You've Got This (because God's got you), a book review

You've Got This! (because God's got you) is a 52-day devotional written by KariAnne Wood. This tiny book is filled with sweet and often-hilarious anecdotes about how no one is ever truly perfect... except Jesus.  The author constantly reminds the reader to remember grace, love and joy instead of wallowing in doubt, imperfection and mishaps.  Sprinkled with scripture references, most of the stories come from Ms. Wood's own learning moments, that just about any mom or wife could relate to.  This book would make a nice gift for any mom feeling a little less-than-perfect (which, is all of us, right?).



Tyndale House Publishing provided me with a free copy of this title in exchange for my honest review.

Prayers for the Battlefield, a book review

Prayers for the Battlefield: Staying MomStrong in the fight for your family and faith, written by Heidi St. John, is a wonderful complement to her book Becoming MomStrong, which I previously reviewed here, It also works beautifully as a stand-alone devotional or prayer guide.  This little purple book would make a perfect gift for anyone going through ANYTHING as a mom, the highs and the lows are covered here.

As I previously learned by reading her other book, Heidi St. John knows her stuff.  She has raised 7 children and is now a grandmother as well.  She has been through much over the years and learned from it, and continues to point the reader to Jesus as the main source of comfort, credit, and wisdom.  In this little book, she offers quick, but powerful anecdotes along with scripture verses and specific prayers to pray about a wide range of topics a mother might face.  Anywhere from unplanned pregnancy to a prayer over your child's teacher to overcoming worry or self-control trouble.  I appreciate the brevity of this title, as it can be gleaned from as needed thanks to a topical index, or read cover-to-cover, even used as a daily devotional.  I cannot think of a mother that this wouldn't benefit!  Motherhood is definitely a battlefield, and it's important to be armed with God's Word.

Tyndale House Publishing provided me with a free copy of this title in exchange for my honest review.

Book Review: The Lifegiving Parent, by Clay and Sally Clarkson

The Lifegiving Parent: Giving Your Child a Life Worth Living in Christ, written by the dynamic couple, Clay and Sally Clarkson, is just what I needed!  I have read many of Sally's other books including the other two in this "trilogy," The Lifegiving Home and The Lifegiving Table.  Their personal experience, insight into Biblical knowledge and real life, and way with words brings this beautiful message of parenting done right directly into your soul.  It isn't a how-to book on parenting, no step-by-step new-fangled method... thank goodness!  This book is about having YOUR life in Christ so that you can help guide your children on their personal path! It's focus is to have God a living part of your daily life, home and relationships so that He is seen in all ways and in all things!  This is the basis for good parenting!

The Clarksons take key passages from the Bible and help to shape them into points, or "heartbeats of lifegiving parenting," as they call them.  Each chapter delves into the Word of God, as well as offering personal testimony and anecdotes,a brief page or two of Sally's own, unique takes on life experience or "Momoirs," three "ParenTips" on how to realistically put this information into action and a quick recap of the "heartbeat." 

I love that this book is rooted in Biblical priciples, inspiring and practical.  Clay and Sally have been blessed with the gift and we, as readers, benefit from their wisdom and hopefully some of it rubs off on us!

I was given a copy of this book by Tyndale House Publishers in exchange for my honest blog review.

The Lifegiving Table, a book review...

The Lifegiving Table: Nurturing Faith Through Feasting, One Meal at a Time is chock full of wisdom, inspiration, scripture and yummy recipes, all stemming from Sally Clarkson's 30+ years of experience as a wife, mother and ministry leader.  A beautiful follow up to her book, The Lifegiving Home, you'll want to add this to your ever-growing Clarkson collection.  Sally weaves personal stories, scripture and practical tips - from how to set the mood to detailed recipes for specific tasty treats -  to slow down that hurried dinner and make something quality out of it, finding those moments to celebrate life around the table, create memories and draw nearer to one another and the LORD.  I appreciate that while she makes it seem so effortless, she acknowledges that it's not... it takes work and lots of prayer to make the dinner table more than a quick pit stop in our day.  She touches on how to make simple meals to elaborate feasts mean something, how to celebrate milestones, find the joy in the holiday rush, and getting your week started right around your table!  I think we could all use these reminders of taking the time to enjoy our meals together, rather than seeing them as an obligation or a rushed, chaotic pause in our day.  Once again, Sally knocks it out of the ballpark - and brings home her message of love, faith and family in this inspiring book!

Tyndale Blog Network provided me with this complimentary title in exchange for my honest review.

Becoming MomStrong, a book review...

Becoming MomStrong: How to Fight With All That's In You For Your Family & Your Faith was exactly the type of book I needed to read at the moment.  While Heidi St. John is a popular conference speaker, author and blogger at The Busy Mom, honestly, I had never heard of her... but you can bet I'll be following  her work from now on!  As soon as I started reading, I felt a great connection with her, as a homeschool mom myself, often feeling that I am failing in being the mom I should be.  Heidi seems to hit every doubt, question, concern or feeling squarely on the head, and, beautifully, points the way back to Jesus as the answer.  Sometimes we just need that reminder instead of a new idea or training protocol.  I appreciate her use of current events, Bible teaching and her own unique story of raising 7 kids in bringing home message after message, and showing that she truly does know what we're going through and we are not alone out there.  It is possible for us to become MomStrong!  I highly recommend this book to any mom that doubts herself, which... c'mon, is most of us, right?  While she does touch on the fact she is a homeschool mom often (and for me, that's a plus), this book is going to help encourage moms from all walks of life who strive to do what's best for their children, so definitely check it out!

