-24T08:27:00.000-07:00

May 23rd means one thing in our house...

BIRTHDAY!!!!
(evidently, it means the same thing for MANY of my facebook friends as well...Happy birthday Y'all)
So, in honor of the birthday boy, I thought I would post 17 things that make him a joy and a blessing....these are just the first things I thought of...if I were to do this next month, I am sure it would be a DIFFERENT list!!!!

So
1. He trusts in Christ as his Saviour
2. He is seeking the Lord's direction in his life
3. His smile/dimples are ADORABLE!
4. He is very generous!!!
5. He is teachable
6. He is very outgoing
7. He has started cooking!!!!! HUGE blessing!
8. He is a computer techy guy...very helpful for this computer dork!!!
9. He finds all the deals for the things we need to get...great at researching!
10. He has a cool fashion sense that is all his own!
11. He is trustworthy
12. He is friendly
13. He has an expressive face that I find is irresistible!
14. He is helpful
15. He is funny
16. He is approachable
17. He is patient

And, in honor of this boy, who doesn't prefer cake...the recipe for the Scotcheroos we made for him...comes out of our OLD church cookbook

Scotcheroos

1 c. corn syrup
1 c. sugar
1 c. peanut butter
6 cups rice krispies
1 c. chocolate chips
1 c. butterscotch chips

Bring Corn syrup and sugar to a boil. Add peanut butter, stirring til smooth. Stir in Rice Krispies. Press into a 9 x 13 pan.
Carefully Melt chocolate and butterscotch chips. Pour over the tops of the rice krispie mix. Cut into squares.
* note...if you let the corn syrup mixture boil too long, you will NOT be able to eat these...we learned that through a soccer snack mishap!
Also, if you chill these, you will have a hard time eating them...we learned this lesson last night...
Enjoy! This is one of our FAVORITE treats!

Blessings,
C~

It's been a while....

2011-05-22T08:32:00.000-07:00

As blogging does take a back seat to life, you can see I haven't been writing here for a bit...but as I do want to remember the Days of our Lives, so to speak, I do want to be sure and check in from time to time and record the things that often get forgotten as we race through life...
It feels like SO MUCH and yet NOTHING has been going on...ever have those days? So just a few tidbits from that past month or so...
Birthdays- Well our bookends are a bit older...DD turned FIVE...one whole hand...and Our techy guy will be 17 TOMORROW...I just do not know how time can go so fast and slow all at the same time...my words to the wise...cherish every minute...Time flies when measured by growing babies. DD had a great day...it was very LATE, but a great day...and as for our techy guy...well we have yet to see...
BSF- Recently finished the year of BSF with sharing day and a group fellowship...bittersweet. My favorite verse right now is Isaiah 49:15-16...This was an amazing study in a book that is INCREDIBLY relevant in our world today and I am very glad that I was in this class...it was "for such a time as this."
Schooling- School is looking a little different here as we seek the Lord and try to determine some things...Seeking first His kingdom and His righteousness (Not to mention His wisdom)...we could use some prayer support here...
ADOPTION- Well a friend of mine has been working on bringing a precious boy home and she is in the last part of this...waiting for the travel dates and trying to get the last bit of funds to be able to make the trip...God has moved in a mighty way for their family and I believe He will bring them exactly what they need...it's less than pennies to Him! I know this family would appreciate your prayers on their behalf...
The principessa learned how to cross stitch and is in the process of making a book mark. Her enthusiasm has inspired me to pick up needle and thread again...no project in the works yet, but I got our the supplies. I love the thought of being able to sit and do this with her.
Techy Guy had AN excellent Dr. appt last week...He is doing really well and we are SO thankful We would love for God to heal him and continue to ask for that, but today, I am thankful for what we have. I am also thankful and most willing to develop a new interest in him...he has really been enjoying cooking. He definitely takes after his father in this area! The mediator like to bake, so between them we have some good food! His brothers all think he should open a restaurant and call it Lou's...they keep saying...everyone wants to go to a restaurant called Lou's...it really is funny to me...I love how the children interact with each other...well, most of the time. I am not sure if he has any tendencies towards restaurant work though...right now he is gobbling up books. It is interesting to see the paths, talents, interests that God puts in your children and to watch what God shapes them into.
Super Jock has been doing a wonderful job on his schoolwork...it is exciting to see his enthusiasm when he knows he has done well..he has also been playing some guitar...not my style, but he has been learning... he would like to have a band...and really..what boy doesn't (well I am sure there are those who don't, but many do...) I may need a supply of earplugs!
As for me, I feel like God has stripped off some things that were not lovely and as I keep walking on, I find myself coming to the end of me...we might be very far from the actual END of me, but it feels like I cannot walk in my own strength...it is a strange combination of feelings...humbling and freeing, ugly and beautiful, etc...and while this particular walk is not easy or fun...I want what is at the other end...what is that? I have no idea....might be a deeper faith or something in my character developed to be more like Christ's...could be so many things...and as a good friend says, "This is so big, God has to be in it." He has a purpose for it in my life...I want to learn this lesson WELL, I want to have whatever He wants for me in it and I want to be able to bring glory and honor unto Him every time I say...this is what God did. Any of you struggling through something difficult...let me encourage you with these words...He leads us into loss so He can enrich us with lasting gain...
Well, I have rambled for quite a bit now...time to go...
Blessings to you...God IS faithful,
Love,
C~

