Ladybug Chronicles

Love Out Loud Devotional by Joyce Meyer Book Review

2012-01-27T23:41:00.002-07:00

It is time for a FIRST Wild Card Tour book review! If you wish to join the FIRST blog alliance, just click the button. We are a group of reviewers who tour Christian books. A Wild Card post includes a brief bio of the author and a full chapter from each book toured. The reason it is called a FIRST Wild Card Tour is that you never know if the book will be fiction, non~fiction, for young, or for old...or for somewhere in between! Enjoy your free peek into the book!
You never know when I might play a wild card on you!

Today's Wild Card author is:

Joyce Meyer
and the book:
Love Out Loud: 365 Devotions for Loving God, Loving Yourself, and Loving Others
FaithWords (November 2, 2011)

***Special thanks to Sarah Reck, Web Publicist FaithWords & Center Street Hachette Book Group, for sending me a review copy.***

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Joyce Meyer is one of the world's leading practical Bible teachers. A #1 New York Times bestselling author, she has written more than eighty inspirational books, including The Secret to True Happiness, 100 Ways to Simplify Your Life, the entire Battlefield of the Mind family of books, her first venture into fiction with The Penny, and many others. She has also released thousands of audio teachings, as well as a complete video library. Joyce’s Enjoying Everyday Life radio and television programs are broadcast around the world, and she travels extensively conducting conferences. Joyce and her husband, Dave, are the parents of four grown children and make their home in St. Louis, Missouri.

Visit the author's website. Visit the author's twitter. Visit the author's Facebook.

SHORT BOOK DESCRIPTION:

Jesus said, "You must love the Lord your God with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself." - Luke10:27

If one had to choose a single verse in the Bible that is a formula for successful living, this would be the one to live by, says Joyce Meyer: love God, yourself and others - in that order.

Many Christians get mixed up about love. They know they should love God and others, but many do not understand that loving oneself is one-third of God's equation. They mistakenly think of it as selfishness or self-aggrandizement.

Joyce Meyer believes that this misconception is one of the greatest pitfalls in the Christian journey. Loving oneself in a balanced, healthy manner is essential in order to have healthy relationships with God, ourselves and others.

Drawing upon her previous work and teaching series as well as original devotions, the author of Power Thoughts examines the three loves that we've been commanded to exhibit.

My Thoughts on this Book:

I love watching Joyce Meyer on TV. What she has to say is so awe inspiring and really helps me with my Christian walk. This devotional is no different. Daily inspiration with scripture. Perfect for those who have little time in their day as it's just a small passage but with a powerful message. Great book. Looking forward to reading the entire year.

Product Details:

List Price: $16.99
Hardcover: 384 pages
Publisher: FaithWords (November 2, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0446538477
ISBN-13: 978-0446538473

AND NOW...Press the Browse Button to Read THE FIRST CHAPTER:

3 in 30 January Weekly Update

2012-01-27T23:07:00.002-07:00

I posted at the beginning of the month that I am taking the 3 in 30 challenge. You can learn more about it by clicking on the button above.

Can't believe another week has already come and gone since my last post on my 3 in 30 Challenge..

How are my goals going?....

1. Be more diligent with my time- this was the one I thought I would have the hardest time with in all honesty. But I am really happy to see that I am using my time more wisely. I have limited my amount on the computer each day which is huge for me so this is a great step in managing my time. Also, I am now spending more time with my boys. I am around them all day, everyday but I never really think to spend 'time' with them. I guess I've taken for granted the fact they are here with me all day. I am reading to my youngest every night for the past two weeks. We are now in a routine and he looks forward to us cuddling on his bed each night to read a chapter in a book we got from the library. I am also spending more time with my oldest son. This week I've been teaching him things at the gym and he's really enjoying the one on one time we are spending together there. Baby steps.. I'm liking it so far!

2. Save more money- I mentioned this has been a struggle this past week. I didn't get to save the amount I was hoping for but I did get to tuck some away. It's better than nothing. We are also looking to shrink our debt. It's hard because we really only have our home as debt. Our cars are all paid for and our bills are basic needs. We don't have cell phones, or electronic trinkets except our laptops and my MP3 player I use for my workouts at the gym. We don't have credit card debt so I am trying to find ways to shrink how much we spend so we can save more. My main focus this coming weekend is to save more at the grocery store. I may have to really watch ads and try to find online coupons. It's just hard because we don't eat processed foods. Fresh foods are literally more expensive and that's where our money is going.

Hubby will be going to MI for two weeks starting Monday and with that brings more travel money home. That will all be put into savings. I am happy about that. Plus income tax season is fast approaching. We'll have some from that to tuck away. I am also looking into changing internet/phone/cable companies to save money. It will drop our cost by half and put a good chunk into our savings each month.. I'll be looking into that this coming week.

3. Do a Bible Study- On my second week reading Ephesians with my online group. It's going good. Loving the application bible. It makes reading and understanding so nice.

Every Body Matters by Gary Thomas Book Review

2012-01-26T22:22:00.005-07:00

Every Body Matters explores how positively addressing our physical condition can lead to a fortified soul better able to serve and love others. Through confessional and engaging stories of people who intentionally got physically fit as a way to grow spiritually, Thomas draws a fresh, compelling, non-judgmental body/soul correlation.

My Thoughts on this Book:
I can't say enough great things about this book. I honestly couldn't put it down until the end. It's now full of many highlights, underlined words and passages. A wonderful inspiration that will help me become a better Christian. I have been trying to get physically fit for awhile now, losing 25 pounds so far through eating right, and running at least 3 days a week including weight lifting.

When I picked up this book and started reading, it was a boost I needed to keep on. To work harder towards my goal of being physically fit, healthier and stronger. Not just for me and my family but for God. The author says in his book 'The real question is, are my eating habits slowly pulling me away from an intimate walk with God? Is food serving me by providing necessary nutrition, or is it holding me back by gradually making me increasingly insensitive to God's voice and presence?' In this book he shows us why we are here and why being physically fit is so important.

It was truly well written, inspiring and held a true purpose. A purpose to get us off the couch, to become physically active. God called us all to be fit so that we are ready to do His work when needed.

I read it cover to cover in two shorts days and I plan to go back through it chapter by chapter and then answer the questions for each chapter in the back of the book. It really helps you dig deeper in what he says and to apply it to your own life.

He touches on how the Christian church is failing us on not opening up about obesity. Having the church speak up about this topic in a loving way to help our fellow Christian's with weight loss. I believe in a lot of what he says about this. I do struggle with talking one on one with others who are having a difficult time with losing weight. I am not sure if I would be comfortable in embracing someone about this very touchy subject but as a whole church, I think this would be a wonderful series to speak about on Sunday's to open the eyes of the congregation and to maybe bring classes or groups together to help those that are in need of losing weight! He talks a lot about this in his book.

I could quote him throughout this post but I think you should pick up this book and read it for yourself.. I'll leave you with this great quote "Getting fit can be an arduous, even painful process; living fit is filled with much joy."

If you are struggling with weight loss and can't find the motivation, this book will inspire you to a new level!

About the Author:
Gary Thomas is a writer in residence at Second Baptist Church in Houston, Texas, and an adjunct faculty member teaching on spiritual formation at Western Seminary in Portland, Oregon. He is the author of several books, including Sacred Marriage, Sacred Pathways, Pure Pleasure, Sacred Parenting, and the Gold Medallion Award-winning Authentic Faith. http://www.garythomas.com/

I received this book from Zondervan publishing for free in exchange for an honest review of this book. No other compensation was given.

The Juice Lady's Weekend Weight-Loss Diet by Cherie Calbom Book Review

2012-01-26T21:51:00.003-07:00

It is time for a FIRST Wild Card Tour book review! If you wish to join the FIRST blog alliance, just click the button. We are a group of reviewers who tour Christian books. A Wild Card post includes a brief bio of the author and a full chapter from each book toured. The reason it is called a FIRST Wild Card Tour is that you never know if the book will be fiction, non~fiction, for young, or for old...or for somewhere in between! Enjoy your free peek into the book!

You never know when I might play a wild card on you!

Today's Wild Card author is:

Cherie Calbom, MS

and the book:

The Juice Lady's Weekend Weight-Loss Diet: Two days to a new dress size

Siloam (December 13, 2011)

***Special thanks to PUBLICIST'S NAME of PUBLICIST'S COMPANY for sending me a review copy.***

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Cherie Calbom, MS, is the author of The Juice Lady’s Turbo Diet, The Juice Lady’s Living Foods Revolution, and Juicing for Life, which has nearly two million books in print in the United States. Known as “The Juice Lady” for her work with juicing and health, Cherie has worked as a clinical nutritionist and has a master’s degree in nutrition.

Visit the author's website.

SHORT BOOK DESCRIPTION:

Jump-Start Your Diet…

Detox Your System…

Lose a Dress Size…

Shrink Your Love Handles . . .

…with this two-day diet program that helps you get healthy for life.

Start Friday night with a juice or green smoothie dinner. Then have an all-liquid Saturday and Sunday breakfast and lunch, followed by a raw food dinner Sunday night. It’s easy, delicious, and requires only a weekend commitment!

Look and feel great for a special event

Motivate yourself for continued weight loss

Cleanse your system after a stressful week

Jump-start your living foods lifestyle!

My Thoughts on this Book:

If you are looking to start a healthy diet to lose unwanted pounds I would recommend checking out this book. This book comes with great advice, and some really yummy recipes to help you start your journey on losing weight.

Product Details:

List Price: $12.99

Paperback: 224 pages

Publisher: Siloam (December 13, 2011)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 1616386568

ISBN-13: 978-1616386566

AND NOW...THE FIRST CHAPTER:

Weight Loss on a Mission

The World Health Organization estimates that by 2015, there will be more than 1.5 billion overweight consumers, incurring health costs beyond $117 billion per year in the US alone.1 It’s obvious that we need to do something differently. We need a new way of life—a revolution in how we eat, one that we adopt for the rest of our lives.

What if you found a weight-loss program that could help you lose weight more effectively than anything you’ve ever tried? And what if that program didn’t involve expensive meals you had to order, pills you had to buy, or anything other than great whole foods you prepare in your kitchen? What if that program helped

you look and feel better than ever? And what if it was such an energizing way of life that you wanted to follow it for the rest of your life? Are you interested?

The Juice Lady’s Weekend Weight-Loss Diet is a fast track to just such a program. This two-day jump start can lead you into a transformative lifestyle that is helping thousands of people lose weight, keep it off for good, and completely revolutionize their health. This is what I call weight loss on a mission—the mission is

to help you become healthy, happy, and filled with life, as well as slim and fit. (You’ll find a complete weight-loss juicing program in my book The Juice Lady’s Turbo Diet.)

Freshly made vegetable juices are at the center of the weekend weight-loss diet. They provide concentrated sources of very absorbable nutrients. They are low in fat and calories, so replacing higher-calorie foods with fresh juice is a shoo-in for weight-loss success.

But the benefits of juicing don’t stop there. Vegetable juices help curb cravings because they satisfy your body’s nutrient needs. They’re alkaline, which is very helpful to balance out a system that’s most probably too acidic. They’re also high in antioxidants that are antiaging and immune enhancing—that means you’re giving your body the things it needs to start looking and feeling younger.

Fresh Juice—a Cornucopia of Nutrients

Every time you pour a glass of juice, picture a cornucopia of nutrients cascading into your body, promoting health, revving up your metabolism, balancing weight, and increasing vitality. This melange of nutrients can change your life—completely change your life—as it completely changed mine! Here’s what every glass of juice provides.

Amino acids

Did you ever consider juice to be a source of protein? Most people would say no. Surprisingly, it does offer more amino acids than you might think. We use amino acids to form muscles, ligaments, tendons, hair, nails, and skin. Protein is needed to create enzymes, which direct chemical reactions, and hormones, which

guide bodily functions. Fruits and vegetables contain lower quantities of protein than animal foods such as muscle meats and dairy products. Therefore they are thought of as poor protein sources. But juices are concentrated forms of vegetables and so provide easily absorbed amino acids, the building blocks that make up protein. For example, 16 ounces of carrot juice (2–3 pounds of carrots) provides about 5 grams of protein (the equivalent of about a chicken wing or 2 ounces of tofu). I don’t recommend drinking that much carrot juice because of the sugar content, but that’s an example.

Vegetable protein is not complete protein, so it does not provide all the amino acids your body needs. In addition to lots of dark leafy greens, when you finish your weekend weight-loss kick start, you’ll want to eat other protein sources, such as sprouts, legumes (beans, lentils, and split peas), nuts, seeds, and whole grains. If you’re not vegan, you can add eggs and free-range, grass-fed muscle meats such as chicken, turkey, lamb, and beef along with wild-caught fish.

Carbohydrates

Most vegetable juice contains good carbohydrates. The exceptions would be carrots and beets, which have higher sugar content. They should be used in small quantities and diluted with low-sugar vegetable juices such as cucumber and dark leafy greens. Carbs provide fuel for the body, which it uses for energy, heat production, and chemical reactions. The chemical bonds of carbohydrates lock in the energy a plant takes up from the sun and soil, and this energy is released when the body burns plant food as fuel.

There are three categories of carbs: simple (sugars), complex (starches and fiber), and fiber. Choose more complex carbohydrates in your diet than simple carbs. There are more simple sugars in fruit juice than vegetable juice, which is why I recommend you juice primarily vegetables, use low-sugar fruit for flavor and a little sweetness, and in most cases drink no more than 4 ounces of fruit juice a day.

Both insoluble fiber and soluble fiber are found in whole fruits and vegetables—both types are needed for good health. It’s amazing how many people still say juice doesn’t have any fiber. It contains the soluble form—pectin and gums, which are excellent for the digestive tract. Soluble fiber also helps to lower cholesterol, stabilize blood sugar, and improve good bowel bacteria and elimination.

Essential fatty acids

There is very little fat in fruit and vegetable juices, but the fats juice does contain are essential to your health. The essential fatty acids (EFAs)—linoleic and alpha-linolenic acids in particular—found in fresh juice function as components of nerve cells, cellular membranes, and hormonelike substances called prostaglandins. They are also required for energy production.

Vitamins

Fresh juice is replete with vitamins, but heat and processing destroy vitamins. We need these organic substances because they take part, along with minerals and enzymes, in chemical reactions throughout the body. For example, vitamin C participates in the production of collagen, one of the main types of protein found in the body that keeps your skin looking fresh and youthful rather than sagging and aging. Fresh juices are excellent sources of water-soluble vitamins such as C, many of the B vitamins, and some fat-soluble vitamins such as E and K, along with key phytonutrients like beta-carotene (known as pro-vitamin A), lutein, lycopene, and zeaxanthin. They also are coupled with cofactors that increase the effectiveness of each nutrient; for example, vitamin C and bioflavonoids work together synergistically to make each more effective.

Minerals

There are about two dozen minerals that your body needs to function well, and they’re abundant in fresh juice. They make up part of bones, teeth, and blood, and they help maintain normal cellular function. The major minerals include calcium, chloride, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, sodium, and sulfur. Trace

minerals, which include boron, chromium, cobalt, copper, manganese, nickel, selenium, vanadium, and zinc, are those needed in very small amounts.

Minerals occur in inorganic forms in the soil, and plants incorporate them into their tissues. As a part of this process, the minerals are combined with organic molecules into easily absorbable forms, which makes plants an excellent dietary source of minerals. Juicing is believed to provide even better mineral absorption than whole vegetables because the process of juicing releases minerals into a highly absorbable, easily digestible form.

Enzymes

These living molecules are prevalent in raw foods, but heat, such as cooking and pasteurization, destroys them. Enzymes facilitate the biochemical reactions necessary for life. They are complex structures composed predominantly of protein and usually require additional cofactors to function, including vitamins; minerals such as calcium, magnesium, and iron; and other elements. Fresh juice is chock-full of enzymes. Without them we would not have life.

When you eat and drink enzyme-rich foods, these little molecules help break down food in the digestive tract, thereby sparing the pancreas, liver, and stomach—the body’s enzyme producers—from overwork. This sparing action is known as the “law of adaptive secretion of digestive enzymes,” which asserts that the body will adapt or change the amount of digestive enzymes it produces according to what is needed. According to this law, when a portion of the food you eat is digested by enzymes present in the food, the

body won’t need to secrete as much of its own enzymes. This allows the body’s energy to be shifted from digestion to other functions such as repair and rejuvenation.

Fresh juices require very little energy expenditure to digest. That is one reason why people who start consistently drinking fresh veggie juice often report that their digestion and elimination improve and that they feel better and more energized right away.

Phytochemicals

Plants contain substances know as phytochemicals that protect them from disease, injury, and pollution. Phyto means plant, and chemical in this context means nutrient. There are tens of thousands of phytochemicals in the foods we eat. For example, the average tomato may contain up to ten thousand different types of these nutrients, with one of the most famous being lycopene. Phytochemicals give plants their color, odor, and flavor. Unlike vitamins and enzymes, they are heat stable and can withstand cooking. Some of them, such as lycopene, appear to be more effective when cooked.

Biophotons

There’s one more substance abundant in raw foods that is more difficult to measure than the others. It’s known as biophotons, which is light energy that is found in the living cells of raw plant foods. These photons have been shown to emit coherent light energy when uniquely photographed (Kirlian photography). This light energy is believed to have many benefits when consumed, such as aiding cellular communication and feeding the mitochondria and the DNA. They are believed to contribute to our energy, vitality, and a feeling of vibrancy and well-being.

Now that you’ve learned about the powerful nutritional punch packed inside each glass of juice you drink, let’s consider how this applies to weight loss.

Power Foods That Give Your Weight Loss a Big Boost

In addition to some of the basic steps you can take to achieve weight loss success, there are specific foods you can add to your weight-loss program that will make a huge difference in assisting your body in burning fat. These super foods can help you succeed and give you super-size health dividends at the same time. Be sure to add them to your weight-loss program.