Tyndale House Publishers provided me a complimentary copy of this title in exchange for my honest review.

Under the Cover of Light, a book review

Under the Cover of Light: The Extraordinary Story of USAF COL Thomas "Jerry" Curtis's 7 1/2-Year Captivity in North Vietnam by Carole Engle Avriett is a riveting true story of courage, determination and faith.  When his helicopter was shot down over North Vietnam, Curtis endured it all - torture, both physical and psychological, extreme temperatures, solitary confinement, and things the average person could not even imagine.  And yet, he wasn't broken thanks for his, and fellow soldiers', continuing faith and hope. The men found ingenious ways to communicate with one another despite being separated and they were able to encourage each other with memorized scriptures, stories and jokes.

While I don't normally read war stories, as it's just not my true interest... I was so intrigued by this man's story.  It is amazing what a human can endure when their hope lies beyond this earth. Curtis shares so many amazing stories of how these men clung to life and faith and overcame the wretched conditions and treatment.  I am truly amazed at their system of communicating through walls, and that they were able to continue teaching this approach to new inmates as they arrived. They encouraged each other, warned each other and were able to keep their wits simply knowing they were not truly alone.  Brave, strong, faithful men survived this horrible situation year after year ( 7 1/2 for Curtis!) and were able to come home eventually.  It is truly remarkable!

I was given a free copy of this book from the Tyndale Blog Network in exchange for my honest review.

Bible Sleuth: New Testament, a book review

Bible Sleuth: New Testament, illustrated by Jose Perez Montero, is a seek and find book (a la Where's Waldo?) filled with interesting stories from Bible-times, including the birth of Jesus, the Wedding at Cana, The Beatitudes, meeting Zacchaeus and so many more. Each two-page spread is filled with wonderful hand-drawn characters either involved in the story or going about their business in the scene.  You also meet "Mike," a little boy in yellow overalls, who takes you through the stories.  Believe it or not, for us, he was the most difficult to find despite his clothing being completely different than everyone else's.

I have 7-year-old avid fan of seek and find books, and he quickly sat down and got to work.  Some of the pages were more difficult than others, but he always enjoys a challenge.  Even my 35-year-old brother-in-law sat with it for a while and spent some brain power on finding that "Mike kid."  While the drawings are seemingly sketched a bit rough, I believe this helps to make it more interesting, and there is a lot of detail involved in each scene.  You obviously don't want the characters to be too easy to find!  This book is great for kids 5-12, who enjoy a good hunt along with some Bible knowledge.



I received a free copy of this book from Tyndale Blog Network in exchange for my honest review.

Lord, Have Mercy, a book review

Lord, Have Mercy: Help and hope for moms on their last nerve, written by Ellen Miller is a 90-Day devotional broken into 5 topical sections: Renew My Spirit, On My Soul, Get Me Out of this Mess, Help Me Be Good and As I Raise These Kids.  Each of these sections offers daily readings spanning just two or three-pages (perfect for moms of littles and/or working moms), plus Scripture Readings and a thoughtful prayer from the author over the reader.  The pages of this book offer insight and encouragement from Ellen's own experiences as a busy, working mom of two now-grown children. 

What I enjoyed about the book is that it was designed in such a way that I truly could read it quickly, get the "meat" of her topic, attach it to a scripture focus (not just a nice sentiment) and continue with my day feeling better about my job as mom.  She doesn't overly story-tell, if you know what I mean... she gets to the point, and I'm all for that in a daily reader! Her experiences and anecdotes are relatable to most moms, be it stay-at-home, working, single, divorced, remarried, having littles or grandchildren - she covers it all. I would recommend this to pretty much any mom who is able to scrape just a few minutes out of her day to spend being encouraged and reassured that she can make it through this season of motherhood, one day at a time.

Read the first chapter of this book here.
I received a free copy of this book from Tyndale Blog Network in exchange for my honest review.

Waking Up Slowly, a book review

Waking Up Slowly: Spiritual lessons from my dog, my kids, critters, and other unexpected places, written by Dave Burchett, is a down-to-earth, extremely relatable look at the amazing things surrounding us that point us to God.  The trouble is, for most of us, we are took busy, too distracted and too self-involved to even notice these things exist, let alone are trying to tell us something.  Dave challenges us (and himself) to disconnect from our ever-constant digital devices and look around, spend some time soaking in, and waking up to, those glimpses of God's pure love and grace. In his delightful story-telling, Dave offers us anecdotes from his own experiences and challenges, ranging from working in a mostly secular career field to the trials and joys of being a grandpa. By the way, fellow Texans and baseball enthusiasts... Dave Burchett is the television coverage director for the Texas Rangers!