TOS Review: Curiosity Files

2011-04-28T17:22:00.000-07:00

Have you ever been curious about something? The Curiosity Files are here to help. We are sleuthing out a mystery with Professor Ana Lyze…she is an expert in outlandish oddities and has uncovered a marvel for us to consider. One of the most confusing animals in all of creation…WHAT exactly IS IT? Is it a mammal, a bird, a reptile? The platypus is a creature unique in the animal kingdom, yet made by the Creator of all for a purpose. In this unit study, you will discover some amazing things about the platypus such as:

The Joke’s on you- discover the extreme measures taken to prove this animal was a collection of dead animals pieced together to get a laugh.
It Couldn’t be-Discover what a platypus is.
Electro-what?- What is it and how does a platypus use it
These Feet were made for-much more than walking
Rock a bye Baby- how does the platypus nurse their babies?

This 87 page unit study is JAM PACKED with all kinds of information and activities for children ages 8-13 to do. Now that they know something about the platypus, they can put that knowledge to work completing activities such as:

Bible Study Questions
Math games
Spelling and vocabulary sheets
Penmanship pages (printing and cursive)
Science experiments and project ideas
Craft projects and coloring pages
Fun recipes encourage excitement in learning
Lots of links to dig even deeper

. I received this e-book at a time when we were just so busy…no time for school...Children going to this and that...a birthday, dr. appointments...you know, the things that interfere with schoolwork in a traditional sense causing a feeling of guilt to try to come rising up - Enter: The Curiosity Files. Even though we were on the run, we were still able to learn thanks to this little gem by The Old Schoolhouse. These unit studies are really all inclusive and because they are about interesting topics that you don't ordinarily get to delve into in the regular course of most curriculum, we were all drawn to it to find out just a little more or to complete just one more activity. While the product says it is geared toward children ages 8-13, I found all of my children had a good time with parts of this unit study and we all learned something new. That said, I did focus on my 9 year old Principessa to review this product. I printed off the entire e-book, because I LOVE the feel of a book in the hands. You could read the information on the computer and just print off the activity sheets you want to use, saving on ink and paper.

I really LOVED this item. It was wonderfully written to hold interest, but not too difficult for young children to understand. One of my favorite parts of the book was the "In the Beginning" part that brings the science back to the Word of God, showing that God's Word is relevant in the science fields...not just telling the student the way it is, but allowing children to come to that conclusion on their own.

Due to the fact that I was very sort on time, we have not done any of the really cool messy projects yet, but look forward to that when life slows down a little (Does anyone KNOW when life really does slow down?)and I am sure that that will cement the information learned about this amazing creation of our AWESOME God!

I think this is a great item to use during the summer or if a child expresses an interest in one of the topics. It would be wonderful to use it if you finished a subject sooner than anticipated or found you needed something to fill the gap while waiting for books to arrive. It would be WONDERFUL for an unschooling approach as well as an in depth look in a more structured home. You can fit it in or build your whole school day on just this.

Available in 11 individual titles at the regular price of $6.95 each (many are just $1.00) or in a bundle

oh...and just a word to the wise...if you do print off all the pages...hole punch them and put them into a binder or folder right away. If you don't, you might find some of your pages have walked off...

I received this item free for review purposes...I have not received any compensation for my opinion.

Blessings,

A New Opportunity and an old one...

2011-03-31T12:47:00.000-07:00

So, I am trying out another word of mouth marketing opportunity...I do not know very much about this yet, but I have had so much fun with another company that I thought I would look into this one. Let me know what you think...it looks interesting.