Green juice: the number one fat cure. In honor of his hundredth show, Dr. Oz served on the set his favorite green juice drink to one hundred people who had lost thirteen thousand pounds combined. This blend of cucumbers, apple, and leafy greens started a new wave of interest in green juices for weight loss. So why do green juices work so well? Dr. Oz cites the fact that they compensate for the fact that most of us are simply not getting sufficient nourishment from standard diets. He says, “We know we have to have at least five fistfuls of leafy green vegetables and fruit every day, so we make a morning green drink.”2

There’s evidence to suggest that even if we took the time to chew up five cups of green veggies each day, we wouldn’t get as much benefit from them as we would from juicing them. The mechanical process of juicing the vegetables breaks apart plant cell walls and makes absorption better than even when the best “chewers” chew their food at least thirty times before swallowing. It has an effect like throwing marbles at a chain-link fence rather than tennis balls; their contents are going to go through in a way that tennis balls can’t.

The juices contain easily absorbed micronutrients that will do more than slim you down—they’ll optimize your overall health and wellness. There’s science behind the green juices transformative powers and a number of reasons why the juices, along with a high intake of living foods, energize your body, fire up your metabolism, speed slimming, and overhaul your health. Here’s the evidence as to why it works.

Green Veggies Help Lower the Risk of Type 2 Diabetes

Because of their high magnesium content and low glycemic index, green leafy vegetables are also valuable for persons with type 2 diabetes. One study revealed that an increase of just one and onehalf servings a day of green leafy vegetables was associated with a 14 percent lower risk of diabetes.3

Magnesium-rich greens ramp up your energy. A British study comparing the metabolism of female twins found that magnesium intake was the most important dietary variable that determined adiponectin levels.4 Adiponectin is a fat cell hormone that promotes insulin sensitivity. This hormone has recently gained attention from researchers because of its regulation of glucose and fat metabolism. Elevated levels of adiponectin are associated with increased insulin sensitivity and fat burning. Adiponectin also seems to work closely with leptin—a hormone that helps control the appetite. As you lose weight, this hormone gets a boost. Fresh fruit and vegetables have a positive influence on this hormone, which is made in fat cells. It boosts metabolism and helps regulate inflammation, which, consequently, helps to prevent weight gain, becoming a type 2 diabetic, or developing heart disease.

This new study shows very clearly that adequate magnesium is imperative to maintaining adiponectin levels. This means that a deficiency of magnesium, which is common in America, is a clear contributor to the problems people have with weight management. Magnesium also plays a key role in fighting off stress and anxiety, supporting restful sleep, preventing restless leg syndrome, and boosting energy.

Further, magnesium helps prevent fat storage. When magnesium is low, cells fail to recognize insulin. As a result, glucose accumulates in the blood—and then it gets stored as fat instead of being burned for fuel. Green plants, which are rich in magnesium, are far superior to magnesium supplements because the supplements’ particles are a bit large for the body to entirely absorb. (I’m in favor of taking magnesium supplements, if they are needed, but as an adjunct to a magnesium-rich diet.) Green plants take inorganic minerals from the soil through their tiny roots and incorporate them into their cells. They become organic particles that are much smaller and easier for the body to absorb. It is estimated that more than 90 percent of a plant’s minerals is delivered to the cells when you juice the greens. So juice up those leaves—chard, collards, beet tops, parsley, spinach—the five highest in magnesium, plus kohlrabi leaves, kale, dandelion greens, lettuce, and mustard greens.

Here’s the good news—you’ll increase your energy with this highoctane fuel! That means you’ll get more done and feel more like working out, so you’ll burn more calories and build more muscle.

Enzymes Speed Fat Burning

Our bodies produce enzymes that are used in digesting the food we eat. They can be found in the saliva, small intestine, stomach, liver, and pancreas. These hardworking little catalysts break down proteins, fats, and carbohydrates into fatty acids, amino acids, and forms of glucose that feed your cells.

Enzymes are responsible for a host of reactions in the body. All the minerals, herbs, vitamins, and hormones we take can’t do their jobs without enzymes. When your diet is deficient in enzymes from live foods (uncooked, not processed), your body has to work harder to produce the enzymes it needs. If you’re deficient, you may experience weight gain, depression, and many other maladies that plague modern society.

Enzymes are truly weight-loss supermen. But these magic bullets start decreasing as we age—by age thirty-five most people see a decline in their enzyme production. Still, we need them for weight loss and good digestion. It’s enzymes that assist in the breakdown and burning of fat.

This is where juices come to the rescue—as I mentioned earlier, they’re packed with enzymes. Eating a high percentage of raw food is important because cooking and processing our food destroys enzymes. When you drink fresh, live juices and eat plenty of living foods, the enzymes they contain kick your metabolism into gear by helping to spare your liver and pancreas from working so hard. Then these organs can focus on their metabolic tasks of burning fat and producing energy. And your digestion will improve. This affects your whole life, your whole being.

Three Super-Hero Enzymes

• Lipase. Lipase is a fat-splitting enzyme that is abundant in raw foods. It assists your body in digestion,

fat distribution, and fat burning. However, few of us eat enough raw foods to get sufficient lipase

to burn even a normal amount of fat, not to mention any excess fat. Without lipase, fat accumulates.

You can see it on your hips, thighs, buttocks, and stomach. Lipase is richest in raw foods that contain

some fat, such as sprouted seeds and nuts, avocado, and fresh coconut meat.

• Protease. As your body burns flab, toxins are released into your system. This can cause water retention and bloating. Protease is a digestive enzyme that helps to break down proteins and eliminate toxins. Eliminating toxins is essential when you’re burning fat. If your body is storing toxins, it’s very difficult to burn fat. But protease comes to the rescue and attacks and eliminates toxins. So, as you can see, it’s crucial to have plenty of protease during weight loss. Protease is richest in the leaves of plants. So juice up those

green leaves and burn fat. Plus, the greens are also rich in antioxidants that bind up toxins and carry them out of your system so they won’t hurt your cells. That means you’ll get double action with green juices.

• Amylase. Amylase is a digestive enzyme that breaks down complex carbohydrates into simple sugars. It’s also present in saliva. So while we chew our food, it goes to work on carbs. That’s why it’s recommended that you chew each mouthful of food about thirty times. The pancreas also makes amylase. And amylase is plentiful in seeds that contain starch. (You can juice most seeds of fruits and vegetables.) Its therapeutic use is in regulation of histamine, which is produced in response to recognized invaders to the body. Histamine is a responder in allergic reactions such as hay fever and is what causes hives, itchy watery eyes, sneezing,

and runny noses. Amylase breaks down the histamine produced by the body in response to allergens like pollen or dust mites. Some health professionals believe it may help the body identity the allergen as not being harmful so it doesn’t produce the histamine in the first place. This is one reason that people on a high raw plant diet often experience improvement in their allergies. For the most effective approach to increasing

enzymes, you may also want to take an enzyme supplement. I especially like an enzyme formula that

is taken between meals—it cleans up any undigested particles of food floating around the system and

greatly improves digestion. A popular side benefit is that your hair gets thicker and your nails grow

stronger. (For more information on these enzymes, see Appendix A.)

Greens Alkalize Your Body and Promote Weight Loss

Many people eat a high-sugar breakfast consisting of foods and drinks such as orange juice, toast, jam, honey, sweetened cereal, sweet rolls, doughnuts, muffins, waffles, or pancakes. All this sugar and simple carbohydrates (which turn to sugar easily) promote acidity and cause yeast and fungus to grow. They also produce a lot of acid. Traditional high-protein breakfast foods such as omelets, cheese, bacon, sausage, and meat promote elevated acid levels in the body as well. Add to that highly acidic drinks such as coffee, black

tea, sodas, alcohol, and sports drinks, and acidic foods for lunch and dinner, and you’re consuming loads of acid-forming foods throughout the day. Keep in mind that acid-forming food does not mean the state of the food when you eat or drink it but the final ash residue after it is metabolized. As a result of this style of eating, along with not eating enough green veggies and other living foods, many people suffer from a condition known as mild acidosis, which is an out-of-balance pH leaning toward acidity. This means that the body is continually fighting to maintain pH balance.

One of the symptoms of acidosis is weight gain and an inability to lose weight. That’s because the body tends to store acid in fat cells and to hang on to those cells to protect your delicate tissues and organs. It will even make more fat cells in which to store acid, if they’re needed. To turn this scenario around, it’s important to alkalize your body. Greens are one of the best choices you could make because they’re very alkaline. And juicing them gives you an easy way to consume a lot more than you could chew up in a day.

To give your body a great start in rebalancing your pH, make 60 percent to 80 percent of your diet alkalizing foods such as green vegetables, raw juices, grasses such as wheatgrass juice, fresh vegetables and fruit, raw seeds, nuts, and sprouts. Greatly limit or avoid your consumption of acid-forming foods such as meat, dairy products, chocolate, sweets, bread and all other yeast products, alcohol, carbonated drinks, sports drinks, coffee, and black tea. When pH balance is achieved, the body should automatically drop to its ideal, healthy weight unless you have other health challenges. (But those should heal too over time.) As the acidic environment is neutralized with mineral-rich alkaline foods, there will be no need for your body to create new fat cells for storage of acid. And since the remaining fat is no longer needed to store acid wastes, it simply melts away.

This is also a great way to restore your health. Many diseases such as cancer thrive in an acidic state. Take away the acid, and they don’t do as well. An alkaline diet also boosts your energy level, improves skin, reduces allergies, sustains the immune system, and enhances mental clarity.

Thermogenic Foods Rev Up Your Metabolism

Thermogenesis means the production of heat, which raises metabolism and burns calories. Thermogenic foods are essentially fat-burning foods and spices that help increase your metabolism. This means that with some of your kitchen staples, you can burn off fat during or right after you eat and increase your fat-burning potential just by eating them. So include these super foods often in your juices and recipes.

Hot peppers. Imagine eating hot peppers and revving up your metabolism enough to lose weight. A study in 2010 found that obesity was caused by a lack of thermogenic response in the body rather than by overeating or lack of exercise. “The animals developed obesity mainly because they didn’t produce enough heat after eating, not because the animals ate more or were less active,” said Dr. Yong Xu, instructor of internal medicine at UT Southwestern and co-lead author of the study.5 Another study found that hot peppers turn up the internal heat, which helps in burning calories.6 You can add hot peppers or a dash of hot sauce to many juice recipes or almost any dish and make it taste delicious.

Garlic. When it comes to weight loss, garlic appears to be a miracle food. A team of doctors at Israel’s Tel Hashomer Hospital conducted a test on rats to find out how garlic can prevent diabetes and heart attacks, and they found an interesting side effect—none of the rats given allicin (a compound in garlic) gained weight.7

Garlic is a known appetite suppressant. The strong odor of garlic stimulates the satiety center in the brain, thereby reducing feelings of hunger. It also increases the brain’s sensitivity to leptin, a hormone produced by fat cells that controls appetite. Further, garlic stimulates the nervous system to release hormones such as adrenalin, which speed up metabolic rate. This means a greater ability to burn calories. More calories burned means less weight gained—a terrific correlation.

Ginger. Ginger contains a substance that stimulates gastric enzymes, which can boost metabolism. The better your metabolism, the more calories you’ll burn. It has been shown to be an anti-inflammatory—

inflammation is implicated in obesity. Ginger helps improve gastric motility—the spontaneous peristaltic movements of the stomach that aid in moving food through the digestive system. When the digestive system is functioning at its best, you’ll experience less bloating and constipation. It has also been found to

lower cholesterol. And ginger is the top vegan source of zinc, which gives a big boost to your immune system. Top that off with the fact that it tastes delicious in juice recipes, and you have a super spice. I add it to almost every juice recipe I make.

Parsley. This dark green herb offers a great way to make your dishes and juices super healthy. Parsley helps you detox because it’s chock-full of antioxidants, like vitamin C and flavonoids, and it’s loaded with minerals and chlorophyll. It’s also a natural diuretic, which helps you get rid of stored water. That means thinner ankles, feet, and fingers. And it improves digestion and strengthens the spleen as well. You can add a handful of parsley to almost any juice recipe and you won’t even know it’s there.

Cranberries. Studies show that cranberries are loaded with acids that researchers believe are useful in dissolving fat deposits. When fat deposits settle in the body, they are hard to get rid of, so it’s best to get them before they get “hooked on” you. Some studies point out that the enzymes in cranberries can aid metabolism, which gives a boost to weight loss.8This tart little fruit is a natural diuretic, helping you get rid of excess water and bloating. Of all the fruits, cranberries rank number two for antioxidant content, which helps detoxify the body. And they promote healthy teeth and gums, fight urinary track infections, improve heart health, and keep cancer at bay.

Kathy, who was featured in my “Holiday Fat Buster” article in the December 27, 2010, issue of Woman’s World, issue, lost 5 pounds in seventy-two hours drinking a cranberry, pear, cucumber, and ginger

cocktail along with the rest of the Turbo Juice Diet Program. Within a week Kathy’s tummy was down 5.5 inches—she said she had to keep measuring to make sure it was right. Regarding the juice diet program, she said, “Overall, I had a lot of energy and no hunger.”9 You can add cranberries to many recipes for a delicious enhancer to your juice drinks and a boost to your weight loss at the same time. If you buy these berries when they’re in season, you can freeze a few packages to have on hand for seasons when they aren’t available.

Blueberries. A 2010 study found that blueberries can help you get rid of belly fat, thanks to the high level of phytochemicals (antioxidants) they contain. The study also showed that blueberries are helpful in preventing type 2 diabetes, and the benefits were even greater when the blueberries were combined with a low-fat diet.10 Moreover, blueberries can also help fight hardening of the arteries and improve the memory.

Lemons. Adding just a tablespoon of fresh lemon juice to your water, salad, or soup will help ward off cravings, alkalize your body, and keep your insulin levels in check. Hot lemon water with a dash of cayenne pepper is a great way to start your day—it gets the liver, your fat-burning organ, moving in the morning. It’s also a natural diuretic and helps clear out toxins from your system. Further, it aids the digestive process and prevents constipation. It can also help alleviate heartburn—just add a tablespoon of fresh lemon juice to water and drink with your meal. Limonene, a compound in lemons, helps short-circuit the production of acid in the stomach—lemons are very alkalizing. Meyer lemons, my favorite, are sweeter and are available in the winter.

The Low-Glycemic Benefits of Juicing

The glycemic index has become a popular weight-loss tool based in part on the fact that high-glycemic foods raise blood sugar levels, cause the body to secrete excess insulin, and lead to the storage of fat. Originally developed to help diabetics manage blood sugar control, the glycemic index has become popular in the weight-loss market largely because it works so well. Researchers reported in the Journal of the American Medical Association that patients who lost weight with a low-glycemic diet kept the weight off longer than patients who lost the same amount of weight with a low-fat diet.11

The glycemic index (GI) diet refers to a system of ranking carbohydrates according to how much a certain amount of each food raises a person’s blood sugar level. It’s determined by measuring how much a 50-gram serving of carbohydrate raises a person’s blood sugar level compared with a control.

Virtually all carbohydrates are digested into glucose and cause a temporary rise in blood glucose levels, called the glycemic response. But some foods raise it more than others. This response is affected by many factors, including the quantity of food, the amount and type of carbohydrate, how it’s cooked or eaten raw, and the degree of processing. Each food is assigned an index number from 1 to 100, with 100 as the reference score for pure glucose. Typically, foods are rated high (greater than 70), moderate (56–69), and low (less than 55). Low-glycemic foods, especially raw carbohydrates, can help control blood sugar, appetite, and weight. Though helpful for everyone, they are especially helpful for people with type 2 diabetes, prediabetes, hypoglycemia, insulin resistance, and metabolic syndrome.

Low-glycemic foods are absorbed more slowly, allowing a person to feel full longer and therefore be less likely to overeat. Raw food experts such as Dr. John Douglass have found that raw carbohydrates such as the raw juices are better tolerated than cooked carbs. They don’t elicit the addictive cravings that cooked foods cause. Douglass believes, as does the Finish expert A. I. Virtanen, that the enzymes in raw food play an important role in the way they stimulate weight loss as they do in the treatment of obesity.12

When you get to chapter 6, “Beyond the Weekend,” you will be encouraged to choose most of your carbohydrate foods from the low-glycemic index and a large percentage of those foods as raw. The foods I recommend eating after you’ve completed your weekend weight-loss diet (see Appendix B) are for the most part low glycemic and are nutrient-rich, not refined, and higher in fiber—like whole vegetables, fruit, and legumes (beans, lentils, split peas).

Not All Carbs Are Created Equal

Different carbohydrates take different pathways in the body after digestion. For example, some starchy foods are bound by an outer layer of very complex starches (fiber) like the legumes (beans, lentils, split peas), which increases the time it takes for them to be digested. So even though legumes are relatively high in carbohydrates, they have a lower glycemic response because of their complex encasing.

There is also the antioxidant potential of foods to consider, meaning the amount of antioxidant nutrients a food contains, such as beta-carotene and vitamin C that are abundant in many fruits and vegetables. In Chinese culture, carrots are often used as cooling medicine. Carrots, beets (both very rich in beta-carotene),

and other brightly colored vegetables are especially important to include in our diet to prevent disease. These days many health professionals suggest we eliminate carrots and beets because of their glycemic rating, but the weekend weight-loss diet does not exclude them because of their high nutrient and fiber content. But I do recommend that you use them in small amounts because they are higher in sugar.

Also, please keep in mind that not all low-glycemic foods are healthy fare. Low-glycemic foods include candy bars and potato chips. These foods are very nutrient depleted, contain sugar or turn to sugar easily,

and lack fiber. You need to get the best nutrition for your choices. With this plan, there’s no obsessing over the glycemic index either, just a basic understanding of the principles. Keep in mind that certain factors can change a score, such as the riper the fruit, the higher the glycemic index score. But always choose ripe fruits and vegetables over unripe; they are healthier by far. Adding good fat to foods can lower the GI score. And keep in mind that the GI response to any given food also varies widely from person to person.

It can even vary within the same person from day to day. So it’s important to listen to your body and determine how the foods you are eating are affecting you.

More Than Weight Loss

Years ago when I was taking prerequisites for my master of science program in whole foods nutrition at Bastyr University, I worked for a weight-loss center part time as a nutrition counselor. I noticed that a number of people who entered the program looked healthy, meaning they had good skin color and tone and vibrancy—they were just overweight. Soon into the program, I noticed that though they were losing weight, they weren’t looking healthier. I observed a loss of skin tone, skin color turning a grayish pallor, and a loss of energy and vitality. I was alarmed. Even as a student I knew that it was not just about dropping weight; it was about getting healthier. I quit the job, unable to promote something that I felt did harm.