What I really enjoyed about this book was the way Dave feels like a friend, not someone lecturing or pointing the finger.  He cheerfully admits that unplugging is hard for him, too (and that technology is necessary, so you can't just give it up completely).  He offers scripture, biblical advice, real-life application and encouragement in each chapter, revolving around a variety of topics.

This book helped motivate me to log off of Facebook, put down the phone and step away from my computer more often in order to be more present with my kids.  They are always vying for my attention, not just against each other, but also against my devices.  They deserve my full and undivided attention, and not to have to compete with a piece technology.  I see them growing before my eyes, developing and maturing into amazing people... I'd hate to miss that because of a glowing screen.  Thanks for the gentle reminder, Dave!



I received a free copy of this title from the Tyndale Blog Network in exchange for my honest review.

The Beautiful Garden of Eden, a book review

The Beautiful Garden of Eden was written by Gary Bower and illustrated by Barbara Chotliner.  Part of the Faith that God Built series, this lovely hardback book was crafted in the rhyming style of the popular poem "The House That Jack Built."  It tells the story of a tree and it's forbidden fruit, Adam and Eve, a serpent and the curse that occurred as a result of disobedience.  As it is made for children (targeted to 4-7 year olds), it is simple and not preachy, however the language is not dumbed down.  Quite the opposite, in fact.  I found myself having to define the words "upheaval" and "calamitous" to my 6-year-old. I appreciate that in a children's book!  

The illustrations are bright, bold and truly draw in the children... my 17-month-old couldn't keep her hands off of it!  While dealing with a difficult concept (the original sin), the rhyming scheme brings it across in a whimsical approach that kids will enjoy.  

This is a great book for those kiddos who are well past the easy-reading versions of Bible Stories and ready for a little bit more of a challenge or simply something different on their bookshelf.  Mr. Bower has just released another in this series, with two more expected in May 2017!  See you more on those here.

I received a free copy of this book from Tyndale House in exchange for my honest opinion.  This review is written in my own words.

Different, a book review

Different: The Story of an Outside-the-Box Kid and the Mom Who Loved Him
By Nathan Clarkson and Sally Clarkson

I will be honest and admit that about up until 6 months ago, I had only heard the name Sally Clarkson before.  I had no idea who she was or what she was about.  I recently joined a group of homeschool moms that meet together to discuss books, and found out that it was mostly books written or inspired by Sally Clarkson.  Now, I am hooked and want to devour all of her work.  What a delightful, insightful, inspiring woman!  And so, when I heard she wrote a book with her son Nathan about growing up "outside-the-box," I knew this would be a great read for me.  While my children are still young and not officially diagnosed with any of the labels heaped upon Nathan's sweet head, I relate so much to Sally's story of trying to figure out her son's ways as a youngster.  Is it simply because he is energetic and opinionated?  Is it something more?  Is he being defiant or is he truly unable to control his impulses?  I was bawling just a few pages into this book, hearing from both Nathan and Sally as they told their perspectives on always feeling different from their peers.

Nathan offers a wonderful insight that we often don't hear, the "troubled" child's side of the story.  He paints a picture of what it's like to HAVE to wash your hands a specific amount of times before being able to sit down to dinner and not being able to sit through a church sermon while it seems everything inside you is going ninety-miles-an-hour in different directions.  And Nathan's message is followed up by Sally's motherly tone, as she offers her experience in finding what works and what didn't work, what it was like dealing with these issues before they even had a common name and allowing grace in admitting that worked for them, may not work for all.  As she says, it's not a how-to book, but merely a story that Nathan wanted to tell to help others who feel different.  And that works on so many levels, from clinically diagnosed to those that just have an interesting 'quirk' or two.  This book is a wonderful resource for parents or loved ones of those who are considered "outside-the-box."

I received a free digital copy of this book for review purposes through the Tyndale Blog Network.  All opinions are my own.

All Is Bright, book review

I don't know about you, but as the holiday season approaches, I tend to start getting reflective.  About life, tradition, and yes... the reason for the season. I love doing special projects or readings with my kids to remind us all that it's NOT about the hustle and bustle, the gadgets or even the food, Christmastime is a holiday celebrated because of the birth of our Saviour, who came to save us all. It is often difficult, in these days of preparation, to be still, to be quiet, to reflect on what is true.  So anything I find that will help us do just that, I'm willing to try!  Enter All Is Bright: A devotional journey to color your way through Christmas. Yes, a coloring book AND devotional in one!

All is Bright combines the beauty of the season, the story of the birth of Christ and gorgeously detailed coloring pages.  Adult coloring is huge right now, and this book is perfect for those enthusiasts who relieve stress and tension through their fine-tipped markers and want to continue that through out the holiday season.  It contains 31 devotional passages (December 1-31), each laid out beside a beautiful illustration beckoning to be filled in: nativity scenes, candles, welcoming front doors, musical instruments, angels and so much more.  What I really appreciate about this book is that it also contains some coloring pages in the back that are less detailed for younger children.  My kids always want to color with me and sometimes my books are too difficult for them to justice to... but All Is Bright solves that problem!  It also includes some pages of Conversation Starters to take the devotions even further with your family.