Also, this is the LAST day to enter to win a camera from my friend, Grace who is trying to raise funds to bring home her sweet little Noah...This is a REALLY NICE camera...I wish we all could win...but it is also helping to provide much needed funds to get this boy to his forever home. They are pretty close too...I think they only need $7,500 more...which sounds like a LOT, but is really on the downhill slide. Please consider being as generous as you can...every little bit helps! Here is the link

Love,

Blessings

2011-03-26T11:40:00.000-07:00

A friend shared this on her blog...and it just really hit me where I am...it is lovely and sad, happy and lonely...and yet comforting and peaceful. A very strange mix of feelings...but filled with truth...and helps me remember...THIS is not my home....

My Latest Project

2011-03-20T19:48:00.000-07:00

Showing my latest project, because I know a couple are interested...

I think this is my favorite layout in the entire album...the picture was too sweet for words to begin with, but I love the overall look...you can't see the piece of white swiss dot fabric that is under the photo...made it look soft and sweet! Oops...noticed...see that little card with the HOLLY on it? That was holding the place of a tag I made to have birth info journaled on...I forgot all about it when I was taking the pictures, but rest assured...she does not have that card in the album...auuugggghhhhh...

These would be my next favorites...

Just wondering if you can tell what my favorite embellishments are???

Did you by any chance guess FLOWERS AND BLING??? Well you might not have guessed bling unless you saw it up close...hard to see here, but TRUST ME...it is EVERYWHERE!!!!
There are about 28 or so more pages...didn't want to over-do it...but lots more flowers...lots more bling!

Blessings,
C~

Maybelline's Super Stay 24 2 Step Color and giveaway

2011-03-17T15:40:00.000-07:00

As a Bzz Agent, you get the opportunity to try some fun new products...this product is no exception...forget what you know about Long Lasting Lip Color...this product has all the ones I've tried before beat hands down...

I was actually a little afraid to try this product. I have used Lip Colors like this in the past and they BURNED like blue blazes...not sure what that means, but boy howdy...they stung something terrible. If you could use the product long enough to get used to the stinging feeling, when the lip color dried, you could feel your lips shrivel up like really OLD raisins...not the plumper moist ones but really OLD ones!
So, with great trepidation, I tried this product as soon as I ripped open the envelope. I was VERY SURPRISED...first of all, the product smells pleasant...not something I usually notice with lip color, but it has a very nice fruity smell. The color goes on with a wand applicator, like you use for lip gloss and is easy to apply. At this point, you need to wait a couple of minutes for it to dry...it dries sort of tacky...funny feeling to have on your lips...then you apply the conditioning balm...and I really love this step. After the balm is on, your lips feel smooth and like you have a normal lip color on, rather than overly glossed and slick...Reapply the balm often. The lip color is long lasting, but I have yet to determine HOW long it does last (I may have just found a tip about this...the balm is part of what makes this product long lasting...so it needs to be reapplied often). The color palette has 30 long lasting shades to choose from...with something to please most everyone. Maybelline's Super Stay 24 lip color retails for about $9.99

Another Surprise in this campaign was getting 4 FULL SIZED products to try...so, to share the love, I would love to pass one on to one lucky person...since I hate those giveaways where you have to jump through all these hoops to enter, just comment leaving your favorite lip color or why you would like to try this one and you will be entered. You have until 3/25 to enter...the winner will receive Everlasting Wine to try for themselves.
As a Bzz Agent, I have received these products for free and a link for $2 off coupons. If you would like information on how to become a Bzz Agent, please visit BzzAgent.com to learn more.