When you embark on a weight-loss program, it should be about getting healthier along with losing weight. Whether you want to lose 10, 20, 50, 100, or even 200 pounds, it isn’t just about getting the weight off any way you can. I know people who have lost weight through drastic means and ruined their health in the process.

Losing weight with vegetable juices and kicking off your program with the Weekend Weight-Loss Diet is the first step in choosing a weight-loss regimen that doesn’t sacrifice your health. That’s why I’m excited about introducing you to the Weekend Weight-Loss Diet. I know what it can do for you. So many people have praised this program and my other juice diets because of the increased health and energy they experienced. And if they can experience these great results, you can too. You’re off to a great start and a

lifetime of fitness!

Growing Great Kids by Kate Battistelli Book Review

2012-01-24T21:51:00.003-07:00

It is time for a FIRST Wild Card Tour book review! If you wish to join the FIRST blog alliance, just click the button. We are a group of reviewers who tour Christian books. A Wild Card post includes a brief bio of the author and a full chapter from each book toured. The reason it is called a FIRST Wild Card Tour is that you never know if the book will be fiction, non~fiction, for young, or for old...or for somewhere in between! Enjoy your free peek into the book!

You never know when I might play a wild card on you!

Today's Wild Card author is:
Kate Battistelli
and the book:
Growing Great Kids: Partner with God to cultivate His purpose in your child's life
Charisma House (January 3, 2012)
***Special thanks to Jon Wooten of Charisma House for sending me a review copy.***

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Kate Battistelli is a wife, former Broadway actress, and mom to one of Christian music’s most celebrated new recording artists—Grammy-nominated, Christian contemporary singer-songwriter Francesca Battistelli. Kate currently writes a popular blog at TheKitchenPrincess.com, volunteers at ESTHER Single Mothers Outreach, and is thoroughly enjoying her newest role as grandmother to Francesca’s first child, Matthew Elijah.

Visit the author's website.

SHORT BOOK DESCRIPTION:

Help your child become everything God made them to be.

Successful adults don’t happen by accident. It takes wisdom to raise your children with a strong sense of their destiny in God and a deep knowledge of their gifts and callings.

In Growing Great Kids, Kate Battistelli shares what she and her husband, Mike, learned about parenting during the journey of raising their daughter—Dove Award–winning recording artist Francesca Battistelli. Using anecdotes to illustrate the insights she and her husband gained, she provides practical advice including:

* How to dream God’s big dream for your child

* The value of humility and integrity

* How to interpret God’s seasons in a child’s life

* The power of a parent’s words, and more

Product Details:

List Price: $14.99

Paperback: 240 pages

Publisher: Charisma House (January 3, 2012)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 1616386541

ISBN-13: 978-1616386542

AND NOW...THE FIRST CHAPTER:

Chapter 1: Gifts and Callings

When my daughter was little, she definitely had a flair for the dramatic. She was fun-loving but with a serious side and a true sense of right and wrong. There was a Burger King commercial on television back then and the tag line was “Sometimes you just gotta break the rules!” Each time it would come on TV, Franny would loudly shout, “No, you don’t! You don’t break the rules!”

She loved to sing and dance and change her outfit half a dozen times a day, and I began to have a sense that maybe my little drama queen was inclined toward the performing arts. So like millions of moms do every day, I signed her up for ballet lessons. To say she loved it would be an understatement. She took to it like a duck to water—loving the pink tights, the hair in a bun, and especially when Miss Gina would single her out for a word of encouragement!

As time went on I started getting the sense that maybe God had something more for her in the performing arts. That’s when we intentionally began to take steps to expose her to the arts in a variety of small ways such as seeing the annual production of The Nutcracker at Christmas, watching old movie musicals, and taking her to children’s theater productions. We didn’t take huge steps, but we made small investments to see how she responded and to see if my hunch was right. For her seventh birthday we took her to see the Broadway production of The Secret Garden, and she was completely captivated with the show and with musical theater in general from that moment on. That’s when my husband and I really began praying about her future and what more we might do to help mine the treasure in her.

Mining the Greatness

Mine (noun):

1.an excavation made in the earth for the purpose of extracting ores, coal, precious stones, etc.

2. a place where such minerals may be obtained, either by excavation or by washing the soil.

3. a natural deposit of such minerals.1

Precious metals and precious stones are embedded in rocks and have to be extracted. Metals especially don’t generally appear in nature in their pure form. Shafts and tunnels are cut into the earth. The rock is quarried and then smelted with heat to remove the dross from the ore. It’s a difficult, tedious process, and it takes time and effort. The results, however, are certainly worth the effort to tap those precious veins beneath the earth.

Our children’s gifts are sometimes buried deep. It’s up to us to mine the gift in them, extract it, and allow it to be shaped and polished to be useful in building the kingdom of God. The effort requires selfless dedication on our part and an investment of time and finances, but one that pays lifelong dividends in the life of your child.

What is God showing you about your child? What traits is he expressing? What most interests or intrigues him? Is he outgoing or introspective? Is he intellectual or athletic? Is he artistic and creative or mechanically minded and good with his hands? And what are the dreams you have inside for him? Do you have a knowing deep inside about his life? Has God given you a glimpse into his future? What do you see when you pray for him?

I believe it’s my job to find out who God made my child to be. What particular path has He set for him? What’s unique about his personality, gifts, talents, and aspirations? How do I help him find the life God has already planned for him? What is God’s purpose for his life and how do I train him to accomplish his purpose?

Psalm 139:13–16 says it so beautifully:

For You formed my inward parts; You covered me in my mother’s womb. I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; marvelous are Your works, and that my soul knows very well. My frame was not hidden from You, when I was made in secret, and skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed. And in Your book they all were written, the days fashioned for me, when as yet there were none of them.

He knows our paths and has already written them in His book!

I don’t claim to be an expert in child rearing, but I am an expert in raising my child. Just as you are an expert in raising your child. The fact is, no one knows your child better than you, and as your child grows and develops, his gifts and talents will be more obvious to you than to anyone else.

Train up a child in the way he should go [and in keeping with his individual gift or bent], and when he is old he will not depart from it. —Proverbs 22:6, amp

Parents, we are the trainers, and train is an active word! We train the whole child in the Word and godliness, in faith and biblical principles. We train them to obey and honor Him in thought, word, and deed. We train them to pursue their future careers and callings. We do them a great disservice if we take this responsibility lightly. God has given us a sacred trust by allowing us to be the stewards of our children. Here is the note on this scripture in my Spirit -Filled Life Bible: “Train up” has the idea of a parent graciously investing in a child whatever wisdom, love, nurture, and discipline is needed for him to become fully committed to God. It presupposes the emotional and spiritual maturity of the parent to do so. “In the way he should go” is to do the training according to the unique personality, gifts, and aspirations of the child. It also means to train the child to avoid whatever natural tendencies he might have that would prevent total commitment to God (for example, a weak

will, a lack of discipline, a susceptibility to depression). Hence, the promise is that proper development

insures the child will stay committed to God.2 There are many good resources available on how to raise your child in “the nurture and admonition of the Lord” (Eph. 6:4, kjv).I’m trying to convey something else in this book. If you are a Christian parent, it’s a given that you will raise your child to love God with all his heart, soul, mind, and strength. Teaching our children to know and love God and to delight in Him should be our highest aim as we raise our kids.

My goal is to inspire you to partner with God to mine the greatness that’s lying dormant in your child. Each of us is capable of far more than we think we are. I truly believe we are capable of greatness and we shouldn’t be afraid to pursue it. God will show you the gifts and talents, the callings and destiny residing in your child. For your children to become all that God has designed them to be, means you have to be willing to go the extra mile and not assume they will simply “figure it out” when they are grown.

Too many parents seem content to allow their children to drift into young adulthood and then wonder what turned them into adultolescents (a person who has physically matured to adulthood, yet still behaves like an adolescent) and why they seem to have no direction in life. Childhood is an innocent time of wonder and discovery and endless possibilities, and it desperately requires our care, nurturing, and firm direction! Helping your child to explore life’s endless possibilities will open the floodgates to dreaming big dreams. As time goes on, with your guidance, he will narrow his choices, focus on what really interests him and embark on the path to building a future in the center of God’s will for his life.

I firmly believe God shows parents from the time their kids are small what He has invested in them. He shows us their bent and our job is to dig deep and find the depth of the gifts and callings buried inside. It is important we are not too busy or distracted with life to see what God is eager to reveal to us in each of our children.

Bumps Along the Road

When Franny had just turned twenty years old she backed into a lawyer’s car, in the lawyer’s driveway, after the lawyer had warned her to “be careful not to back into my car.” Naturally she felt foolish and was extremely upset. She knew Dad was likely to ask his famous twenty questions when she got home and was not looking forward to it. As she was driving home, she began crying and praying. The Lord began to speak to her heart,

reminding her she wasn’t perfect and it was OK with Him. He made her the way she was and to just relax and trust Him. She began singing this chorus: “I got a couple dents in my fender, got a couple rips in my jeans, try to fit the pieces together but perfection is my enemy. And on my own I’m so clumsy, but on Your shoulders I can see, I’m free to be me.”3

The next day she sat on the end of her bed and played for her dad and me the finished song God had dropped in her spirit during the drive home the day before. It might sound crazy, but as soon as I heard it, I knew this was a hit song. This occurred way before Franny moved to Nashville, had signed a record deal, or had any inkling anything like that was even possible. But I knew, because God knew and was just sharing my daughter’s

future with me. Three years later, “Free to Be Me” was the first single by a female artist to hit number one at Christian radio in eight years, remaining at number one for ten weeks!

Grammy Story

People ask me all the time, “Did you ever think your daughter would do so well?” “Did you ever think you would hear her on the radio?” or “Are you surprised by her success?” The answers are yes, yes, and no! Mike and I always had a “knowing” deep inside about her career path as she got older. We sensed where God was going, and we let Him plant big dreams in us for her. From the time she was fifteen and beginning to pursue music more seriously, we would watch the televised Grammy Awards every year and every year I would say to her, “You’re going to be up there one day.” I don’t know why I said it; I just knew deep down it was true and, knowing words have creative power, I believed it important to actually speak it out.

I found an old journal recently and in thumbing through it, came across this entry. February 28, 2002:

Hi, Lord. It’s me, bugging You! Last night we watched the

Grammys and Franny’s emotions were so stirred she cried

through much of it. Mike says I set her expectations too high,

but I believe if You are going to go for something, go for the

highest. It’s not that it’s so important to win an award but

winning represents being at a level where you have respect

and acceptance. I know she is willing to work hard and

she will work hard. Show her mercy and encourage her in

all her hard work. Let her redouble her efforts and give it

everything she’s got. Show her Your favor and love. Raise

her up in the music business and let her be a shining, warm,

beautiful light. Give Mike and I wisdom with how to guide

her. Thanks, Lord!

In December 2009, seven years after I wrote in my journal, Franny was nominated for a Grammy Award in the Best Gospel Performance category for her song “Free to Be Me”! People asked me if I was surprised and truly I can say I wasn’t. I’d been praying about it for seven years! I was thrilled of course, but not surprised. It was just one more confirmation of what I already knew. She hasn’t won a Grammy yet, but I’m still praying!

My Story and I’m Sticking to It

Franny comes by her gifts naturally. She has the added benefit of parents who happened to stumble upon, believe in, and latch onto God’s principles for growing great kids. While it is certainly an unmistakable advantage to be raised immersed in these principles, successful adults can and do spring from circumstances where these principles are absent, but perhaps at play to some degree in the background. I didn’t have parents who followed these principles, yet I was able to dig down deep and define what I wanted in life and pursue it. However, I wouldn’t recommend rolling the dice with your children by failing to employ every asset in your parenting arsenal to stack the deck in favor of your child’s future.

I grew up in circumstances quite different from those I trumpet on these pages, and yet somehow found a successful future in spite of it. My life’s circumstances led me on a journey that took its inevitable detours, but it’s my life story and I’m sticking to it! Just so you have a little background and can understand better where I’m coming from, here’s my story.

I grew up in an encouragement vacuum. My parents had four kids, and I assumed my place tucked right in the middle at number three. As a child of the 1950s and 1960s and the conventional worldview of parenting in quasi-Christian homes during that era, my parents were busy with the social priorities of their all-American suburban lives.

As far as spirituality and growing up, I remember two things vividly about God. I remember being in Sunday school at maybe four or five years old and singing “Jesus Loves Me This I Know,” and completely believing it was true. Whoever Jesus was, I knew He loved me. The other thing I recall was thinking to myself when I was about six that I didn’t ever want to die and if there was a way to live forever, I was going to find it.

I grew up attending the Episcopal Church. I learned all about the life of Jesus, but I never knew Him in a personal way and I didn’t know He could live in my heart. I enjoyed church. The mystery and beauty of the liturgy, the candles and communion, the fragrant flowers, beautiful stained glass, and impressive organ music all contributed to my feeling of awe about God and awareness of my insignificance. Our church had beautiful stone

floors so your footsteps echoed as you walked along. I loved the hymns we sang and the readings from the Book of Common Prayer and the mystery of taking communion. I knew God was contained in all those things, but I didn’t sense a clear pathway to meet Him. It was His house after all, but how did you take Him home?

To her credit, my mom had us kneel by our beds every night to say the Lord’s Prayer and blessings over the family. My grandfather was a man of strong faith. He used to read Bible stories to us when we stayed over, and he would make them come alive. We would beg him for just one more! He would write in his Bible and underline scripture, something I take after him in. We could often find Grandpa stretched out over the couch in his office praying for what seemed like hours. We always knew not to disturb him during those times. He was not a perfect man by any means but those things I witnessed in him. His love for God and his devotion to his church and family have stuck with me all these years.

My childhood was pleasant with the typical ups and downs but no major traumas or tragedies. I rarely heard words that affirmed my value and potential or words encouraging me to believe the world was my oyster and I could be anything I wanted to be. There were lots of arguments between my parents and all the siblings. Expectations were high of course, but there was precious little praise and encouragement to attain them and far too much criticism. Somewhere in adolescence my self-esteem began to suffer, and I no longer felt comfortable sharing openly with my parents. My future lacked any kind of shape with no real direction. I didn’t have a clear cut path to run on with lots of support and nurturing. So I floated through high school. I floated through four colleges in two years. I was adrift with no focus and no goals.

I knew from the time I was a little girl that I loved to sing. It was my one passion, and I did what I could to develop my singing in high school. I joined the choir and did the yearly high school musical. We happened to have a wonderful and dedicated voice teacher at my high school, so I took advantage of her lessons. But I was pretty much on my own in my pursuit of music.

I asked my mom years later why she never pushed me or encouraged me in music and her response was fairly typical for her generation. She felt if it was really something I wanted to do, I’d pull myself up by my own initiative and make it happen. Actually, she was right. It’s exactly what I did, but I think I would have avoided a great many pitfalls along the way if I’d had her support.

As it happened, I discovered musical theater when I turned twenty. I began working in a local community theater where I lived in New Jersey and in two years performed in more than fifteen productions. I got a crash course in musical theater to say the least! I stumbled on an article in a magazine about goal setting and because it made logical sense to me, I started setting some practical goals. Not long after, I was auditioning for roles in New York City. I got my Actors’ Equity card and started doing lots of regional theater, actually surviving as a working

actor—barely.

I began working with an agent, and he secured me an audition for the Broadway national tour of The King and I starring Yul Brynner. My audition was for the role of the understudy for the part of “Anna,” played by Deborah Kerr in the movie. I was a young actress in my twenties, and this was by far the biggest thing that had come along for me. To make a long story short, I got the role of the understudy and happily packed my steamer trunk and went out on the road. I faithfully rehearsed my part never thinking I would ever really get the chance to perform. But when preparation meets opportunity, miracles can happen!

Life Comes at You Fast

About two months into the run of the show, I arrived at the theater around 7:15 p.m. for the 8:00 p.m. curtain only to find out the leading lady was sick and I was going on for the first time as the leading lady in forty-five minutes! I knew my part well but had never worn the costumes or handled the props, let alone been onstage with Yul Brynner! I was freaking out, but I had to focus and get ready. The night turned out well and I got to perform the role of Anna for two weeks while the leading lady was out with pneumonia. In the end, Yul Brynner (who not only starred in the show but was also one of its producers) preferred me in the role so he bought out the leading lady’s contract and offered me the role of a lifetime! It was an amazing time for me. I was privileged to play the part of Anna more than a thousand times, before more than a million theatergoers, over the next two-and-a-half years!

The best part of the entire experience though, was meeting my husband, Mike. He joined the tour about six months into the run of the show as the associate conductor and, as he likes to say, we literally fell in love across the footlights!

After performing eight shows a week for the next two-and-ahalf years, we left the tour, moved back to New York City, got married, bought a little condo in Greenwich Village and began our new life together. A year later, we found ourselves answering an altar call and giving our hearts to the Lord. Franny was born a year later, and we thoroughly enjoyed our new little family amid all the excitement of living and working in the hustle and bustle of New York’s music and theater world.

It wasn’t long, though, before we began to feel the tug on our hearts to lay down the business we had worked so hard to find our way in and follow what God had in store for us next. Bucking conventional wisdom, but following what we believed was God’s best for our family, we eventually left New York and our careers behind to embark on building a new life that included moving to the suburbs, starting a new business, and homeschooling our little girl.

Meet My Husband, Mike

Mike comes from a family without a rich musical heritage. In his case, however, his parents were very encouraging and supported his early interest in music. They purchased the finest musical instruments they could afford, drove him to weekly trumpet lessons at the Juilliard School preparatory division, and sacrificed to send him to National Music Camp in Interlochen, Michigan, during the summer. He later graduated from Interlochen Arts Academy, received his bachelor’s degree from the Eastman School of Music, and went on to earn his master’s and doctorate in music. He was a studio musician and played trumpet and flugelhorn in Broadway pit orchestras and musically directed and conducted on Broadway, on national tour, and at Radio City Music Hall. In his case, he was the first in his family who expressed any gifting in music. Often children inherit their parents’ gifts and carry on the family business, and other times they plow new ground.

With both her parents involved in musical theater professionally, you could say Francesca was destined to go into the arts, and specifically music. It was more likely in her case because of the very musical environment in which she was raised, not to mention being thrown into the deep end of her parent’s gene pool! But not every child’s course is as easy to recognize.