This book will make a great gift for the coloring fanatic in your life, or a wonderful way to lead up to Christmas and the New Year with your family as a unit to truly focus on the reason for the season.

All Is Bright is written by Nancy Guthrie, illustrated by Lizzie Preston.  I was provided a complimentary copy of this book for review by Tyndale House Publishers.

Homeschool Recap, October 12th (Week 12)...

In my life this week...

Allergies. Still.  Snot. Itchy. Yuck. Miserable.  That pretty much sums me up for the past... geez, how many weeks?  All of them, seems like.  Other than that, it was a pretty busy, go-go-go week for us.  Lots to do and prepare for.  Michael is going to be helping me with a booth event tomorrow morning, Country Day on the Hill in Cedar Hill.  Should be interesting working with him at this... we've never done that before.  Kinda already looking forward to next week so we can take it easy a bit, haha.

Places We're Going...

Monday, Cubscouts had their Raingutter Regatta.  Michael and Preston worked hard on his boat for several days, and on an errand before the meeting, Preston sat on it in the car.  Sigh.  I ran home, superglued the bottom back on as best I could.  Preston didn't win, but I think he had fun anyway.  Lol.

Waiting for his turn.

Blow! Blow!

On Tuesday, we had our monthly homeschool meeting.  And on Wednesday some of us got together and went to the Green Meadows Petting Farm and Pumpkin Patch in Lynn Creek Park.  We had a blast.  The boys LOVED the playground down there and didn't even wanna go to the farm part, lol.  But we had fun there too.  Got to pet, chase and learn about all kinds of animals.  And I milked a cow!  I mean, y'know, they got to milk a cow.  Haha.  I learned that a mama pig's gestational period is 3 months, 3 weeks and 3 days, she gives birth around 3am and each of her piglets weigh right around 3-pounds.  CRAZY, huh?

Wednesday was also AWANA... I didn't have a helper this week, so had to wrangle SIX 2-3 yr olds on my own.  It actually went better than usual, which is quite funny.

In our Homeschool this week...

Loved this sign out at the farm.

Tot School: We continued the 1plus1plus1equals1.net "Tot School" printables this week with letter "H" for Hammer, and other tools.  We checked out several tool books from the library, including Little Bunny's Cool Tool Set, Tools, The Toolbox, and Workshop.

Bible:   We started talking about Birds in science this week, and our Bible lessons go along with that.  Took a small break from the Names of Jesus.  We looked up verses in The Discoverer's Bible that talked about birds... specifically eages and doves.

Reading/Writing: We continued Spelling by Sound & Structure.  Preston aced both spelling tests he had this week, again.  Continued with lessons 23-25 in Primary Language Lessons. 

History:  We started our state lessons this week.  It is a very light run-through of the states, one per day... so obviously not too intense and Preston isn't expected to remember everything and recite it.  I do hope some of it sticks.  I will share a quote from him for each state that he will tell me on Friday, or as I'm doing this recap, telling what he specifically learned, remembers or thought was interesting (and may or may not be correct, lol)...
Delaware - "It is known as the First State." Books: Delaware.
Pennsylvania - "It's state bird is some type of chicken." This is actually incorrect, Delaware's is a chicken, PA's is a ruffed grouse.  Books: Pennsylvania, William Penn: Founder of Pennsylvania and Raising Yoder's Barn (an Amish story).
New Jersey - He couldn't think of anything except "NJ is the abbreviation!" Then later came back, after reading about it again and said, "The first baseball game was played there!" Books: New Jersey.
Georgia - "Georgia is known for the three p's: Pecans, peanuts and peaches.  And pines, that's four." Books: Georgia and Mountain Wedding (a funny book about a family coming together in early Georgia).
Preston has a notebook page for each state, on the back is a bunch of information and interesting facts about the state, and on the front is a picture of the state, it's motto, state bird and flower, plus the year it came into the U.S.A.  He colors the page, writes the state capital and the state abbreviation.  He also colors in each state on a map of the U.S. as well (I make him hunt down where the state is located).

Math: Preston finished up Chapter 4 of his Math Mammoth workbook this week, did a mixed review, chapter review and took his chapter test: Got 15 out of 18 correct, 83%.

Science:  This week's focus was on birds, like I said above.  We read from Birds, Nests & Eggs, listened to CD of bird calls from Sing, Nightingale, Sing and made our own binoculars.

Not sure Callen quite gets it.

Music/Art: We didn't do much of music or art this week, other than when the boys made birthday cards for my mom and aunt.  Preston cut out shapes and glued them on to form different designs or objects.

Spanish: Continued with the next two episodes of Salsa. We reviewed words having to do with "La Playa" in our First Thousand Words in Spanish.  And we continued with Lesson 5 of La Clase Divertida!. Honestly, we didn't do much with Spanish this week other than watch the videos and go through the book.

We are using Adventures in My Father's World. See our curriculum here.



[This post contains affiliate links for Usborne Books & More and Amazon.com.  By clicking on those links and purchasing items, you are helping me continue to be a SAHM so that I can focus on homeschooling my children!  Thank you!]

Unconditional Book & Movie Review...