C~

Stuff and Such

2011-03-16T16:12:00.000-07:00

I think it is one of those days where it is a bit of this and a bit of that....listening to Micheal W. Smith's STAND album and is a very worshipful mood...LOVE this cd...fits in with my walk with the Lord right now...learning through trials to trust Him more and to be confident in His purposes for my life.
So, I am putting the finishing touches on a scrapbook project I have been working on, which really translates into working like a frantic wreck tonight to finish it before tomorrow am...I have some pictures taken and need to finish getting all the pictures I need...I will have to post those through my hubby's computer though...
BSF was so good today...I am weekly in AWE of HOW RELEVANT God's word is in every time...it IS living and active...the very words of our GREAT and MARVELOUS GOD...we have about 7 weeks left of lessons and then I will need to figure out what to study over the summer. Any suggestions? Maybe I will work on memorizing Philippians...yes, the WHOLE BOOK...I LOVE the book of Philippians...
Are any of you having a hard time since SPRINGING forward....doesn't that sound so energetic...well I have been EXHAUSTED ever since...having a hard time waking up each morning...I will be glad when my body gets adjusted to the change...so very sleepy...then I try to take a nap and can I sleep...NO...so maybe I will try a cup of coffee...
Had a VERY FULL DAY yesterday...first helping a friend with setting up for a garage sale...then to another friend's house for a game day...then back to the first friend's house...more setting up...then home to meet with a friend for about an hour...to meet another friend to give her something...whew...FULL day, but feeling a little energized (except for the WHOLE spring forward exhaustion) by having seen so many people I love to share time with.
Projects: After the album is done, I have two skirts to finish...been working on them FOREVER...or maybe I should say, I have been stalling at this one point FOREVER...just nervous about the hem...and you would think I was hand sewing something fancy, but just need to sew on a ribbon...the things I trip over...after that, I want to make a quiet book for DD...hopefully he will be able to play with it before he is 30...the rate I am going, does not look good. Maybe I should have a sewing party...~~you know how misery loves company~~...er, I mean, many hands make light work...anyone want to come over for a day?
Well, I need to go and finish up things here...like laundry, dishes...kisses...do those things ever end...well, at least with the last one, I hope not!
Blessings to you and yours!

Listen

2011-03-12T07:15:00.000-08:00

I have been wanting to post something ALL WEEK...but have struggled with what to post...when I feel like things are going fine again, something difficult plunges us back into the place where I feel like I have nothing to share...no wisdom...nothing clever or creative...just nothing...no words even in prayer...then it dawned on me...the words aren't coming because I need to be listening...listening to what God is telling me through His word...listening to the Spirit guide me...listening to the wisdom of others who know and have walked this before me...So, since I have nothing to share, I want to share a couple of posts written by a dear friend...these posts have been a great blessing to me...I hope they are to you as well...
You're going to need this
Then help me to learn

Come near to me and hear this:
I have not spoken in secret from the beginning;
For the time that it was, I was there.
And now the Lord God and His Spirit
Have sent Me.
Isaiah 48:16

Listening....
C~

Spa Fundraiser

2011-02-26T14:48:00.000-08:00

As some of you may know, I have signed up to be a BeautiContol consultant again...mostly because...I REALLY LOVE BeautiControl...
Anyway, I would love to offer a SPECIAL that I will call NOAH'S SPECIAL...you can view all products here: http://www.beautipage.com/spacannon/ and click on catalog
OR see me to try them, but I am offering three of my favorites as a special limited set...from which, the profits will go to Grace for Noah...there are no limits to this offer...please tell your friends...but I need orders by March 10th.

So, what is included...
Spa Manicure Instant Manicure-Gently exfoliates and moisturizes the hands...
Spa Manicure Extreme Repair Hand Therapy- THE HAND CREME OF HAND CREMES... forms a moisture glove lasts through 3-4 hand washings...
Lip Apeel- 2 step product that removes dry skin and moisturizes for extra soft lips...

Price is $65 and profits will go towards bringing Noah home...that amount will vary, but if 12 sets sell, I believe it will be about $300 to the Silva's.

I will do this for any products ordered, but these truly are some of my favorite products...other products I love are the Spa facial skin care ($146.50 for a set of five...should last 4-6 months) products, the Skinlogics Clear (for those who are acne prone...A LOT of my decision to re-join had to do with some boys who are having these issues...that set will be $ 81...) and several individual favorites....Therapeutic Bath Minerals ($23.75), Luxuries of the Seas Cologne ($28), Perfecting Wet/Dry Finish ($22.75) All prices listed here include tax...
Also, click here http://www.beautipage.com/spacannon/ and go to Skin S.P.A. to look at skin sensors...click on get started and on the next page is a link that says, " I don't have skin sensors" If you click on that, BeautiControl will send you some...it is a really neat service that customizes skin care to your particular needs.
Orders for this offer need to come through me, not my Beautipage...and feel free to email me if you have any questions.

amazingrace@integrity.com

Wordless Wednesday

2011-02-16T20:03:00.000-08:00

PW Cookbook, again

2011-02-14T12:00:00.000-08:00

Last week, I made PW's Perfect Pot Roast...It was good, but I am not really a Pot Roast gal...I don't know, I have issues I guess with Pot Roast and memories of stringy, over done meat and I have been ruined ever since. It was good...just not my thing. So, I took the leftovers and made a Beef Barley Soup with it...and let me tell you...THAT was GOOD...All I did was use all the leftovers from her Pot Roast...After we had dinner that night, there was beef, carrots, onion and a lot of juices left over. I diced everything, tossed it in a pot, added more broth, some roasted garlic that we had on bread with the pot roast, and some barley and let it cook. The juices left over from the pot roast made the soup SO FLAVORFUL...I am really glad I saved them.
Tonight, we are having Marlboro Man's Favorite Sandwich...with mushrooms...so basically it is onions, cube steak and butter...with a few seasonings...and it looks DE-LISH...I'll let you know what we think...next on my list to try...Chicken Pot Pie....Then her enchiladas....
What are you cooking?
C~