With our daughter, obviously she inherited gifts and talent in music and the performing arts. Our job was to take those gifts and give them shape; give her opportunities to be trained in those areas; and expose her to teachers, classes, and mentors who would take her where God called her to go. We couldn’t assume she was going to follow exactly in our footsteps. And we had to make sure she knew her gifts and talents weren’t what defined her. We were going to love her no matter what life she chose. We had to seek God for His wisdom in her unique expression of her gifts in the performing arts. Our part was to mine those gifts and talents, and her part was to be diligent with what God entrusted to her. Success doesn’t happen by accident. It takes years of hard work.

I believe if we seek Him, God is faithful to put a dream in parents’ hearts for their children. He gives us a sense as they grow. Sometimes it’s just an inkling that turns into a knowing, and over time becomes a certainty. He entrusts the dream to us and gives us the responsibility to dig it out and give it shape. Kids don’t become successful adults by accident.

Success and Environment

In Malcolm Gladwell’s Outliers, he writes: People don’t rise from nothing. We do owe something to parentage and patronage. The people who stand before kings may look like they did it all by themselves. But in fact they are invariably the beneficiaries of hidden advantages and extraordinary opportunities and cultural legacies that allow them to learn and work hard and make sense of the world in ways others cannot. It makes a difference where and when we grew up. The culture we belong to and the legacies passed down by our forebears shape the patterns of our achievement in ways we cannot begin to imagine. It’s not enough to ask what successful people are like, in other words. It is only by asking where they are from that we can unravel the logic behind who succeeds and who doesn’t.4

The first place your child is from is you. You will have the biggest impact on his future. How you live, how you love, how you handle money, what you do in your free time, and the standard of integrity and honesty you set in your life—all these things and many more will shape your child into the adult he will become. You alone can give him the “hidden advantages and extraordinary opportunities,” and as you seek the Lord, He’ll show them to you.

How many families do you know whose adult children can’t seem to commit to their own future? And parents who don’t have a clue as to how to guide them? There is a culture of drift all around us—adults with no goals or dreams who are living out their lives in mediocre jobs, having little impact on society. If parents abdicate their responsibility and give it over to the school system or the church, they contribute to the drift. We aren’t supposed to be going nowhere. Destiny connotes a destination. But God won’t do it for you. You have to do it in partnership with God.

Who you are is going to shape who your child becomes. If education is important to you, you will raise your child expecting him to go to college and get good grades, barring any serious learning disabilities. If learning to manage money is important in your family then you will teach your child about budgeting at an early age and require him to earn the money to buy the things he wants and get a job when he is old enough. If parents

are extravagant in their spending their kids will be too! If sports are important in your family, you will set an example by making exercise a priority and being available to coach your child and take him to games and sporting events. If the arts are your passion, you will expose him to great music, museums, ballet, and theatrical productions. If you believe there is greatness in your child, you will find it and find ways to mine it!

It’s All in the Name

When Franny was a preteen, I became curious about what her name meant. I knew that Battistelli meant “to hit the stars” and I wondered what the name Francesca meant. So I looked it up at the bookstore in one of those baby name books. I found out the name Francesca means “free.” I was stunned! It was one more confirmation of what I was beginning to sense about her future, and I excitedly told her and Mike what I’d found. Her name

meant “free to hit the stars.” Talk about a prophetic picture! I was able to encourage her and remind her during down times just what her name meant and the destiny it conveyed.

Personality—Who Is She Like?

One thing that fascinated me when my daughter was young was the difference in our personalities. I’m pretty steady emotionally, calm, cool, and very practical and unsentimental. I love home, family, and the homemaking arts such as cooking, gardening, and so on. My husband is more of a type-A personality. He is a leader, strong-willed, and independent with a strong work ethic and a dedication to personal integrity. Our daughter isn’t exactly like either of us. She is sensitive, emotional, analytical, introverted, and a bit of a perfectionist. She has pieces of both of us but not a full distillation of either mom or dad.

God gave her a unique personality and our job was to parent who she was, not who we may have wanted her to be. Also, we had to be mindful not to superimpose our unfulfilled dreams onto her life. Remember, we had achieved a measure of success in the music and musical theater worlds. It would have been easy to assume she would follow in our footsteps and go into the theater in order to fill up some leftover longing or regret in us. Actually, in our case, knowing what we knew about that world, we purposely tried to steer her away from “the business” early on and focus her on dance. However, by the time she was eleven, she was already involved in professional theater here in Orlando, Florida. She even got mom to be in several shows with her! Often, the acorn doesn’t fall far from the tree!

If your children are young, then now is the time to really be seeking God about their future. It’s never too early to begin, in fact, the earlier the better! You probably already have an idea what their gifts and talents are. Ask God to give you a glimpse into their future. He will lead you step by step as you seek His wisdom in raising your unique child.

There is so much more in our children than we realize, and they are capable of far more than we give them credit for. There are precious metals and rare jewels deep inside your child. You will have to dig them out, but it will be well worth it when you launch them out into life knowing you did everything you could to equip them for success. And by success I mean doing what God has called them to do with passion and purpose and with Christ at the center. Perhaps God will call them into fulltime ministry as a missionary. Maybe He’ll give them a platform in Christian music to influence other young people to pursue God with passion and purity. Maybe your child is called to be a political leader, teacher, business owner, or inventor of something that will change the world. Maybe your daughter wants more than anything to grow up and be a mom, a noble and worthy goal. Whatever God shows you, believe it and get moving. Nothing is more exciting than partnering with God!

Questions to Ask Yourself

Has God given you a dream deep inside for your child?

What gifts and talents is your child expressing?What has God put in your heart about your child’s future?

What personality traits have you observed?

What practical steps can you take to train your child, both in godly principles and in helping them achieve his dreams?

Are you being proactive about your child’s future or are you letting him drift?

Do you believe that greatness resides in your child?

Prayer

Lord, I come humbly before You with wonder and amazement at the precious gift of my child that You have entrusted

to me. The course of this life is in Your hands, and I ask for wisdom and discernment in raising him. Help me to

uncover all the gifts, talents, and callings You have placed deep inside him. I know my child is fearfully and wonderfully

made, and I am excited to discover all You created him to be. Help me to be the parent he needs me to be and to have the ability to equip him to fulfill every dream in Your heart for him. Give me eyes to see and ears to hear as I raise him. Help me to be an example of integrity, humility, honesty, and diligence in all that I do. I pray this in Jesus’s name!

3 in 30 January Weekly Update

2012-01-23T18:23:00.002-07:00

I posted at the beginning of the month that I am taking the 3 in 30 challenge. You can learn more about it by clicking on the button above.

1. Be more diligent with my time- I'm doing quite well with this challenge this month. I feel like I am putting my energy towards other things than the computer. Last week I spent some one on one time with the boys which spurred the desire to do more like that. So each night I am reading a book with my youngest son. We cuddle on his bed and read 'Mr. Fantastic Fox' together. It's awesome..

2. Save more money- I thought this was going to be easier to do but it seems the more I think about it the harder it's getting. Started out great at the beginning of the month which is awesome. Was able to save a little this week but grocery prices for actual 'good' food is going up and it's costing me more to get food for the family. We won't eat fake, processed food. I hope to be able to get more tucked away this next week. I am not giving up. I might not be able to do it every payday but I will keep trying..

3. Do a Bible Study- I started my Ephesians study last Monday. I ended up purchasing a Life Application Bible to help me understand what I'm reading so I can do the SOAP method. I'm liking this so far.

Heart of Dakota- The Fine Details- Part 4 Poetry & Bible

2012-01-23T15:20:00.004-07:00

For the month of January I am contributing to a Virtual Curriculum Fair.. Each week is based off a certain subject. This week's subject that I'll be discussing is Bible & Poetry. My sole purpose is to post about how I use the Heart of Dakota curriculum with my 10 year old. We are currently using the Preparing His Heart for His Glory set.

If you'd like to read about Part 1- Language Arts -- Part 2 Science -- Part 3 History that I posted previously you can click on the link on the words I also touched base on the basics of this curriculum as well.

Heart of Dakota Poetry and Bible Study

To complete my in depth review of this curriculum program I would like to talk about the last two subjects of Poetry and Bible Study.. I first off want to say that Bible is integrated throughout the curriculum. It's in the history, science, and independent reading. I have already discussed this portion of the bible study through the last two parts this month and now want to include the actual 'Bible Study' section of the curriculum.

I will break this up by Day. On Day One you are introduced to the new scripture that will be studied for the entire week. This curriculum guide is studying the Psalms this year. After you've read the scripture out loud to the child there is questions to discuss together. I love how it's narrated for you to just read directly to the child from the guide. You can also use the CD to help your child memorize the scripture. I opted out on this part for this year because the songs on the CD to help memorize were in the King James Version and we don't use that version.

On Day 2 you will read the scripture again. They have hand movements you can do and again, we chose not to do that. My son finds them not helpful so we skip that part of the program. We do go over the questions to help deepen the meaning of the scripture being studied. To finish off this day's bible study, we pray together.

On Day 3 your child will be having quiet time reflecting on the scripture of the week. They have a list of things they will do during this time. My son doesn't read well independently so we do this part together so he can have my help when needed.

On Day 4 it's time for them to write out the scripture of the week. They discuss making a common place book. We use lined paper and place it in a big binder that holds all his work.

Sample of his bible study written out

Poetry

Poetry has been hard to keep up on. As we get behind in the history or science sometimes I let this subject slip. My son isn't that fond of the poetry part of the curriculum but I like using it as a tool to help him in his reading since the poems aren't very long and easy to read aloud.

On Day 1 you are introduced to a poem. This year's poet of study is Robert Louis Stevenson. I have my child read the poem out loud after I've read it once. Then we discuss the questions together.

On Day 2 I have him read the poem again outloud. Here is where it's time to write. Each Day 2 weeks are little different but all have a common goal. To get them to write. This particular example has them comparing night and day and then writing a paragraph.

Day 3 he'll read it again outloud and then discuss the questions together.

On Day 4 we read it one more time then I have my son draw pictures on a copy of the poem that describes the poem.

Sample of a poem with his drawings included..

Well, here is some information about the bible study and poetry sections of this curriculum. Feel free to leave a comment if you have any questions.. Would love to help you out with whatever I can..

Check out the other homeschool bloggers that have participated in this week's curriculum fair by clicking on the links below.. Let them know you stopped by, by leaving a comment..

Memory Making by Christine @ Crunchy Country Catholic

Learning Art at Our House by Jessica @ Modest Mama

History, up close by Jennifer @ a glimpse of our life

Fitting in the Arts When Homeschooling by Laura O in AK @ Day by Day in Our World

The Art of Exploration by Susan @ Homeschooling Hearts & Minds

Appreciating the Arts by Cindy Horton @ Fenced in Family

Beauty in Homeschooling? by Cindy @ For One Another

The Art of Art by Brenda Emmett @ Garden of Learning

Learning and Art Library by Angie @ Petra School

Seeking Beauty: The Arts and Everything that Brings Beauty to Our World by Christa Darr @ Fairfield Corner Academy

How to Fit "The Arts" in School by Christine @ Our Homeschool Reviews

How to Have a Heart Study- Chapter 2

2012-01-23T14:12:00.006-07:00

From the author, 'It is from their parents' marriages that our children learn trust, sacrifice, loyalty, teamwork, forgiveness, cooperation, communication, and responsibility.' She goes on to say '...they learn perserverance, joy, diligence, kindness, gentleness, and communication. It is from our marriages that they learn grace.' WOW.. a lot of responsibility on us as married parents. I know that our children watch our every move. I did when I was a kid, so I know my children are doing the same. There watching how my husband acts towards me and vice versa.

It's so important to walk in grace. She goes on discussing how the world has substituted tolerance for grace. She says ' With grace, holiness is the highest objective; with tolerance, happiness becomes the objective.' I see this all around in America. We have accepted and desired happiness of ourselves and not grace from God.

She goes on to say 'With grace, holiness is the highest objective; with tolerance, happiness is the objective.' In today's society we spend a tremendous amount of time thinking about our own needs, wants and desires and we have literally taken God out of the picture. Pick up this book and read more about this in Chapter 2.. It's a real eye opener..

On the topic of marriage this was a great read. It opens up the eyes on how you treat and interact with your husband. It helps to see where your marriage lies. It also shows us how important our marriage is to our children. I really enjoyed reading this chapter and could quote her on so many but I think you should just pick this book up and read it.. It's great!

Love Blooms in Winter by Lori Copeland Book Review

2012-01-19T19:04:00.002-07:00

It is time for a FIRST Wild Card Tour book review! If you wish to join the FIRST blog alliance, just click the button. We are a group of reviewers who tour Christian books. A Wild Card post includes a brief bio of the author and a full chapter from each book toured. The reason it is called a FIRST Wild Card Tour is that you never know if the book will be fiction, non~fiction, for young, or for old...or for somewhere in between! Enjoy your free peek into the book!

You never know when I might play a wild card on you!

Today's Wild Card author is:

Lori Copeland

and the book:

Love Blooms in Winter (The Dakota Diaries)

Harvest House Publishers (January 1, 2012)

***Special thanks to Karri Marketing Assistant Harvest House Publishers for sending me a review copy.***

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Lori Copeland is the author of more than 90 titles, both historical and contemporary fiction. With more than 3 million copies of her books in print, she has developed a loyal following among her rapidly growing fans in the inspirational market. She has been honored with the Romantic Times Reviewer's Choice Award, The Holt Medallion, and Walden Books' Best Seller award. In 2000, Lori was inducted into the Missouri Writers Hall of Fame. She lives in the beautiful Ozarks with her husband, Lance, and their three children and five grandchildren.
Visit the author's website.

SHORT BOOK DESCRIPTION:

This new romance from bestselling author Lori Copeland portrays God’s miraculous provision when none seems possible. An engagement, a runaway train, and a town of quirky, loveable people make for more adventure than Tom Curtis is expecting. But it is amazing what can bloom in winter with God in charge.

1892—Mae Wilkey’s sweet next-door neighbor, Pauline, is suffering from old age and dementia and desperately needs family to come help her. But Pauline can’t recall having kin remaining. Mae searches through her desk and finds a name—Tom Curtis, who may just be the answer to their prayers.

Tom can’t remember an old aunt named Pauline, but if she thinks he’s a long-lost nephew, he very well may be. After two desperate letters from Mae, he decides to pay a visit. An engagement, a runaway train, and a town of quirky, loveable people make for more of an adventure than Tom is expecting. But it is amazing what can bloom in winter when God is in charge of things.

Product Details:

List Price: $13.99

Paperback: 304 pages

Publisher: Harvest House Publishers (January 1, 2012)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 0736930191

ISBN-13: 978-0736930192

My Thoughts on this Book:

This is the first book in this series. I love Lori's storyline on all her books and this was no exception. The story came alive for me and I really enjoyed reading. I loved watching Mae's character develop. I was sad for her at the beginning of the book as she was stuck in a relationship that didn't look would go anywhere because the man she was with wouldn't propose because of his selfish nature. I love how Lori brought her character out and without spoiling the end.. I just loved how it ended!! I look forward to the second on in this series and what lies ahead for the two main characters..

AND NOW...THE FIRST CHAPTER:

Dwadlo, North Dakota, 1892

The winter of ’92 is gonna go down as one of the worst Dwadlo’s ever seen,” Hal Murphy grumbled as he dumped the sack of flour he got for his wife on the store counter. “Mark my words.” He turned toward Mae Wilkey, the petite postmistress, who was stuffing mail in wooden slots.

“Spring can’t come soon enough for me.” She stepped back, straightening the row of letters and flyers. She didn’t have to record Hal’s prediction; it was the same every year. “I’d rather plant flowers than shovel snow any day of the week.”

“Yes, ma’am.” Hal nodded to the store owner, Dale Smith, who stood five foot seven inches with a rounded belly and salt-and-pepper hair swept to a wide front bang. “Add a couple of those dill pickles, will you?” Hal watched as Dale went over to the barrel and fished around inside, coming up with two fat pickles.

“That’ll fix me up.” Hal turned his attention back to the mail cage, his eyes fixed on the lovely sight. “Can’t understand why you’re still single, Mae. You’re as pretty as a raindrop on a lily pad.” He sniffed the air. “And you smell as good.”

Smiling, Mae moved from the letter boxes to the cash box. Icy weather may have delayed the train this morning, but she still had to count money and record the day’s inventory. “Now, Hal, you know I’d marry you in a wink if you weren’t already taken.” Hal and Clara had been married forty-two years, but Mae’s usual comeback never failed to put a sparkle in the farmer’s eye. Truth be, she put a smile on every man’s face, but she wasn’t often aware of the flattering looks she received. Her heart belonged to Jake Mallory, Dwadlo’s up-and-coming attorney.

Hal nodded. “I know. All the good ones are taken, aren’t they?”

She nodded. “Every single one. Especially in Dwadlo.”

The little prairie town was formed when the Chicago & North Western Railroad came through five years ago. Where abundant grass, wild flowers, and waterfalls had once flourished, hundreds of miles of steel rail crisscrossed the land, making way for big, black steam engines that hauled folks and supplies. Before the railroad came through, only three homesteads had dotted the rugged Dakota Territory: Mae’s family’s, Hal and Clara’s, and Pauline Wilson’s.

But in ’87 life changed, and formerly platted sites became bustling towns. Pine Grove and Branch Springs followed, and Dwadlo suddenly thrived with immigrants, opportunists, and adventure-seeking folks staking claims out West. A new world opened when the Dakota Boom started.

Hal’s gaze focused on Mae’s left hand. “Jake still hasn’t popped the question?”

Mae sighed. Hal was a pleasant sort, but she really wished the townspeople would occupy their thoughts with something other than her and Jake’s pending engagement. True, they had been courting for six years and Jake still hadn’t proposed, but she was confident he would. He’d said so, and he was a man of his word—though every holiday, when a ring would have been an appropriate gift, that special token of his intentions failed to materialize. Mae had more lockets than any one woman could wear, but Jake apparently thought that she could always use another one. What she could really use was his hand in marriage. The bloom was swiftly fading from her youth, and it would be nice if her younger brother, Jeremy, had a man’s presence in his life.

“Be patient, Hal. He’s busy trying to establish a business.”

“Good lands. How long does it take a man to open a law office?”