As I stated before, I was very excited about this film, especially when I found out that the writer and director was Brent McCorkle.  Or, as I know him, Brenton Scott.  Brent(on) was a local name in Christian rock in the days when I first started listening to "Power Mix" and then Power FM.  I know exactly where his CD is in the "local/indie" section of my music library, lol.  I knew he had gone on to become a "movie guy," and that he was a really talented director. It was very exciting to his name up there on the big screen, and in all the promo that's been going on for the movie too.

I was sent Unconditional: A Novel based on the movie and Brent's screenplay, written by Eva Marie Everson by BuzzPlant.  I haven't had a lot of time to read lately, but I managed to read the novel in two sittings just a few days before the movie released! Ms. Everson did a fantastic job writing in all the little details that helped me get a clear image in my mind of what was playing out in the story.  I could easily envision Sam's read hair and Samurai Joe's "pajamas." And as I later watched the movie, I was amused at how well the images matched what I had seen in my head!

The book and movie are based on the true story of "Papa Joe" Bradford, an extraordinary man who faced all kinds of obstacles in his life, but still spent his time inspiring young people to do their best.  Sam and Joe were friends as kids, but grew apart, only to meet up later in life while both were in the midst of personal trials and tribulations.  Their reunion serves to help both of them in one way or another.  Sam lost her husband in a tragic situation, and cannot get past her grief, but finds life again as she begins to pour love into the "Papa Joe's" kids.  Joe is fighting a terminal illness, living in the projects and trying to do his best to show those kids that they can be better than their situation.  It is a deeply inspirational and touching story, but what I loved about it is how true-to-life it really was.  It didn't feel fluffy or overly simplified.  It's cliche to say it, but there are parts that will make you laugh and there are definitely parts of this story that will make you cry.

In the story, Sam is a children's book writer, who is in the beginning stages of writing a book called Firebird.  When her husband is murdered, she doesn't want to write the book anymore, but is inspired in the end to finish it.  I love that they have actually created a Firebird book you can get.  It is beautifully illustrated (ok, not by Sam, but by artists who formally worked for Disney), and written just as you will read or hear in the novel or movie.  My kids enjoyed hearing the story, and thought the little bird was just "so cute!."  It's true, it is quite adorable.  It is, again, an inspiring story of a little bird who wants to know why God allows the storms to take away the sunshine, and he has to learn that despite the rain... the sun is ALWAYS shining.  I LOVE this message.  This is a fantastic book that answers that difficult question, "Where is God when bad things happen?"  This children's book is written by Bren McCorkle and Amy Parker.

I really, highly suggest you go see this movie while it's out in the theaters.  Please support a fantastic faith-based film with a strong message of Jesus.  You will not be disappointed.

[I was sent the two books from BuzzPlant, to help promote and review, however I was not further compensated and the statements posted here are my own, personal opinion.  There are AmazonAssociate links in the post, which means if you click on them and purchase something, I get compensated a small percentage at no extra cost to you. You are not required to do that, obviously, but if you choose to, thank you for helping to support my family!]

Unconditional Is Coming...

I first head about the movie, Unconditional, a few weeks ago when I received an offer from BuzzPlant to do a review... I read a brief synopsis of the film and thought it sounded like a really interesting story.  Then, a few days later I received a Facebook Invite to the "Unconditional Opening Weekend Event," from a friend of mine by the name of Brent McCorkle.  When I opened the invite, I realized... this was Brent's movie!  As in, he wrote it and directed it!  How exciting!

I just received the books, Unconditional: A Novel (which is based on the motion picture screenplay) and Firebird: He Lives for the Sunshine (as seen in the motion picture) from BuzzPlant.  I am excited to dig right into these and then see the movie this weekend!  I'll be doing a review of all three in the very near future!

I hope you make plans to go see it as well... with a date, with your family, a church group, whatever!  And do me a favor, help spread the word about it!

Check out the trailer...

Homeschool Recap, August 17th (Week 5)...

In my life this week...

Last week we took a trip to Michigan to visit Michael's parents.  It was a great vacation, with only a few minor bumps (basically just 19 hours of driving each way and some grumpy kiddos).  I will post a blog on it soon, hopefully.  I have lots of pix to share and certainly want to record our trip for memory's sake here. This week was basically just recovery mode and trying to get back into the swing of "normal life."  We had a Homeschool Group meeting on Tuesday, plus I had Children's Ministry Training that evening.  We had lunch with my mom on Wednesday, then Children's Church that evening.  Michael had band practice at church (he's running sound on Sunday) and is working this evening.  I'll have AWANA training most of the day tomorrow, plus a friend's baby shower and then Michael works tomorrow evening too.  So... back in full swing, for sure!

In our Homeschool this week...

Tot School: We started the 1plus1plus1equals1.net "Tot School" printables this week with letter "A."  Callen was pretty excited to have his own notebook with things to do.  He loved saying, "I do school.  Where's my notebook?"  We worked on recognizing the letter, which he was already pretty good at, as well as went over apples and other kinds of fruits.  I use a notebook, the print outs in sheet protectors and Crayola Dry-Erase Crayons.  He colored, drew lines and circled various things as we went through it.  Some times I went through the pages with him, and other times I just handed him the notebook and let him do what he wanted.  He also put together a three-piece puzzle of an apple, worked on putting things in order and laced a laminated picture of an apple... he actually really enjoyed that for a while!  We also read lots of apple and fruit books this week, like A Cow's Alfalfa-Bet, The Bowl of Fruit, A Book of Fruit, Apple Picking Time, Apple Farmer Annie, Under the Apple Tree and Growing Colors.