The Pioneer Woman Cooks

2011-02-07T09:10:00.000-08:00

So, I have stumbled across the Pioneer Woman Blog a few times in my surfing history, but recently I camped out there a bit and thought, man, this gal knows how to cook! After browsing through her site, I thought I would check to see if her cookbook was available in our library...and it was...YEAH!! So it came...and I have to tell you, this is a cookbook to get you salivating....Now, if you have issues with BUTTER or MEAT or homestyle cooking, this will not be the cookbook for you, but if you love that, then I would LOVE to recommend this cookbook. There are recipes for Pot Roast, Fried Chicken, Cube Steak, Beans and Cornbread, Macaroni and Cheese, and so much more...and the thing that I think makes this cookbook THE BEST is the photographs of the food...first, there is a picture of EVERY RECIPE (as I remember it at least), then, there are pretty much step by step photographs as well...everything looks SO YUMMY!!! I can tell already that I am going to have to buy this cookbook...I would not want to make everything I want to try within three weeks...

Born in my Heart

2011-02-06T08:42:00.000-08:00

My Friend Grace and her husband are raising money to bring a boy home from far, far away. I have been helping her...today, I have 30 of those plastic or rubber or what have you bracelets (you know the ones that were really popular a few years ago that said Hope or WWJD or Livestrong, etc) that say Born in my Heart (these are red) and I would love to have them ALL be sent out. If God has given you a Heart for orphans or for this family or even for me, would you consider sending a gift for Noah? I will send out your bracelet as soon as I get your request. Checks can be made out to Grace Silva and mailed to: Carrie Cannon at 1242 State Ave. Suite I-226, Marysville, WA 98270...Even though they need several thousand dollars, please do not think you cannot help. NO GIFT is too small...
Thank you SO much for your Consideration!
C~

My #1 Beauty Secret

2011-01-31T07:05:00.000-08:00

I was reading some blogs and stumbled across one that shared some beauty secrets...and while we all have certain products we love and recommend from time to time, I have a revolutionary secret...I know this works, because I have seen it in the life of a VERY BEAUTIFUL woman...I found it in a Bible Study Booklet called Successful Living by John and Janice Walsh, Volume 1... but really, it is timeless from the Word...So, here is that secret....

For they shall be...chains about thy neck. Proverbs 1:9
These authors go on to share that there are two basic human desires...the desire to be honored and the desire to be beautiful. The authors say that most men want to be honored and most women want to be beautiful, and I would agree with that. They go on to share that in 1 Peter 3:4 a woman's true beauty is found in the inner person she is...They say, "If she is rebellious, her resentful and obnoxious spirit will eventually come to the surface and be displayed for all to see. If, on the other hand, she is as peace with those in authority, she is storing up a wealth of inner beauty. This too will come to the surface and in time make her an even more attractive person." They are saying that a woman becomes more beautiful as she submits to the various authorities we have in our lives.

So back to that beautiful woman...I am sure that most people would not even notice her, but she is THE MOST BEAUTIFUL WOMAN I KNOW...she loves God, her husband, her children, friends...and continually points others to God and His Word. The inner beauty of who she is are the outer ornaments that grace what she looks like. Her face is peaceful, loving, tender, kind, joyful, and more...She is gracious, careful with her words, understanding and compassionate, yet stands firmly on the truth. She trusts and submits and has a proper attitude towards authority...and she IS beautiful...
Just think, this could save us a FORTUNE in beauty creams!

Mmmmmm

2011-01-24T06:01:00.000-08:00

This week DD got to look at the letter M for his letter of the week school work...there is a post down below about that...but he got to make a Mosiac M and write M & m...wish I would have thought ahead to give him m & m's...but no go there...Since we were studying the rectangle this week too, he did get to have a Hershey's bar...first we talked about ALL of the rectangles in a Hershey Bar, then we made an M out of it, then DD got to share it with everyone...so he did have a little bit of a treat. Probably the thing he had the best time with was marble painting...I am not sure if the colors will show up well,He chose those colors himselt...I am thinking about making Valentine's Day cards from them for him. It turned out very nice, I think.