“Apparently six years and counting.” She didn’t like the uncertainty but she understood it, even if the town’s population didn’t. She had a good life, what with work, church, and the occasional social. Jake accompanied her to all public events, came over two or three times a week, and never failed to extend a hand when she needed something. It was almost as though they were already married.

“The man’s a fool,” Hal declared. “He’d better slap a ring on that finger before someone else comes along and does it for him.”

“Not likely in Dwadlo,” Mae mused. The town itself was made up of less than a hundred residents, but other folks lived in the surrounding areas and did their banking and shopping here. Main Street consisted of the General Store, Smith’s Grain and Feed, the livery, the mortuary, the town hall and jail (which was almost always empty), Doc Swede’s office, Rosie’s Café, and an empty building that had once housed the saloon. Mae hadn’t spotted a sign on any business yet advertising “Husbands,” but she was certain her patience would eventually win out.

With a final smile Hal moved off to pay for his goods. Mae hummed a little as she put the money box in the safe. Looking out the window, she noticed a stiff November wind snapping the red canvas awning that sheltered the store’s porch. Across the square, a large gazebo absorbed the battering wind. The usually active gathering place was now empty under a gray sky. On summer nights music played, and the smell of popcorn and roasted peanuts filled the air. Today the structure looked as though it were bracing for another winter storm. Sighing, Mae realized she already longed for green grass, blooming flowers, and warm breezes.

After Hal left Mae finished up the last of the chores and then reached for her warm wool cape. She usually enjoyed the short walk home from work, but today she was tired—and her feet hurt because of the new boots she’d purchased from the Montgomery Ward catalog. On the page they had looked comfortable with their high tops and polished leather, but on her feet they felt like a vise.

Slipping the cape’s hood over her hair, she said goodbye to Dale and then paused when her hand touched the doorknob. “Oh, dear. I really do need to check on Pauline again.”

“How’s she doing?” The store owner paused and leaned on his broom. “I noticed she hasn’t been in church recently.”

Dale always reminded Mae of an owl perching on a tree limb, his big, dark blue eyes swiveling here and there. He might not talk a body’s leg off, but he kept up on town issues. She admired the quiet little man for what he did for the community and respected the way he preached to the congregation on Sundays.

How was Pauline doing? Mae worried the question over in her mind. Pauline lived alone, and she shouldn’t. The elderly woman was Mae’s neighbor, and she checked on her daily, but Pauline was steadily losing ground.

“She’s getting more and more fragile, I’m afraid. Dale, have you ever heard Pauline speak of kin?”

The small man didn’t take even a moment to ponder the question. “Never heard her mention a single word about family of any kind.”

“Hmm…me neither. But surely she must have some.” Someone who should be here, in Dwadlo, looking after the frail soul. Mae didn’t resent the extra work, but the post office and her brother kept her busy, and she really didn’t have the right to make important decisions regarding the elderly woman’s rapidly failing health.

Striding back to the bread rack, she picked up a fresh loaf. Dale had private rooms at the back of the store where he made his home, and he was often up before dawn baking bread, pies, and cakes for the community. Most folks in town baked their own goods, but there were a few, widowers and such, who depended on Dale’s culinary skills. By this hour of the day the goods were usually gone, but a few remained. Placing a cherry pie in her basket as well, she called, “Add these things to my account, please, Dale. And pray for Pauline too.”

Nodding, he continued sweeping, methodically running the stiff broomcorn bristles across the warped wood floor.

The numbing wind hit Mae full force when she stepped off the porch. Her hood flew off her head and an icy gust of air snatched away her breath. Putting down her basket, she retied the hood before setting off for the brief walk home. Dwadlo was laid out in a rather strange pattern, a point everyone agreed on. Businesses and homes were built close together, partly as shelter from the howling prairie winds and partly because there wasn’t much forethought given to town planning. Residents’ homes sat not a hundred feet from the store. The whole community encompassed less than five acres.

Halfway to her house, snowflakes began swirling in the air. Huddling deeper into her wrap, Mae concentrated on the path as the flakes grew bigger.

She quickly covered the short distance to Pauline’s. The dwelling was little more than a front room, tiny kitchen, and bedroom, but she was a small woman. Pauline pinned her yellow-white hair in a tight knot at the base of her skull, and she didn’t have a tooth in her head. She chewed snuff, which she freely admitted was an awful habit, but Mae had never heard her speak of giving it up.

Her faded blue eyes were as round as buttons, and no matter what kind of day she was having, it was always a new one to her, filled with wonders. Her mind wasn’t what it used to be. She had good and bad days, but mostly days when her moods changed as swift as summer lightning. She could be talking about tomatoes in the garden patch when suddenly she would be discussing how to spin wool.

Mae noted a soft wisp of smoke curling up from the chimney and smiled. Pauline had remembered to feed the fire this afternoon, so this was a good day.

Unlatching the gate, she followed the path to the front porch. In summertime the white railings hung heavy with red roses, and the scent of honeysuckle filled the air. This afternoon the wind howled across the barren flower beds Pauline carefully nurtured during warmer weather. Often she planted okra where petunias should be, but she enjoyed puttering in the soil and the earth loved her. She brought fresh tomatoes, corn, and beans to the store during spring and summer, and pumpkins and squash lined the railings in the fall.

In earlier days Pauline’s quilts were known throughout the area. She and her quilting group had made quite a name for themselves when Dwadlo first became a town. Four women excelled in the craft. One had lived in Pine Grove, and two others came from as far away as Branch Springs once a month to break bread together and stitch quilts. But one by one the women had died off, leaving Pauline to sew alone in her narrowing world.

Stomping her boots on the porch, Mae said under her breath, “I don’t mind winter, Lord, but could we perhaps have a little less of it?” The only answer was the wind whipping her garments. Tapping lightly on the door, she called, “Pauline?”

Mae stepped back and waited to hear the shuffle of feet. Pauline used to answer the door in less than twenty seconds. It took longer now. Mae made a fist with her gloved hand and banged a little harder. The wind howled around the cottage eaves. She closed her eyes and prayed that Jeremy had remembered to stack sufficient firewood beside the kitchen door. The boy was generally responsible, and she thanked God every day that she had him to lean on. He had been injured by forceps during birth, which left him with special needs. He was a very happy fourteen-year-old with the reasoning power of a child of nine.

A full minute passed. Mae frowned and tried the doorknob. Pauline couldn’t hear herself yell in a churn, but she might also be asleep. The door opened easily, and Mae peeked inside the small living quarters. She saw that a fire burned low in the woodstove, and Pauline’s rocking chair sat empty.

Stepping inside, she closed the door and called again. “Pauline? It’s Mae!”

The ticking of the mantle clock was the only sound that met her ears.

“Pauline?” She lowered her hood and walked through the living room. She paused in the kitchen doorway.

“Oh, Pauline!”

Curriculum Snag

2012-01-17T16:56:00.005-07:00

This year has been the best year for me with our homeschooling. I've been schooling my boys since 2004 so this is our 8th year. It took that long to finally figure it out.. It was tough since there is just soooo much to curriculum to choose from, websites to visit, advice from every homeschool mother you know, or don't know and it tends to get overwhelming.

Last January I took a few months to research what I wanted to do for 2011-2012 school year and found Heart of Dakota for my youngest which we LOVE by the way.. With my oldest he is a middle schooler and I decided not to take the Heart of Dakota route to prepare him for High School. My daughter used Notgrass American History last year in her 10th grade year and I loved it. I found out there was a junior high American History curriculum so I purchased it for my son.

Absolutely love it.. I just recently went to their website to see if they were going to offer an 8th grade curriculum so I could just continue my son on with Notgrass through High School without interuption. Well, access denied!!! They won't have this new curriculum available for 2-3 years. So what to do, what to do? I had everything all planned out. I loved everything I was using so NOW I have to THINK!!! What!!! Notgrass wasn't just a history curriculum. It housed, writing, literature, geography, and history. It was much more than one subject..

With this not available for next year I literally have to find a curriculum to make up for the lack of this one. A literature curriculum, a history curriculum, a writing curriculum and a geography curriculum...ugh! So much for smooth sailing and simple homeschool planning.. ick!

So I've been wracking my brain on what to do. How indepth do I want to go. I even considered putting him in the last Heart of Dakota book but I already have his spelling/vocabulary curriculum and his grammar curriculum that we've been using this year and love so I already purchased the 8th grade sets for next year.

I also purchased his science for the next three years. Apologia General Science is what he's doing this year and I have his Physical Science all ready for him for next year. If I choose H.O.D for him, a lot of the components are already spoken for..

So that leaves me with Plan B? What is plan B? I haven't a real clue yet. I have been thinking of maybe Mystery of History or Diana Warings Ancient Civilizations curriculum.. I used M.O.H last year with my youngest son and I love how it's put together so I am familiar with that and I know he could work on this independently. Not sure about the Diana Waring curriculum.. I want his curriculum to be mainly independent so that limits my choices. I do know that he needs to study more ancient history since his focus over the years has been pretty recent history.. 1400's to current. I would like him to learn more bible history so these two curriculums came to mind.

I wish I could get my hands on both so I could look at them side by side to compare them. The downside of only being able to buy curriculum online!

For literature, I've decided to allow him to tag along with his brother's reading study. He will be using Draw into the Heart of Reading which is a component of Heart of Dakota and this curriculum goes through 8th grade. So this will streamline this subject and have them work on it together on their own levels. So one down for sure.. YEH!

I may also have him use the Write With the Best alongside DS10 next year as well as he works through this through H.O.D curriculum. I think putting them together for a couple subjects would be ok. I then can work with my oldest on his writing which he is struggling a bit on.. So maybe two down!! The jury is still out on this one! I am also looking into Writing Strands as an option too. I may also add Fix It . . . Write by, Nan Jay Barchowsky. He really needs some help in his penmanship..

If I choose either history curriculum, geography is included in it so I won't need to search for something else.. Which is really nice.. Music to my ears! I know it's only January and some of you may be going what's the issue? I just really like to have everything set in stone by February and be able to get what I need over the next few months before May so when school is out, it's OUT until August! I loved how I had all the books, curriculum and accessories purchased by mid May and it was all put together so I could truly enjoy the Summer without having to think about the next school year. It was such a wonderful feeling!

Plus I really like to spread my curriculum purchases out over a few months without breaking the bank. I then can look for deals and not feel rushed and then end up having to buy it full price.. ick! Well, my brain is turning and ideas are flowing so that's a good sign.. It's now time to get my ideas cemented and purchases started!

Homeschool Week 16 in Review

2012-01-16T16:39:00.002-07:00

We finished up Week 16 last week. Time is flying.. almost half the school year is done already and still going strong. Love that feeling. I just found out this week that my DS12's history curriculum will not have a grade 8 for next year. So I will have to do some serious prayer on what to do for him next year. A little wrench in my simple planning..

Today is a day off for us as hubby has it off so we will be getting back to the books starting tomorrow with a four day week for my oldest. DS10 already does 4 days so it won't affect him at all..

There was just three projects that were done this week. One from DS12 and two from DS10. Here they are below..

DS12:

Made a poster of a homestead for his history project this week. He had to draw his own homestead plot and add details.

DS10:

For science he did an experiment on how stars glisten in the sky...

In history he designed his own amphora...

Heart of Dakota-The Fine Details-Part 3 History

2012-01-16T15:17:00.005-07:00

For the month of January I am contributing to a Virtual Curriculum Fair.. Each week is based off a certain subject. This week's subject is History/Social Studies. My sole purpose is to post about how I use the Heart of Dakota curriculum with my 10 year old. We are currently using the Preparing His Heart for His Glory set.

If you'd like to read about Part 1- Language Arts and Part 2- Science that I posted previously you can go HERE and HERE to read up on them. I also touched base on the basics of this curriculum as well.

Heart of Dakota History

Using the H.O.D curriculum you will see that alot of the daily lessons are focused off that days history lesson. Here is a break down of the history portion of this curriculum.

Reading About History-

The first section that will build a foundation for that day's history lesson is 'Reading About History'. Read a chapter in a history living book that corresponds with the time period that's being studied. After the day's reading you will ask questions to your child that will help him/her in comprehension, application, and analysis. This is done all orally.

Day 2 of 'Reading About History' they include a chapter to read like the previous day but then add in some scripture that pertains to the reading to study. There are several questions to read outloud to your child that pertains to the scripture and your child answers orally.

Day 3 of 'Reading About History' you read the chapter together and then your child spends a few minutes orally narrating what he/she has read or heard read using the Narration Tips that are included in the study.

Day 4 of 'Reading About History' you read another chapter together and this time you will ask your child a series of questions pertaining to the story and he/she will then write down their answers in a 3-5 sentence summary.

Research-

On Day 1 your child will work on 'Research' You will have a subject or item that was in the day's reading that your child will then look up either in an encyclopedia or online to help in him/her's understanding. Research is done once a week on Day 1.

History Project-

On Day 1 you will be given a topic or an item that you will be putting together or creating This project usually takes the entire week to work on, a little each day and by Day 4 you will have a completed project to showcase. This is typically made with materials you already have at your home such as paper, aluminum foil, pencils, straws etc.. This section is done everyday of the study.

Independant History Study-

This section is supposed to be done by your student independently, hence the title of this section. Most of the work I can have my child do by himself but since he's not a strong reader when it's time to read something we do that together. The writing portion of this he can handle on his own. This section can either be a time to read a chapter in a book that relates to the time period, scripture, or work in the book 'Draw and Write through History'. This section is done everyday of the study.

Somedays your child will do some copywork by writing scripture passages in his Common Place Book (which is described in the curriculum). They also get the opportunity to read aloud a storybook that pertains to the time period that they are studying. Somedays after their reading they will orally narrate what they've read or what you read together.

Storytime-

I'm including the storytime section in with the history because the books that are offered for this subject are history books. Fiction books that go along with the time period studied. I do know that you can also take this storytime slot and ommit the historical reading books and put your own books in its place. The lesson plan only gives you the chapters for their suggested history books but you can take a genre a month and read it in it's place. I may do that next year as these stories this year were actually difficult to read and understand. Lot's of big words that went over my son's head and I could tell he just wasn't getting it. We'll see how the remainder of the year pans out for the history books to see if we will switch to the genre option. This section is done everyday of the study.

Vocabulary-

I spoke about this section during Part 1-Language Arts a couple weeks ago but I felt it's worth mentioning again here because the vocabulary words that they are using come directly from the 'Reading About History' story for that day. There are 5 words to choose from and they want your child to take 3 of them, write them down with their definitions and place them into an index card file box. This teaches them how to use the dictionary as well as alphabetizing their cards as they get them. This has really helped my son with this. Vocabulary is done once a week.

Geography-

Once a week your child will get a geography lesson that pertains to the day's reading. Most of these activities use a globe and the storybook that you are currently reading. You do a small study on geography and then some review from previous geography lessons to keep it fresh in your child's mind. Geography is done once a week.

Timeline-

On Day 4 your child will build a timeline. Each week he/she will have 1-3 cards to write on about special events or people studied that week. They write the name/title on top of the card/ date and draw a picture to represent it. I have my son taping them one right after each other to save on space. It just accordian folds into a ziplock bag. They have other options in the book on how to make your timeline. This was just space saving for us.

I'll finish up my post by sharing some history projects that my son has worked on this year.

Timeline portion

Well, here is some information about the history portion of this curriculum. Feel free to leave a comment if you have any questions.. Would love to help you out with whatever I can.. Come back next week for more information about Heart of Dakota and how we are using it.. Until then....

Check out the other homeschool bloggers that have participated in this week's curriculum fair by clicking on the links below.. Let them know you stopped by, by leaving a comment..

Science and Worldview by Beth @ Ozark Ramblings

Nature Study as Science by Christine @ Crunchy Country Catholic

Virtual Curriculum Fair Week 3- Social Studies and more Science by Leah Courtney @ The Courtney Six Homeschool Family

Curriculum Fair–Exploring Our World by Angie @ Petra School

Paths of Exploration by Jen @ Forever, For Always

Learning Geography at Our House by Jessica @ Modest Mama

Mapping Out Our Social Studies by Susan @ Homeschooling Hearts & Minds

The Fascinating Wrld Around Us by Cindy Horton @ Fenced in Family

More Heart of Dakota Praises by Nicole @ Schooling in the Sun

Our History by Melissa @ Grace Christian Homeschool

Playful US Geography for First Grade by Pam @ Everyday Snapshots

Exploring Our World Through History & Science by Brenda Emmett @ Garden of Learning

Two History Must-haves by Letha @ justpitchingmytent

Learning About The World Around Us by Laura O from AK

Social Studies and Science - What do we do? by Joelle @ Homechooling for His Glory

History Chronologically and with Living Books by Debbie @ Debbie's Digest

Why History? by MissMOE @ Homeschooling While Living the Life of Easier

Exploring Our World by Christa Darr @ Fairfield Corner Academy

3 in 30 January Weekly Update

2012-01-14T21:57:00.007-07:00

Remember that PROGRESS, not PERFECTION, is the definition of SUCCESS!!

Other motivational quotes:

I posted at the beginning of the month that I am taking the 3 in 30 challenge. You can learn more about it by clicking on the button above.

1. Be more diligent with my time- I felt like I was wasting time each day by not doing things that were more productive. I am really progressing in this. I think this goal has been the most productive of all of them so far. Each day before I do something that I know are time wasters, like the computer.. I think of things I could possibly be doing instead. I find that I have alot more productive things to do. I am involved in a 31 Days to Clean challenge this month and I have been using my wasted time to clean and organize my house like I never thought possible and it's so uplifting. Not only is my house getting deep cleaned but I feel better doing it. Seeing the results is a very positive thing.

I mentioned last week that I wanted to take my boys separately to spend one on one time with them. I took my oldest on a run. He wanted to ride his rollerblades and I ran alongside him as we chatted along the trail. I really enjoyed it and he really enjoyed it too.

My youngest son didn't really want to 'do' anything with me. He just wanted to be 'heard'. I spent an hour just letting him tell me everything that was on his mind. He's a talker and this was his outlet.. With this simple thing, he's really drawn closer to me. He gives me more hugs and tells me he loves me more now. I just love that.

2. Save more money- this past week was not good since we had to purchase new glasses for my hubby. That's ok since I was able to save 4 times the amount I set out to do each week the previous week so I'm off to a great start. My goal is to save $50 a week. It's looking good for this coming week.