Coloring the little apples red, then connecting them.

Identifying different fruits.

Three-piece apple/Aa puzzle.

Lacing the apple.

Bible: We continued with Jesus as the "Light of the World."  We used Mama Jenn's printable up on our Morning Board to help us continue memorizing John 8:12, which Preston seems to have down now.  We looked up verses in The Discoverer's Bible that described Jesus as light.  We made a sunshine craft to help remind us that God is the best source of light. (The lesson plans said to do a craft that includes crayon shavings, an iron, etc., but... yeah, we didn't do that, did this instead.)

You are my sunshine!

My only sunshine!

Reading/Writing: We continued Spelling by Sound & Structure.  The words got a little more difficult this week, but not much.  Preston is still breezing through it.  He only stumbled on the word "black" once on the very first day. And we started our first lessons in Primary Language Lessons.  So far, so good with that. I'm really curious as to how Preston is going to like/dislike it as we go.  So, we'll see!

History:  This week's history topic was The Pilgrims.  Our hands on activity was to create an oiled window, using a sheet of paper and cooking oil.  Preston was really impressed that it became see-through and water-proof with the oil!  We read a lot from our MFW books and library books, or books I already had.  Our main read-aloud from MFW was Squanto, Friend of the Pilgrims, which was we started and finished this week.  We also read If You Sailed on the Mayflower, Who's that Stepping on Plymouth Rock?, Samuel Eaton's Day, You Wouldn't Want to Sail on the Mayflower, and The Pilgrims of Plimoth.

Math: Preston worked on addition facts this week, including adding the next whole 10, adding over 10, then adding 9, 8 and 7.

Science:  We continued talking about space a bit, specifically the Big Dipper (read The Big Dipper), constellations and another close star called Betelgeuse. To show how much bigger Betelgeuse is than our own sun, we did a measuring experiment outside.  Basically, it's A LOT bigger.

It's from here to way over there!

Music/Art: We continued the My Very First Art Book, and did a dot finger painting. And in the My Very First Art Coloring Book, Preston and Callen colored a skyline of London with dots (or they were supposed to... basically just ended up in scribbles).

Preston's is a Sunrise on the Beach, he said.

Spanish: Continued with the next two episodes of Salsa. We reviewed words having to do with "La Calle" in our First Thousand Words in Spanish.  And we moved into our second lesson of La Clase Divertida!. We had a couple of hands on activities this time, including creating a color wheel and making Tostones.  The plantain was not really ripe enough so it didn't come out that great, boys weren't too crazy about 'em.  Going to try again next week after the second plantain has had some more time to ripen.

They were excited, and then not impressed.

We are using Adventures in My Father's World. See our curriculum here.

[This post contains affiliate links for Usborne Books & More and Amazon.com.  By clicking on those links and purchasing items, you are helping me continue to be a SAHM so that I can focus on homeschooling my children!  Thank you!]

Homeschool Recap, July 20th (Week 2)...

In my life this week...
Getting my recap post up a bit late.  Friday got away from me, as did most of Saturday.  Friday, after we finished school, we met with a friend from our home school group and the kids played at the indoor playground at McDonald's.  Yay for getting some energy out INDOORS when it's 100+ degrees outside!  Today was at least 105, I believe.  Yuck!  Today I had a booth at a Mom's Only Homeschool Boot Camp in Granbury, put on by Heather Mac.  It was a small event, but was a lot of fun and I really enjoyed getting to meet fellow homeschool moms... and of course, show off our awesome Usborne Books, haha.

My Usborne display at the conference!

I got to meet Connie from Smockity Frocks (whom I've blog and twitter stalked for a few years now) and ran into Tina from Shema Homeschooler, who lives around the corner from me... and yet, I had no idea was speaking at this event.  Lol! 


In our Homeschool this week...
Our second week went a bit smoother, as we didn't have nearly as much going on to distract us from school.  And we're getting into our new groove.  Emperor's New Groove fans say it with me, "beware of the groove!"... um, nevermind.

Peek into my prep work.

Because I'm not letting Preston write in a few of our curriculum books, I'm copying down some of the info/problems into a notebook for him to use.  This creates a bit more prep work for me than is really necessary.  However, it's going to save me in printing costs and from having to buy books again when it's Callen's turn.  We do a lot of writing on a sheet protector with a dry-erase marker too.  So, just a peek at what my table looks like on Sunday night after the kids go to bed.  Fun, huh?

Tot School: This week, with Callen, we did more Dry-Erase activities, but he also decided since he liked the Dry-Erase Crayons, he would use the regular crayons more too... so that was nice (and less messy).  I have to tell you, after praising the Dry-Erase Crayons... they still do make a giant mess on your kid and surrounding areas, BUT... it is SO much easier to clean up.  So, still worth it!  IMHO.  Anyway, I realized that he was holding his crayons PERFECTLY!  I didn't teach him, or specifically show him how to hold it, so I was really proud to see him coloring like this:

Perfect grip!