3. Do a Bible Study- My Ephesians study starts Monday. I have everything I need to get started. Nothing as of yet to say about this particular goal but I am looking forward to getting started.

Well here is what's happening with my goals so far this month. I am happy with my progress and look forward to what's ahead this month...

How to Have a Heart Study- Chapter 1

2012-01-14T20:45:00.004-07:00

I've joined an online group to go through the book "How to Have a H.E.A.R.T For Your Kids' by Rachael Carman. You can click on the banner above to take you to the blog that is hosting this. You can join at anytime..

This week's goal was to read through Chapter 1, journal about what you gleaned from the text and answer the questions at the end of the chapter. This week's topic is H: Have a Heart for the Things of God.

At the beginning of the chapter this quote by the author stood out to me"In order to reach the hearts of your kids, you must first have a heart for the things of God." She then says shortly after "You cannot pass on what you do not have."

This really stopped me cold when I read these words. I keep forgetting how important it is to be in the Word, to know the Word and to rely on God to help me in everything I do. Because like the second quote mentions, you can't pass on what you don't have yourself. I can't pass on the Word of God, the love of God or the knowledge of God if I myself don't walk with God. I need to be honest with myself and to God about how I've neglected Him in my day to day life..

She also said "Children are watching us all the time whether we like it or not." That is very powerful and very true. It's cute to see the things your kids mimmick of you that you like, but it's gut wrenching when you notice the bad habits they've also taken from you. I want to leave a legacy like Nicole Nordeman's song. I want to leave a legacy of God to my children, through my examples and through the teachings of scripture and by my actions.

I love what she said "If glorifying God were so clear-cut and obvious, then we ought to be able to do it all the time. So why don't we? Because at our core we are selfish, fallen and sinful people'. She goes on and says 'Without Christ, we are doomed, trapped in ourselves with no way to bridge the gap between our sinful state and our need for redemption.'

I need to show more gratitude in my actions and how I live my life on the huge sacrifice Jesus made on the cross for my sinful self. I have great intentions on getting into the Word, hopes of diving deep and memorizing and then I fall short. I tell myself I've failed and then I move forward without starting over. I just give up!

Satan is having a hay day when I do that. Smiling down on me everytime I draw away from God. I can't and won't live like that anymore. The desire I have in my heart is from God and I truly need to listen to Him and take one step at a time and not worry so much at my failures but to confess myself to Him which in turn will ultimately draw me closer to Him. How awesome is that

Chapter 1 has really opened up a lot of thinking and I really like it. It's given me a true desire more than I have in the past to draw closer to Him. A real relationship with Him..

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

There was three questions called Heart Checkup that the book offers to help with the study and here they are below

1. Having a heart for God requires self-discipline. Do you have a regular quiet time? When? Where? Is it a priority for you? Do you have a plan for studying God's Word?

Currently I don't have a regular quiet time, but I will be doing a study on Ephesians and Galations. Ephesians study starts tomorrow with other ladies online and the Galations study starts on the 18th with my church. I will be reading the books of the Bible while doing the S.O.A.P application for the scripture I am reading.

I plan to take the time in the afternoon's after school is completed. I want this to be priority in my life on a daily basis because it's as important to my soul as food is to my body. I took the time to read the Bible in 90 Days back in October and enjoyed the daily scripture reading I did for an hour. I want to get back to doing that and look forward to it as well.

2. How would you characterize your prayer time? Do you spend time praising God and thanking Him? Do you confess your sins and make your requests known to Him?

I really need to work on my prayer time with the Lord. I'd like to journal more the prayer requests I have stored in my brain so I can be better equipped to pray for others. I feel like I am lacking in this and when I tell someone I will be praying for you, I want to mean it. I also want to talk to God on a regular basis. A conversation as I go about my daily life. I don't want to worry about the timing, the setting or if someone is listening because sometimes I need my children to listen to me speak to God. How are they going to learn if they don't witness.

3. What are some things you need to praise God for regarding your children? What should you thank Him for? Ask forgiveness for? Ask His wisdom and guidance on?

Praising- health, that my children are with me everyday instead of off at school. Their individuality, their uniqueness and their desire to love

Thankful- for all the above, my marriage, our health, our home, and finances

Forgiveness- my tongue. I've been using it as a dagger with harsh words lately and I am not setting a positive attitude and a positive role model in the home.

Wisdom & Guidance- holding my tongue and to use it for positive words and not words that will tear my family down but to bring them up. Schooling my oldest son, how to understand him more so I can use his strengths to help him with his schooling.

I look forward to reading the next chapter in this book for this coming week called 'E: Enrich Your Marriage'... I'll be posting on this chapter next weekend.. Until then...

The Gospel Story Bible by Marty Machowski Book Review

2012-01-13T20:54:00.003-07:00

It is time for a FIRST Wild Card Tour book review! If you wish to join the FIRST blog alliance, just click the button. We are a group of reviewers who tour Christian books. A Wild Card post includes a brief bio of the author and a full chapter from each book toured. The reason it is called a FIRST Wild Card Tour is that you never know if the book will be fiction, non~fiction, for young, or for old...or for somewhere in between! Enjoy your free peek into the book!

You never know when I might play a wild card on you!

Today's Wild Card author is:

Marty Machowski

Illustrated by:

A. E. Macha

and the book:

The Gospel Story Bible:

Discovering Jesus in the Old and New Testaments

New Growth Press (December 5, 2011)

***Special thanks to Audra Jennings – The B&B Media Group – for sending me a review copy.***

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Marty Machowski is a Family Life Pastor at Covenant Fellowship Church, a Sovereign Grace Ministries church in Glen Mills, Pennsylvania, where he has served on the pastoral staff for twenty-three years. Marty leads Promise Kingdom, the children’s ministry of Covenant Fellowship. He is also the author of Long Story Short: Ten-Minute Devotions to Draw Your Family to God and the forthcoming Gospel Story Sunday school curriculum. He and his wife Lois and their six children reside in West Chester, Pennsylvania.

Visit the author's Facebook Page.

ABOUT THE ILLUSTRATOR:

I have never been the best at anything. This has given me the freedom to really enjoy alot of things; perfection is not on the line. So my drawing is not clean, my patchwork corners don’t really match up, and my cooking is always an adventure. I was raised by a single mom who has an exhausting amount of creative energy. My brother and I were taught how to create our own entertainment and seek adventure in the everyday.

When I was in Jr High, both my parents remarried and let’s just say things have never been boring. A foster brother, two step sisters, and a half brother were added to the mix. I have aunts and uncles who have been beyond generous and helped raise me in many ways. I have been blessed to travel overseas and even live in Prague for six months. My dad and stepmom run a special needs home in Guatemala where I have spent time and really fallen in love with the culture. My brother and his wife run a shoe company out of Guatemala. Everywhere I have been, even a dirt floor hut in the hills of Guatemala, there has been art: design and color. I believe as humans we are created in the image of The Creator, and so we all have some creative effort to put forth.

I have a BFA in Illustration because after all the studio classes one takes to finish an Art Education degree, I found what I really like to do is draw. I doodle. Alot.

Presently, I am married with two little ones, living in the Germantown section of Philadelphia. I teach art part time at a sweet little christian school, grow tomatoes and beets, and sew or draw when I get the chance.

My first illustration project is coming out in the fall, 156 illustrated Bible stories in the “Gospel Story Bible” by Marty Machowski, published by New Growth Press.

Visit the illustrator's Website.

SHORT BOOK DESCRIPTION:

Sometimes it’s easy to forget Jesus in the midst of frantic schedules, family squabbles and conflicting priorities. For many Christians, God often becomes little more than an afterthought after days absorbed and depleted by the busyness of life. But the truth is that he is the hero of every story—including the mundane, ordinary ones we experience on a regular basis. That is why Marty Machowski beckons families to take time out from the daily grind to be transformed by the message of the Good News in his latest release, The Gospel Story Bible: Discovering Jesus in the Old and New Testaments (New Growth Press, November 2011).

Based on the ESV Bible, this uniquely illustrated Bible storybook uses 156 stories to present God’s plan of salvation in Christ from its opening narrative in Genesis to its finale in Revelation. This easy-to-read storybook written for children from preschool to high school introduces readers to many captivating people, places and events from the Bible’s Old and New Testaments. At the same time, Machowski skillfully connects the individual stories to the overall gospel narrative of how God redeemed a broken world through sending his son Jesus to save his people. Each story ends by connecting to Jesus and his gospel of grace. By sharing these Bible stories with each other, young and old will learn together the life-changing habit of recognizing the presence and workings of Christ in every moment of their day.

“The gospel is deep enough to keep the oldest and wisest parents learning and growing all their lives, yet simple enough to change the heart of the first grader who has just begun to read,” says Machowski. “That’s what makes The Gospel Story Bible ideal as a storybook for a preschooler, a devotional for a grade school student, a refresher for the adult believer or an introduction for the new one. Parents and children will learn together to read the whole Bible as one story, with one hero—Jesus Christ.”

Vibrant illustrations by A. E. Macha, child-friendly discussion questions and Scripture references accompany each story to help lead families in exploring the Bible. Parents and teachers will be delighted to discover how easily even a young child can understand the original text of a story that he or she has already come to love. A companion to the family devotional Long Story Short: Ten-Minute Devotions to Draw Your Family to God and the soon-to-be-released Gospel Story Sunday school curriculum (February 2012), The Gospel Story Bible is also a great resource for churches, Sunday school classes, home-schoolers and Christian schools who want to teach their children to apply the gospel to every situation and make Jesus the most important part of their everyday lives.

Product Details:
List Price: $29.99

Hardcover: 328 pages

Publisher: New Growth Press (December 5, 2011)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 1936768127

ISBN-13: 978-1936768127

My Thoughts on this Book:

This book is a wonderful treasure for your little one. The bible storybook focuses on the same scripture passages as in the Gospel Story curriculum. Storybook for parents and bible stories for the classroom. What I like about this book is they have preserved the details of the original stories in the bible without watering them down or taking away the important parts to shorten the story for your children.

156 stories to read with your children to help them understand God's Word. Use this alongside your own Bible to help them. Each story has a Let's Talk About it? section which allows your child to engage in the story as you read it to them or they read it to you!

AND NOW...Some Sample Pages (click images to see them larger):

Showing Love & Hospitality to Others

2012-01-13T19:40:00.002-07:00

Showing Love and Hospitality to Others

By Roxanne Packham, author of Inspired Design

Before we are inspired about how to show love to others, we must first ask why?

Quite simply it is because in Romans 12:10 & 13 we are told to be devoted to one another in brotherly love, to honor one another above ourselves. We are also told to share with God’s people who are in need and to Practice Hospitality. Notice the vocabulary: practice, not perfect.

In America, as a culture and as individuals, we are suffering in part because popular media gears everything to perfection. We are bombarded with messages that if we aren’t the very best at something, we just shouldn’t bother. We compare ourselves to others, rather than knowing our worth in God’s eyes.

I suffer from insecurity and wonder if I can be creative enough to inspire. Are my tips original? Are the photographs beautiful enough? Are my suggestions too simple for some, but too fancy for another? The problem: my thoughts revolve completely around me. My creativity, my skills, my ability. This is not about me but about God’s purpose for me. I suddenly realize the bigger picture; I can’t do it, but I can through Christ who strengthens me.

This dance in my mind between my preciousness in His sight and the enemy’s interjections has slowed me down at times, but God showed me this dance is the very reason for us to love others; to encourage each other. Because we are human we suffer from doubt, insecurity, and rejection of one sort or another. We are God’s tool to encourage others. God uses us as His hands to love others, but make no mistake it is His power, His grace and the Holy Spirit that do the real work, not ours.

God’s path of creativity in me began with a family history of silversmithing eight generations back, a degree from USC, design school in Paris, then design school in Los Angeles. Call them spiritual or otherwise, but they were the gifts God saw fit to give to me. Who am I to argue with my Creator? They are unique and I celebrate them. What are your magnificent and unique gifts that you can use to inspire others?

I do not want the gifts received as a blessing from God to “turn into spiritual dry rot,” as Ann Voscamp suggests in her book One Thousand Gifts, as the manna did when it was hoarded in Exodus 16:20. I want to use my blessings.

Inadequacies and all, imperfections and all: I want to inspire others to practice Hospitality and to LOVE others.

Creative Ways to Encourage Others on Valentine’s Day

KIND WORDS

A handwritten note with quotes, scriptures and words of encouragement is a wonderful thing to find in the mailbox.

Leave a sticky note on your child/husband’s pillow or be bold and write your note on the bathroom mirror or car window in red lipstick saying “I love you”.

Even an email just to say “thank you for your hard work, you bless me” can make a person’s day. A cute poem, scripture or old photograph will remind them they are remembered.

If someone has lost a loved one, kind words of some way that loved one inspired you to do something better will let them know that their loved one’s legacy is living on.

AN INVITATION, TIME

Take some time out of your days to meet someone for coffee, lunch, a long walk, or even just leave a phone message with a sweet sentiment. If you have more time, take a picnic basket to their home. Set up a lunch, tea or coffee, with all your tea cups and a candle. It is a lovely surprise! Just rinse when you finish and pack back up so they don’t even have to do dishes. They will have a lovely memory of a special time.

THOUGHTFUL GESTURE

Hang flowers on the front door handle, leave a pretty tiny package in the mailbox with a beautiful red bow, or cookies delivered to the front door. Create a breakfast plate for your child that says you are special . This is especially significant if your child has struggled with something recently.

A BEAUTIFUL DINNER

Of course this takes more time, but try for a beautiful table setting complete with candles, fresh greens or flowers and a lovely menu either handwritten or printed out on your computer. (Visit Roxanne’s Pinterest account, via the Inspired Design blog, for darling printouts, including gift tags, and much more.) Don’t concentrate on the gourmet or complicated quality of the meal: remember it is about relationship and encouragement!

VALENTINE’S DINNER

A beautiful table for Valentine’s simply consists of reds, pinks and perhaps some purple. (Although it could be beautiful in all white too.) Of course, it has to have some hearts and some colorful candles. Leave kind words of some sort on each place setting. Every Valentine’s table should have its share of sparkle, of course!

Visit Roxanne Packham’s blog at www.InspiredDesignPublications.blogspot.com for more pictures and Inspired Design ideas for Valentine’s Day.

Reading Revelation by C. Marvin Pate Book Review

2012-01-12T22:52:00.006-07:00

'Reading Revelation: A Comparison of Four Interpretive Translations of the Apocalypse'
by C. Marvin Pate

About this Book:
The complex symbolism of Revelation has baffled and intrigued exegetes for centuries. Now Pate objectively sets in parallel columns the four leading approaches (preterist, historicist, futurist, idealist) alongside the Greek text and a literal word-for-word translation, so you can make up your own mind.

Preterist interpretation helps you understand the events of Revelation in the first century of the Christian era around 70 A.D.

The historicist understanding of this book interprets the prophecies as its unfolding in the church's history.

The futurist makes a point that the events of this book remain largely unfulfilled. Awaiting the end times.

The idealist view is to pinpoint the symbolism of Revelation. The spriritual viewpoint.

How to Use this Book:
This wasn't necessarily designed to be read cover to cover and is not a bible study. It's an interpretive translation of Revelation. The book is read horizontally with word for word scripture of the entire book of Revelation in Greek Text and English translation. You then can look at the individual views verse by verse to better understand the scripture passage. Like dissecting it for better knowledge in the Preterist view, Historicist view, Futurist view and Idealist view. A quick reference to multiple interpretations and it helps you to draw your own conclusions on the passages presented in this book.

If you were doing a Bible study on Revelation, this book would help you to think carefully about the text, along with helping you see different views of the passages you are studying. Great book to help you understand views of others while you are studying this together.

My Thoughts on this Book:
When I first saw this book to review, I'll be honest I thought it was a bible study on the book of Revelation. When I got it I was initially sad that this wasn't the case. But as I dug deeper and read how the book worked I found it full of knowledge that I could come back to time and again where I bible study you couldn't get that. Full of information you just couldn't take in all in one sitting. Perfect reference book as you study this book as well as use it to help interprate different viewpoints of this book from others.

I received this book free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review of this book. No other compensation was given.

The Accidental Bride by Denise Hunter

2012-01-09T19:45:00.007-07:00

It is time for a FIRST Wild Card Tour book review! If you wish to join the FIRST blog alliance, just click the button. We are a group of reviewers who tour Christian books. A Wild Card post includes a brief bio of the author and a full chapter from each book toured. The reason it is called a FIRST Wild Card Tour is that you never know if the book will be fiction, non~fiction, for young, or for old...or for somewhere in between! Enjoy your free peek into the book!

You never know when I might play a wild card on you!

Today's Wild Card author is:
Denise Hunter
and the book:
The Accidental Bride

Thomas Nelson (January 3, 2012))

***Special thanks to Audra Jennings – The B&B Media Group for sending me a review copy.***

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Denise lives in Indiana with her husband Kevin and their three sons. In 1996, Denise began her first book, a Christian romance novel, writing while her children napped. Two years later it was published, and she's been writing ever since. Her books often contain a strong romantic element, and her husband Kevin says he provides all her romantic material, but Denise insists a good imagination helps too!

Visit the author's website.

SHORT BOOK DESCRIPTION:

Shay Brandenberger has built her entire life on the shifting sands of what others think. Constantly seeking the approval of others, she has struggled through a rocky childhood, a failed marriage and single parenthood. Now it looks like she’s losing the ranch that has been in her family for three generations, a surefire way to mark her as a failure in the eyes of the community. When Travis McCoy, the high school sweetheart who very publicly broke her heart fifteen years before, returns to Moose Creek, she is less than pleased. Not only does his re-appearance dredge up a deluge of painful memories, it also reminds everyone in town that it was he who left her, not the other way around. To make matters worse, Shay and Travis are unwittingly paired to play bride and groom in the annual Founder’s Day wedding re-enactment where, much to her chagrin, she discovers he still has the power to take her breath away.

Product Details:
List Price: $15.99
Paperback: 304 pages
Publisher: Thomas Nelson (January 3, 2012)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1595548025
ISBN-13: 978-1595548023

My Thoughts on this Book:

This is the second book in this series. I couldn't wait to get back to Big Sky Country and the characters in Moose Creek. The fisty Shay brings this story to life. Knowing abandonment before she didn't want to risk the heartache of it again. I love how the author brings back the characters from the first book and intertwines them into the current story. I couldn't put this book down until the last page.. Hope there is another book in this series.. Awesome!

AND NOW...THE FIRST CHAPTER:

The bell above the diner’s door jingled
and—despite her most valiant effort—Shay Brandenberger’s eyes darted toward the
entry. An unfamiliar couple entered—tourists. She could tell by their khaki
Eddie Bauer vests and spanking-new hiking boots. Look out, Yellowstone.

When her heart rate returned to normal,
she checked her watch and took a sip of coffee. Five minutes till she met Miss
Lucy at the Doll House, forty till she met John Oakley at the bank. What if he
said no? What would they do then?

“Mom . . . Earth to Mom . . .” Olivia
waved her hand too close to Shay’s face, her brown eyes widening.

“Sorry, hon.” The one bright moment of
her Saturday was breakfast with her daughter, and she couldn’t enjoy it for the
dread. “What were you saying?”

Olivia set her fork on her
pancake-sticky plate and heaved a sigh worthy of her twelve-year-old self.
“Never mind.” She bounced across the vinyl bench, her thick brown ponytail
swinging. “I’m going to meet Maddy.”

“Right back here at noon,” Shay called,
but Olivia was out the door with the flick of her hand.

The diner buzzed with idle chatter.
Silverware clattered and scraped, and the savory smell of bacon and fried eggs
unsettled her stomach. She took a sip of the strong brew from the fat rim of
her mug.

The bell jingled again. I will not look. I will
not look. I will not—

The server appeared at her booth, a new
girl, and gathered Olivia’s dishes. “On the house today.”

Shay set down her mug, bristling. “Why?”

The woman shrugged. “Boss’s orders,” she
said, then made off with the dirty dishes.

From the rectangular kitchen window,
Mabel Franklin gave Shay a pointed look.

So Shay had helped the couple with their
foal the week before. It was the neighborly thing to do.

Fine. She gave a reluctant smile and a
wave. She pulled her wallet from her purse, counted out the tip, and dragged
herself from the booth, remembering her daughter’s bouncy exit. Lately her
thirty-two years pressed down on her body like a two-ton boulder.

She opened the diner’s door and peeked
both ways before exiting the Tin Roof and turning toward the Doll House. She
was only checking sidewalk traffic, not hiding. Nope, she wasn’t hiding from
anyone. The boardwalks were busy on Saturdays. That was why she hadn’t come to
town for two weeks. Why their pantry was emptier than a water trough at high
noon.

She hurried three shops down and slipped
into the cool, welcoming air of Miss Lucy’s shop.

“ ’Morning, Miss Lucy.”

“ ’Morning, dear.” The elderly woman, in
the middle of helping a customer, called over her rounded shoulder, “It’s in
the back.” Miss Lucy’s brown eyes were big as buckeyes behind her thick
glasses, and her white curls glowed under the spotlights.

“Okeydoke.” Shay forced her feet toward
the storeroom.

A musty smell assaulted her as she
entered the back room and flipped on the overhead fluorescents. She scanned the
boxes of doll parts and skeins of yarn until she found what she was looking
for. She approached the box, lifted the lid, and parted the tissue.

The wedding gown had been carefully
folded and tucked away. Shay ran her fingers over the delicate lace and pearls.
Must’ve been crisp white in its day, but time had cast a long shadow over it.
Time had a way of doing that.

Her fingers lingered on the thin fabric.
She remembered another time, another dress. A simple white one that hung on her
young shoulders, just skimmed the cement of the courthouse steps. The ache that
squeezed her heart had faded with time, but it was there all the same. Would it
ever go away?

Shaking her head, Shay turned back to
the task at hand. The gown seemed too pretty, too fragile to disturb.

Oh well. She’d promised.

She pulled it out and draped it over the
box, then shimmied from her jeans. When she was down to the bare necessities,
she stepped carefully into the gown. She eased it over her narrow hips and slid
her arms into the long sleeves. The neckline was modest, the gathered skirt
fuller than anything she ever wore. Here in the air-conditioning it was fine,
but she would swelter next Saturday.

Leaving the button-up back gaping, she
hitched the skirt to the top of her cowboy boots and entered the store.

Miss Lucy was ushering the customer out
the door. When she turned, she stopped, her old-lady shoes squeaking on the
linoleum. “Land sakes.”

Shay took two steps forward and dropped
the skirt. It fell to the floor with a whoosh.

“Fits like a glove,” Miss Lucy said.
“And with some low heels it’ll be the perfect length.”

Shay didn’t even own heels. “My boots’ll
have to do. Button the back?”

Miss Lucy waddled forward, turned Shay
toward a small wall mirror flecked with time, and began working the tiny pearl
buttons.

Shay’s breath caught at her image. She
forced its release, then frowned. Wedding gowns were bad luck. She’d sworn
she’d never wear another. If someone had told her yesterday she’d be wearing
this thing today, she’d have said they were one straw short of a bale.

Miss Lucy moved up to the buttons
between her shoulders, and Shay lifted her hair. The dress did fit, clinging to
her torso like it was made for her, wouldn’t you know. Even the color
complemented her olive skin.

Still, there was that whole bad luck
thing.

And what would everyone think of Shay
Brandenberger wearing this valuable piece of Moose Creek heritage? A white
wedding gown, no less. If she didn’t have the approval of her closest friends
and neighbors, what did she have? Not much, to her thinking.

She wanted to cut and run. Wanted to
shimmy right out of the dress, tuck it into that box in the storeroom, slip
back into her Levi’s and plaid button-up, and go back to her ranch where she
could hole up for the next six months.

She checked the time and wished Miss
Lucy had nimbler fingers. Of all days to do this, a Saturday, when everyone
with two legs was in town. And she still had that infernal meeting with John
Oakley.

Please, God, I can’t lose our home . . .

“I’m obliged to you, dear. I completely
forgot Jessie was going out of town.”

“No problem.”

“Baloney. You’d rather be knee-deep in
cow dung.” The woman’s marionette lines at the sides of her mouth deepened.

“It’s one hour of my life.” A pittance,
after all Miss Lucy had done for her.

Miss Lucy finished buttoning, and Shay
dropped her hair and smoothed the delicate lace at the cuffs.

“Well, bless you for being willing. God
is smiling down on you today for your kindness.”

Shay doubted God really cared one way or
another. It was her neighbors she worried about.

“Beautiful, just beautiful. You’ll be
the talk of the town on Founders Day.”

“No doubt.” Everyone in Moose Creek
would be thinking about the last time she’d worn a wedding gown. And the time
before that.

Especially the time before that.

Third time’s a charm, Shay thought, the corner of her lip
turning up.

“Stop fretting,” Miss Lucy said,
squeezing her shoulders. “You look quite fetching, like the gown was made for
you. I won’t have to make a single alteration. Why, it fits you better than it
ever did Jessie—don’t you tell her I said so.”

Shay tilted her head. Maybe Miss Lucy
was right. The dress did make the most of her figure. And she had as much right
to wear it as anyone. Maybe more—she was born and raised here, after all. It
was just a silly old reenactment anyway. No one cared who the bride and groom
were.

The bell jingled as the door opened
behind her. She glanced in the mirror, over her shoulder, where a hulking
silhouette filled the shop’s doorway. There was something familiar in the set
of the man’s broad shoulders, in the slow way he reached up and removed his
hat.

The sight of him constricted her rib
cage, squeezed the air from her lungs as if she were wearing a corset. But she
wasn’t wearing a corset. She was wearing a wedding gown. Just as she had been
the last time she’d set eyes on Travis McCoy.

Heart of Dakota-The Fine Details-Part 2 Science

2012-01-08T20:15:00.005-07:00

For the month of January I am contributing to a Virtual Curriculum Fair.. Each week is based off a certain subject. This week's subject is Science. My sole purpose is to post about how I use the Heart of Dakota curriculum with my 10 year old. We are currently using the Preparing His Heart for His Glory set.

If you'd like to read about Part 1- Language Arts that I posted last week you can go HERE to read up on it. I also touched base on the basics of this curriculum as well.

Heart of Dakota Science

I have to be honest. This was one of the subjects in this curriculum that grabbed my attention. My son learns best when he's working hands on and this is very hands on, plus very simple to use. There is real no prep time before you start. Open the book and get going. At the beginning of the year I made sure I had the books needed and when I opened up the lesson book and saw what book was needed I already had it available.

What my son loves about this curriculum is that it's consistent. He knows what's coming on Day 1, Day 2 etc. It helps him have structure and accountability.

Sample of Day 1 for Week 17

On Day 1 we read part of the assigned book, then they have him do copywork of a scripture that pertains to that days reading. Beneath the verse he will write things that helps him review what he read that day. This format is pretty consistent so far these past 16 weeks we've been working through it.

Sample of Day 1 work

Day 2 they read again more of the assigned book. Usually no more than 2-4 pages. This day is scheduled for oral narration. Since this is a Charlotte Mason approach it is used frequently throughout the curriculum. In science it's on Day 2. This is wonderful because I can see what he's learning without him having to write down everything he does. He loves that too. Over the past 16 weeks, he's really improved on the amount of narration he gives me now. We were new to narration this year and he wouldn't speak much at the beginning. He's really improved on this over these weeks.

On Day 3 of the curriculum it's time to answer some questions. After reading the days assigned pages, he will answer at least 5 questions that pertain to that days reading to help with comprehension. Alongside the oral narration, this is working out great!

Day 4 is the last day of the curriculum for the week and it's reserved for experiments. Just like all the other days, there is reading to do first which helps them get a grasp of the experiment to come. A great overview! The curriculum comes with a copy called Science Lab. Perfect to make copies for these experiments each week. So far this year I haven't had any trouble finding the supplies needed to do all of the projects. I think only once did I have to go to the store to buy something for it. Otherwise all of the items I already had on hand.

The Science Experiment's are broken into four parts.. The QUESTION.. What are they trying to teach them. They they GUESS. What do you think the answer is to the question. Then they do the procedure according to the directions. They then copy that down onto the Science Lab form under PROCEDURE. Then they write down the CONCLUSION on the bottom of the form after they have completed the exeriment.

Sample of the Science Lab Form

Here is some samples of experiments we've worked on this year.

"How can the size of a star affect how bright it appears?"

Cactus desert drawing he worked added to over several weeks

Making an animal cell

Why does water disappear so quickly in the desert after it rains?

Dissecting a cactus

How do bats help the saguaro cactus to produce seeds?

How does dew form on rocks or cactuses in the desert?

How does the waxy covering of the cactus help it store water?

How do the spines and the shape of the desert cactus help to keep it cool

How do caterpillars and insects keep from freezing to death during the winter?

Well, here is some information about the science portion of this curriculum. Feel free to leave a comment if you have any questions.. Would love to help you out with whatever I can.. Come back next week for more information about Heart of Dakota and how we are using it.. Until then....

Check out the other homeschool bloggers that have participated in this week's curriculum fair by clicking on the links below.. Let them know you stopped by, by leaving a comment..

1st, 2nd, 6th Grade Math in Our Homeschool: How We Got HERE @Homeschool Heart & Mind

Math Lapbooks---Virtual Curriculum Fair Week 2 Angie Wright @ Petra School

Virtual Curriculum Fair Week Two: Discover Patterns, Mathematics, Logic and Some Science by Leah @ The Courtney Six Homeschool

Our Choices For Math by Melissa @ Grace Christian Homeschool

A Magnificent Math Manipulative by Letha Paulk @ justpitchingmytent

Our Math Choices - Virtual Curriculum Fair by Tristan @ Our Busy Homeschool

Math Literature?!?! by Christine @ Crunchy Country Catholic

Learning Math at My House by Jessica @ Modest Mama

Math Using Hamburger Paper by Debbie @ Debbie's Digest

Math Facts or Fun? Why Not Both! by Beth @ Ozark Ramblings

Learning Math Block by Block by Laura O in AK @ Day by Day in Our World

Plugging Along with Math by Cindy Horton @ Fenced in Family

What's Working and What's Not: Math Edition by Leann @ Montessori Tidbits

Math Anyone? by Cindy @ For One Another

Ahh, Math. by Nicole @ Schooling in the Sun

Flying Without a Parachute: Math with no Curriculum by Pam @ Everyday Snapshots

Math in Our Homeschool by Christine T @ Our Homeschool Reviews

The Science of Math by Brenda Emmett @ Garden of Learning

"Mom, did we do math today?" by Chrissy at Learning is an Adventure

Math, Math, and More Math by Joelle @ Homeschooling for His Glory

How to Have a Heart Study- Introduction

2012-01-07T21:56:00.005-07:00

I've joined an online group to go through this book above together called "How to Have a H.E.A.R.T For Your Kids' by Rachael Carman.

I was so excited about reading this and gleaning everything I could from it. This week's goal was to read through the introduction portion of the book and blog about what we thought of it and what stood out.. Here are my thoughts on this section.

I want to first off say how wonderful it is to see Rachael open up as she did in the introduction. How transparent she was in explaining her life and how she started homeschooling. This story was not beaming with happy thoughts, it literally made her unpleasant in many eyes, but she wrote it anyway. She showed us herself, raw and vulnerable. It was awesome.

Some things she said really stuck out to me. One was this quote "I still did not need God; He was only fire insurance." I can honestly see myself saying this. Now and in the past. Sometimes I feel like I put God on the backburner and just pick Him up when I need Him most. I don't want to live my life like this. I want Him front and center. I want Him a part of my everyday life, not only when necessary. In truth I need Him everyday. I've just been to blind to see that.

Another quote was about how she looked at other homeschoolers. At the time she didn't homeschool and had no intention of doing so. She said "I thought the choice to homeschool meant these mom's had nothing better to do, that they had no passion, no dream, no drive."

I can't say I've personally felt this way about homeschoolers but I sometimes feel like I've had to let go of some dreams I've had in my life to homeschool. It changes you when you make this large of a committment. You truly have to see what's important and what's not. Focus is important and you have to have drive, and passion to even want to homeschool. Without these you just won't succeed. She was focused on the dreams, passions and drive for things outside of homeschooling. I look at those three and see that you need all of them TO homeschool.

She goes along and speaks about her relationship with her children. She says "I knew their favorite cereal, ice cream, and cartoons. But what else had I taken the time to learn? Not much. I didn't see my children as a trust or a blessing or a gift. Perhaps in words, but not in deed, not in my heart."

WOW! That is powerful and true among a lot of mothers including me. Even though I am around my children 24/7 sometimes I lose the relationship with them. I guess my excuse is I am with them all the time, that should be enough, but it isn't. I need to purposely BE with my children, to truly know them, interact with them on their level and be with them with my heart. This was something that really tugged on my heart in this chapter.

The biggest thing that grabbed at me was when she said "You have given them everything-toys, trips, trivia, teams- but you've given them no target, no testimony, no Teacher." That was like a slap to the face.. You know the one that wakes you up from your drowsy fog right after a deep sleep.. I guess I've been in a deep sleep because I've given my kids all that she said but I am lacking in the most important thing.. Teaching them about Him. I truly need to make this more of a priority. I have been doing better than I have in the past but I can't skimp on this. I know this has a lot to do with the first quote I mentioned. God only being fire insurance. He just can't be. For the sake of my faith and for my children.

They NEED me to show them the way to Jesus. Nobody else here on earth will invest in that for them. God is trusting me with them.

I am really excited about digging into this book. I am already learning so much and taking away so much from just this introduction. I can't wait to see what comes out of the first Chapter this week. I will post next weekend on what I've gleaned.. Until then...

3 in 30 January Weekly Update

2012-01-07T21:30:00.005-07:00

I posted at the beginning of the month that I am taking the 3 in 30 challenge. You can learn more about it by clicking on the button above.

I love this because it's exactly what it says above. Making goals a reality, three at a time. I wanted to post an update on how my goals are going so far.

1. Be more diligent with my time- my first goal was to be more diligent with my time. I felt like I was wasting time each day by not doing things that were more productive. This week I spent less time on the computer and more time working on the house, spending time with the boys with their schooling and really enjoying more one on one time with my husband talking and enjoying each others company.

This coming week I'd like to work more on taking each of my boys separately aside to spend one on one time with them outside of their schooling. Something they are interested in.

2. Save more money- I am really proud of myself this week. In my head I set a goal of saving $50 a week. Something small that I really felt I could accomplish. But I went above and beyond this and was able to save $200. This is huge. I was really aware of where I was going each day and what I REALLY needed to purchase and because of that I was able to keep this much $ in my pocket.

This coming week will not be as great as this one because we had an expense of new glasses for hubby that had to be purchased but I still would like to stick with my original goal of $50 and I feel I can reach that goal.

3. Do a Bible Study- I am happy that I will be journaling through Ephesians this month with an online group. It starts on January 16th. I look forward to reading the entire book slowly and dissecting everything so I can better understand the scripture using the S.O.A.P method.

Well here is what's happening with my goals so far this month. I am happy with my progress and look forward to what's ahead this month...

Sassy Water

2012-01-07T20:48:00.003-07:00

What is this, you say? This is Sassy Water.. I have never heard of this until yesterday when my great friend mentioned it on her Facebook page. She's been using it for awhile and loved it.. I had to try it myself because I haven't been getting the necessary amounts of water each day since it is cold out!

So what is Sassy Water? It's a medium cucumber, one lemon, 8-10 mint leaves. Put in 2L of water, let sit overnight in fridge and drink.. Delicious!

I was skeptical at first because I'm not a cucumber fan. But this though is awesome. I have had one days worth and already have tomorrow's batch getting ready in the fridge. For the first time this winter, I had no issues in drinking the amount of water I need for a day.

Plus not only are you getting your daily water, you are getting the benefits out of the lemon, mint and cucumber.. Lemons are great for detoxing and cucumbers are helpful for gassy stomach and the mint is also good for your digestive system.. Perfect to help you in your weightloss goals too.. Double bonus....

Baking A Cake

2012-01-06T22:19:00.004-07:00

A friend of mine asked if I could help her by baking a cake for her military cake walk that they are hosting this Saturday. I was really happy to help her out. I love making cakes and even better when I don't have to eat it.. (smiles) I made a double layer spice cake w/ cream cheese frosting and added some crushed candy canes to the top. She mentioned that the event was their belated holiday party so I thought appropriate to add the candy canes..