We also continued using the Mama Jenn Education Cubes Alphabet Movements. We read several books suggsted for Callen's age in Honey for a Child's Heart, like The Bremen Town Band, Christina Katerina and the Box and Brown Bear, Bear, What Do You See?

Bible: We started our first Name of Jesus this week, our little cut our says "Jesus - The Lord Saves" and we added it to our Advent Tree.  I decided instead of a poster board, we would use that.  Mostly because... we don't have any space on our kitchen wall for another poster board, ha! We talked about what that meant and looked up some Old Testiment verses in The Discoverer's Bible that spoke on the name "Jesus" and how he came to "save" us.  Preston loved being able to look up real verses in his new Bible! We read the beautifully illustrated book Jesus by Brian Wildsmith.

Reading/Writing: We continued Spelling by Sound & Structure.  Again, the words are super easy, BUT I didn't catch Preston not adding the extra "l" on a few words, like "bill" and "bell" so there was something we needed to work on!  Continued just practicing our letters, c-j this week.

History:  This week we dove into Columbus!  Added to our History Notebook and Timeline.  We read from Story of America and American Pioneers and Patriots that come with MFW.  We also read A Picture Book of Columbus by David Adler, I, Columbus: My Journal edited by Roop and Pedro's Journal: A Voyage with Christopher Columbus by Pam Conrad.  We used some of our bath boats to show how wind helps sail a boat.  The boys thought this was great fun... making waves and wind for the boats as they tried to get from one end of the bath tub to the other. 

The boats sail from Spain to The New World.

Math: Finished up the first chapter of our Math Mammoth workbook and did the review. He's doing really well with starting to memorize some of the math facts so that he doesn't have to figure them out each time.  Yay!  Preston will have his first quiz on the material on Monday!  I'm interested to see how he handles it!

Science:  Did a few pages of Science with Air this week, just talking about how air is everywhere.  We had a paper race.  We put a couple of sheets of paper on the floor, then used some cardboard to fan air at them to get them to move.  I won.  Ha!

Music/Art: We continued the My Very First Art Book, this time drawing animals out of basic shapes.  Preston drew a fine monkey.  We also did a page in the My Very First Art Coloring Book where it was a page full of random lines and marks and Preston created a scene from that.

Spanish: Preston and Callen both enjoyed the next two episodes of Salsa, which continues the story of Goldilocks & The Three Bears.  We reviewed words having to do with "La Cocina" in our First Thousand Words in Spanish.  Callen was sitting in his chair coloring while we were doing this and every once in a while would pronounce a Spanish word along with us, so fun!  I am so pumped, because at the conference I was at on Saturday there was a full Spanish curriculum, La Clase Divertida!, on the "free" table.  Someone recently told me about this particular curriculum and I meant to look it up, and then there it was FREEEEE!  Thank you, Jesus, for that blessing!  I brought it home and it fits in perfectly with what we already have planned... so we'll be doing a little more Spanish that I first anticipated, but I think it's going to be great!  Woo hoo!

We are using Adventures in My Father's World. See our curriculum here.

[This post contains affiliate links for Usborne Books & More and Amazon.com.  By clicking on those links and purchasing items, you are helping me continue to be a SAHM so that I can focus on homeschooling my children!  Thank you!]

God On The Streets of Gotham by Paul Asay Review

The title of this book, God on the Streets of Gotham: What The Big Screen Batman Can Teach Us About God and Ourselves, instantly caught my eye.  "What in the world is going to be written in a book relating Batman and God?" is what I asked myself... and knew I had to find out.  I have liked Batman for a long time, ok... it was mostly Michael Keaton as Batman that I liked.  But the character was always so interesting to me as a whole.  Paul Asay, associate editor of Focus on the Family's PluggedIn.com, is the author and he honestly does a fantastic job of delving into the many different facets of who we know as Batman (and there are SO many different Batmans to cover!) and showing us how he does, in fact, relate to God and Jesus.  

I appreciate the fact that Asay doesn't try to force Christianity onto Bruce Wayne/Batman.  No, he readily admits he doesn't know if the Caped Crusader is a believer or not and yet easily gives detailed examples of how Batman, though dark and often deadly, shadows the Christian faith.  Is his "higher calling" and moral code merely an outstanding sense right and wrong... or is it living for something more?  We can only speculate and use Batman's examples to better ourselves in our walk with Christ.  

The author mostly uses the Christopher Nolan films to gleam from, but certainly does not leave the comic books, TV show, animated cartoons and previous movies untouched.  We run down the list of Batman's attire, comparing it to the spiritual armor we, as Christians, should wear described in Ephesians 6:14-17.  Asay relates the Dark Knight's nemeses, quite accurately, to the struggles we often fight in our daily lives.  And, though Batman is, essentially, a loner, he is not without his partners who help to keep him in check, provide encouragement and assist when needed.

I quite enjoyed reading this book, delving into the deeper levels of Batman and his Gotham.  As far-fetched as the concept may seem, Asay does a great job tying Batman and faith in God together with enough detail, wit and insight to make for a wonderful read.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the Tyndale Blog Network. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Arms of Love by Kelly Long Review

I enjoy reading Amish Fiction because I find their lifestyle and faith intriguing.  The description of this book caught my attention, because it spoke of a tale from "Amish Beginnings," being set in the midst of the Revolutionary War.  A lot of the Amish novels I've read tend to repeat the same 'ole story lines and tend to get a bit redundant and boring.  Arms of Love written by Kelly Long, however, is different because it told of the Amish settlers pursuit of freedom in the middle of a war they didn't want to fight.  It's the love story of Lena and Adam intertwined with tests of faith, the truth of war, harrowing adventure and the ever-present reality of family joy and turmoil. 

I enjoyed reading this book, especially the last half of it as it gets more and more exciting while craftily drawing to a close.  It's hard to put you finger on these characters because one minute you think you have them figured out, the next moment they do something you didn't expect at all.  This keeps you on your toes as you read and never allows you to assume anything.  You yearn for Adam and Lena to end up together, but then... maybe not.  The author does a fantastic job of creating the scene and setting, yet does not overburden the reader with too much unnecessary detail, which gives the reader a chance to use their imagination to bring the story alive.  

The end of this book offers a Reading Group Guide and a 4-week Bible Study to further dig into the faith and find ways to apply the lessons from Arms of Love.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this eBook free from the publisher through the BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Homeschool Recap, Feb 10th (Week 20)...

In my life this week...

Despite a ton of run-around with the bank and the buyers, we finally sold our Rav4 and purchased a Kia Soul!  Woo hoo!  It's super cute and drives like a dream!  That was a huge relief off my shoulders.  I swear it's just been one thing after another and I have been wound so stinkin' tight, I can barely breathe!  When we get our tax refund, we plan to buy a cheap mini-van or 3rd row SUV that I can use.  I'm so tired of being a one-car family and not being able to even run to the store when I need to!  Praying that a certain pizza place that Michael worked at last year gets our flippin' w2 to us pronto, so we can file - we're just waiting on you, pizza place!!!  Grr.

Being all stressed out has made me one cranky mama, too.  I have been a total jerk to my kids lately, and I feel so bad about it.  But every two seconds one of them is doing something naughty.  It's hard to keep from losing my cool when it's just a constant battle, one after the other.  Mix that in with some other stuff, and man... yeah, jerk city over here.  =(  I attempt to re-adjust my attitude every few minutes, TRYING to snap out of it, but... blehhhh, just one of those valleys, I guess.

A picture and story to share...
This big cardboard stand up was at the Kia dealership.  I had to go stand next to Vince Neil and send the picture to Rosie to see what her reaction was.  Lol!  When we visited her in California (a million years ago now!), we were sitting outside The Roxy in Hollywood waiting for The Rocket Summer & Watashia Wa show to start, and right in front of us a fancy, red sports car pulls up and scrapes the heck out of the bumper on the curb.  We laughed, and Michael was all, "Don't laugh, it's probably one of the dude's from Motley Crüe or something."  We laughed even harder because Michael wouldn't recognize those guys anywhere!  And then... who was it?  Vince Neil.  Hahah!  Oh man, we were inconsolable by then.  I ended up getting a photo with him, and it was just such a ridiculous nite... something we'll never forget or stop laughing about, I'm sure!

With Motley Crüe, haha!

Praying for...

The pieces of the puzzle to fall into place.

In our Homeschool this week...

Tot School: Callen is picking up some new words, but he is as ornery as ever.  You cannot leave him alone for two seconds before he's either on top of the cabinet or has already destroyed something into a million pieces.  My goodness, he wears me out.  But then, we have nites like this, too.  Cutie pie!

Bible: Proverbs 20:11, "Even a child is known for his actions, whether his conduct is pure and right."  Been trying to use that one to convince Preston to behave!  Haha. We started in on the books of the New Testament, Matthew-Acts so far.  And we talked about the Israelites not having enough faith to enter the Promised Land and having to spend 40 MORE years wandering.  Here is a video of Preston reciting the books of the Old Testament from memory!


Reading/Writing: Preston has been reading a lot of books on his this week because we're doing the Winter Reading Club at the library.  Other than that, just continuing through our MFW workbook.

Cute drawing of a mouse under the chair!

Math: Worked on reviewing addition and subtraction, just continuing on with some pages in his Complete Book of Math, moving into subtracting bigger numbers and adding three values!

Science:  The subject this week was water's skin.  We did a few activities from Science With Water, like floating a needle on top of the water and playing with water drops.  Today we went outside to enjoy the sunshine and played with bubbles!

Blowing bubbles!

Stitch blows 'em, they chase 'em!

Music/Art: This week's hymn was "Rejoice, Ye Pure In Heart."  We also talked about the sousaphone and french horn and watched some youtube videos of those instruments to hear the differences.  For art, we looked at a painting of a country road and house and Preston worked on some abstract drawings using various designs/shapes/lines.

Spanish: We continued with words having to do with our community or neighborhood.

We are using My Father's World First Grade. See our curriculum here.

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