Homeschool Week 15 in Review

2012-01-06T21:57:00.003-07:00

School is back in session after three weeks off for my newly 10 yr old son's birthday, Christmas and New Year's. We've had a great start to our school for the New Year. My oldest son didn't have any projects this week. My DS10 did have a couple and here they are below..

DS10

Science
For science my son started learning about the Constellations and stars. He did an experiment that helped him understand what magnitude was.

Took a flashlight and covered the light with aluminum foil

Poked a small hole then shined this onto a piece of white paper. DS10 then drew the circle of what the light shown on the paper

Did this two more times by making the hole bigger and bigger and continuing to draw a circle on the paper. Circles represented the magnitude size of a star..

History

DS10 made a Trireme ancient warship

All About Running

2012-01-05T22:25:00.003-07:00

I'm really happy with my progress in running. I've mentioned before that I started last December 2010 but had an injury that stopped me from running for about 3 months. End of March until mid June. I've been improving on time and distance and can now run more than 3 days a week without feeling pain in my ankle.

Back in October I did a 3.5 mile race called What Women Want Fun Run.. You can read about my post HERE. I wanted to know how far I've come since then so I chose to run 3.5 miles today to see what my time was. Back in October at the race my time was 49:59. Today I ran 3.85 miles so a little more than the race and did it in 38:10.. This is quite the improvement.

I am also working on interval running. Back in October I was only running about 4.8 mph. Now I can easily run 5.5 mph and more depending on the day... (smiles)... With my interval running I start out at 5.5 mph on the treadmill, I run regular for 2/10th of a mile, then 1/10th of a mile I speed it up to 6.2 mph. Then go back to 5.5 mph. I do this for a mile. Somedays it feels great to really stretch your legs on the 6.2 mph like I did today. A couple days ago that was very hard. I guess I'm starting to get used to it. I just needed to change up my running so I am always improving and never staying stagnant.

Not sure when I'll be able to run a marathon but I'd like to do that someday.. Right now my goal is to run a 10K.. I'm working towards that now. I have been able to run 4 miles which is a huge improvement over a short period of time. My next race in March will be a 4 mile race so that's what I'm training for.

The Rose of Winslow Street by Elizabeth Camden Book Review

2012-01-05T22:16:00.001-07:00

This week, the
Christian Fiction Blog Alliance
is introducing
The Rose of Winslow Street
Bethany House (January 1, 2012)

by
Elizabeth Camden
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

A research librarian and associate professor, Elizabeth Camden has a master’s in history from the University of Virginia and a master’s in library science from Indiana University. She has published several articles for academic publications and is the author of four nonfiction history books. Her ongoing fascination with history and love of literature have led her to write inspirational fiction. Elizabeth lives with her husband in central Florida.

ABOUT THE BOOK

The last thing Libby Sawyer and her father expected upon their return from their summer home was to find strangers inhabiting a house that had been in their family for decades. Widower Michael Dobrescu brought his family from Romania to the town of Colden, Massachusetts with a singular purpose: to claim the house willed to him long ago. Since neither party has any intention of giving up their claim, a fierce legal battle ensues between the two families.

When important documents go missing from the house, Libby suspects Michael is the culprit. Determined to discover the truth behind the stolen papers, Libby investigates, only to find more layers of mystery surrounding Michael and his family. Despite their rivalry, Libby finds herself developing feelings for this man with the mysterious past.

As a decision about the house looms in the courts, Libby must weigh the risks of choosing to remain loyal to her family or give her heart to a man whose intentions and affections are less than certain.

If you would like to read the first chapter of The Rose of Winslow Street, go HERE.

Cake Pictures

2012-01-04T19:56:00.004-07:00

I posted last week about cake decorating. I mentioned that my Mom used to make cakes for us growing up. I found some pictures of some of the cakes she made and thought I'd share them.. She was talented. Not sure if she makes cakes anymore, it would be awesome if she still did!

This is the submarine cake I mentioned I loved...

I whited out the name on the cake above

This was one of my bday cakes

This was a cake my mom for me when I hit honor roll in school

This was a graduation cake for my brother, me and my two cousins. Elementary School for me & one cousin and Junior High for my brother and another cousin.

My 16th bday cake

my graduation cake from Junior High

The doll cake I mentioned the other day. It was for my 13th bday

The cakes above were made by my mother over the years. Aren't they awesome. I hope to have her talent when I make the cakes I do for my family. While looking for the above pictures I came across some cakes I've made over the years that I didn't put in my last post.. Here they are below

I made this cake for my daughter's 3rd birthday. She had a 100 Dalmations themed bday

This is my youngest son's 3rd birthday cake. Well it's actually in a dumptruck. It's cake w/ gummies, rock candy in it. I made chocolate cake and crumbled it with the gummies and rock candy to look like dirt. I also added some chocolate pudding in to resemble mud.

Each of my children's 1st bday was Winnie the Pooh. This cake above is of my youngest's 1st bday. I whited out his name on the cake

My middle child, oldest son loved Spiderman when he was younger. This is his 4th bday cake I made him.

This is my hubby's 30th bday cake I made him..

One Thousand Gifts 400-429

2012-01-04T19:40:00.002-07:00

Multiple Blessings, One Blessing @ a Time

400. watching the boys open their gifts on Christmas
401. excitement in the boys faces when you opened the gifts they got for you
402. my youngest turning 10
403. Cub Scout Christmas Party
404. having a great friend come over to celebrate New Year's
405. watching the kids play with sparklers
406. playing games until 2am
407. reading How to Have a H.E.A.R.T For Your Kids with a group of wonderful ladies
408. The Runner's Devotional
409. Runner's World Magazine
410. 60 degree weather in January in Montana
411. being able to run outside without snow in January
412. Peppermint Mocha's (Skinny, decaf)
413. Christian Music to listen to
414. having my son choose Christian music over any other to listen to
415. hearing my youngest read independantly
416. 15 week of schooling and still loving the curriculum choices
417. having the $ for a gym membership
418. losing 25 lbs
419. reading Ephesians with other bible believers
420. 3 in 30 Challenge
421. 31 Days to Clean Challenge
422. taking the Christmas decorations down to get back into our routine
423. starting school back up without much issue
424. seeing my hubby's buck antlers' displayed on our wall
425. being able to eat venison since November & still have plenty
426. 3 working vehicles
427. PaperBackSwap
428. Facebook so I can keep in touch w/ family and friends
429. being able to take a breath to remember all my blessings

25 Pound Milestone

2012-01-04T19:08:00.002-07:00

I know I just posted a few days ago about my weightloss but really excited that I hit my 25 lbs lost milestone today. I've said goodbye to the 170's, the 160's and today I said good bye and good riddence to the 150's...

I had fun taking some pictures today to celebrate this milestone that I've been anticipating for several months.. or should I say over a year.. I really started this weightloss journey back in mid 2010 when I joined Curves. Well I did get a little toned but the weight didn't come off. I then joined Gold's Gym back in December 2010 and after several months of being diligent and committed to going three times a week I started seeing the weight come off in September 2011.

I haven't posted before how much I weighed at the start of all of this, mainly because I was embarrassed for getting to that weight, but I got to 174. (This was the weight I ended up at with my last two pregnancies, but did lose). I slowly ballooned to that weight back in 2009. Kept it steady there for a year and I hated being in my own skin. Mid 2010 is when I said I needed a change.

I am now 149. My original goal was to get to 140. I am keeping that goal but I think I'll keep going once I hit that goal (hopefully by the end of this month). I am only 5' 3". By my size and build I should be between 115-125. Well, I am no spring chicken anymore. I'm 37 with three children under my belt or should I say on my thighs..

But after getting where I am, enjoying the road to this place, I may just keep going to see if I can get back to my high school weight of 120. I know it's going to be hard but I'm up for the challenge! 120 will open many doors for me with my running. Being lighter will help me run longer, and faster. My goal is to run a marathon.. I'm working towards that. Probably won't happen in 2012 but for sure soon.

Here is some pictures I took today to commemorate this wonderful milestone.. 140's and 25 pounds gone! I'm in a solid size 10 and some pants are an 8 so I am real happy with the results so far.. I'll even throw in a before picture so you can really see how far I've come in this journey...

Here I am at my heaviest 174lbs taken Feb 14, 2010..

These three above were taken today at 149lbs

The Maid of Fairbourne Hall by Julie Klassen Book Review

2012-01-04T17:05:00.003-07:00

This week, the
Christian Fiction Blog Alliance
is introducing
The Maid of Fairbourne Hall
Bethany House (January 1, 2012)
by
Julie Klassen
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Julie worked in publishing for sixteen years (first in advertising, then as a fiction editor) and now writes full time. Two of her books, The Girl in the Gatehouse and The Silent Governess won the Christy Award for Historical Romance. The Girl in the Gatehouse also won a Midwest Book Award and The Silent Governess was a finalist in Romance Writers of America's RITA awards.

She graduated from the University of Illinois and enjoys travel, research, BBC period dramas, long hikes, short naps, and coffee with friends. Julie and her husband have two sons and live near St. Paul, Minnesota.

ABOUT THE BOOK

Pampered Margaret Macy flees London in disguise to escape pressure to marry a dishonorable man. With no money and nowhere else to go, she takes a position as a housemaid in the home of Nathaniel Upchurch, a suitor she once rejected in hopes of winning his dashing brother. Praying no one will recognize her, Margaret fumbles through the first real work of her life. If she can last until her next birthday, she will gain an inheritance from a spinster aunt--and sweet independence. But can she remain hidden as a servant even when prying eyes visit Fairbourne Hall?

Observing both brothers as an "invisible" servant, Margaret learns she may have misjudged Nathaniel. Is it too late to rekindle his admiration? And when one of the family is nearly killed, Margaret alone discovers who was responsible. Should she come forward, even at the risk of her reputation and perhaps her life? And can she avoid an obvious trap meant to force her from hiding?

On her journey from wellborn lady to servant to uncertain future, Margaret must learn to look past appearances and find the true meaning of "serve one another in love."

If you would like to read the first chapter of The Maid of Fairbourne Hall, go HERE

My Thoughts on this Book:

I have absolutely fell in love with all of Julie Klassen's stories. I've read them all and couldn't wait to get my hands on this new release. She certainly didn't dissapoint. I love how her stories are set across the seas. This one in London. I love reading about the history of other countries while reading the story. The characters come alive from page one and even though this book is over 400 pages, I couldn't put it down until the very last page.. Loved everything about it!

I received this copy free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review about the book. No other compensation was given.

One Word 2012- Balance

2012-01-03T21:44:00.002-07:00

Instead of making a list of resolutions for the New Year, I plan to focus on one word in 2012 and that's "Balance". Throughout this year I want to keep in mind the importance of this word. Last year I focused on the word Simplify.. I was overwhelmed with too much committments, struggled with choosing curriculum, and too much clutter in the house to name a few.. I feel I did a good job at simplifying my life in 2011. Eliminating all the baggage of overcommittment and now this year it's all about balancing everything that I've simplified.

Balance in:

*Life
*Homeschooling
*Outside Committments
*Extra Curricular Activities
*Money
*Time Management
*Items in the house
*Home Life
*My relationship w/ God

This word means a lot to me. I truly feel it's a perfect fit for what I would like to accomplish this year. I feel it's important to balance with what's above. To put these into realistic proportions which will in turn balance everything out. I look forward to seeing how God uses this word in my life for 2012.

Thanks so much from Only A Breath for designing my 2012 word header. If you'd like to discover your Word for 2012, go to the link HERE and learn more about it..

Journey Through Ephesians

2012-01-03T21:36:00.004-07:00

One of my 3 in 30 goals is to do a Bible Study. To dig deeper in the Word, one book at a time. I came across this study through Ephesians over @ thepelsers.com. This is the same blog that is doing the How to Have a HEART For Your Kids study that I am doing along with them.

This study starts on January 15th and I am going to take part. It goes for about 8 weeks I believe so it will take me into February but that's ok. My goal is to get into the Word so I will be very happy to get started. If I have time I'd like to journal this on my blog. I do have a S.O.A.P journal here at the house I use so I know for sure I will be doing that each day I read through Ephesians.. I might post a weekly update on what touched me or a scripture that I found interesting..

I look forward to getting started...

New Years Fun

2012-01-03T20:42:00.003-07:00

For New Year's Eve we had a friend and her daughters come over for the night. We played games, had yummy dinner and just had a blast ringing in the New Year together.. Here is some pictures of our night..

Got to love the look of a 12 yr old boy..

It looks like my hubby has the same feelings on getting a picture taken...

It looks like you are cool playing this game..

Kissing my hubby at midnight.. I haven't been able to do that for years since hubby usually works on New Year's Eve since he works nights until almost 1am..

Playing with sparklers after ringing in the New Year

Our first picture together of 2012

My great friend and me ringing in the New Year!

Heart of Dakota- The Fine Details Part 1- Language Arts

2012-01-03T17:27:00.006-07:00

For the month of January I am contributing to a Virtual Curriculum Fair.. Each week is based off a certain subject. This week's subject is Language Arts. My sole purpose is to post about how I use the Heart of Dakota curriculum with my 10 year old. We are currently using the Preparing His Heart for His Glory set.

You can go to Homeschool Heart and Mind blog to learn more about how to participate and/or to read this week's curriculum posts.. So far as of this posting there is over 20 homeschool families adding curriculum reviews on the category of Language Arts..

If you've been wondering about curriculum to use for the Fall but haven't decided because you can't find enough information on it? Not enough pictures or details on the publisher's website.. That's what this curriculum fair is all about. To learn more about curriculum that other homeschooler's are currently using and loving. I know it's hard to make a decision on curriculum when you can't thumb through it yourself. Homeschool Heart and Mind thought this fair would help us learn more in depth before purchasing this coming year..

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We started using Heart of Dakota this August 2011. I fell in love with the Charlotte Mason approach to how it works. I have been homeschooling since 2004, which puts me in my 8th year and after this time, I've done many things including putting together my own curriculum. After all of the work I've put into schooling, I am really happy to finally find a curriculum that is already put together where I don't have to do much thinking beyond opening the book and starting the day.

I will be breaking up my posts to go along with the subject the fair is talking about so it will help you understand in more depth how Heart of Dakota works, how we are using it and what is working and not working for us and why..

Please come back each week to learn more about Heart of Dakota (HOD)- Preparing Hearts for His Glory (PHFHG) if you are interested in using this curriculum or Heart of Dakota in general.. This particular curriculum is intended for 8-10 yr olds. I chose this one this year because my son isn't a solid independant reader when we started this and this allowed me the opportunity to be with him more, but also give him independant work that he can accomplish on his own. At the beginning of the school year he was 9. He just turned 10 a couple weeks ago. This year's curriculum doesn't have as much independant reading which is very helpful for my son this year.

Before I share about the Language Arts part of the program let me quickly describe how Heart of Dakota (HOD) works so you can get a general overview before I dig deeper into it.

HOD is a Charlotte Mason approach to learning. Each subject is designed to take a smaller portion of time than most other curriculum subjects. Allowing your child to learn but in smaller chunks and less pressure to learn large amounts at a time. This year's program Preparing Hearts for His Glory (PHFHG) is centered around history. Most of the projects, reading, timeline and studies are based off that days history lesson. It also includes Bible Study, Science, Poetry, Research, Geography, Language Arts, Math, and Storytime. A complete year's curriculum in one.

A sample of one's day work with all subjects

All of the lessons are build into the curriculum with the exception of the grammar, reading and math subjects. If you choose to use the suggested programs it is layed out for you what lesson to use each day. I would like to mention that we've decided to use a different curriculum than what is suggested by HOD for Language Arts. It suggests that the Grammar curriculum should be Rod and Staff. They have two options to choose from depending on the level your child is at. One is 'Beginning Wisely' and the other is 'Building with Diligence'. I already had a grammar curriculum set for my son before purchasing this curriculum and decided to use this. It didn't hinder his lessons at all through the HOD curriculum so it works for us.

I won't be discussing the Rod and Staff curriculum but what we've chosen to use that still goes with the Charlotte Mason approach. All other Language Arts aspects of the curriculum we use including Vocabulary lessons, and dictation which I will go more in depth here shortly.

Up close look at Language Arts lessons

Before I go into our grammar curriculum let me explain some lessons in the HOD curriculum we use to help you understand how it works. Each day's lesson is written out for you. Some days you will be doing a grammar lesson, some days a dictation lesson. Once a week you will be doing a vocabulary study which corresponds with that day's history lesson. Your child will use a dictionary to look up the chosen words and write them down in their notebooks or binder. The dictation study is one of my son's favorite's. Instead of vigorous spelling tests this approach allows him to learn to spell through reading sentences. Words appropriate for his age.

As you can see in the above picture, each lesson is numbered. Your child will not move onto the next lesson number until he/she mastered all the words in the passage. There's words below the passages to help the child learn new words and help them with the words in the sentence. Words that rhyme with the highlighted words.

At the beginning of each lesson you will give your child the words written directly off the paper. Allow him/her a chance to look over, read and understand what is written. Then you will give him/her a dictation lesson by saying one sentence at a time. He/she will then say the sentence out loud to you before attempting to write it down. You do this with each sentence until complete.

You then allow him/her to check her work, circling words that are mispelled. You will then have her/him practice these sentences during the week until all words are mastered. You then move onto the next lesson.

This curriculum includes Level 2, Level 3 and Level 4 words. Levels 2 and 3 have 102 lessons, and Level 4 has 103 lessons. You work at your own pace. Start at the beginning and have them work through it at their pace. You don't have to complete all levels in one year. It's just there for those children that are more advanced or can work quickly through each lesson.

Alright.. I would like to now discuss the Grammar curriculum that we've chosen to use this year alongside our HOD lessons. Writing Tales Level One by Amy Hastings Olsen.

Writing Tales follows a classical approach to teaching writing based on the 12 ancient levels of instruction from the Greeks called the Progymnasmata. This concept shows the student how to learn to write by copying well written models first. They will also learn the mechanics of the English language by studying and analyzing those same models.

Writing Tales Level 1 is divided into 30 lessons, each one five days long. 15 fables, fairy tales and legends are studied and rewritten. In odd numbered lessons the story is introduced, copywork is done, vocabulary is studied, the grammar lesson is taught and the rough draft written.

Further study is done with grammar lessons, with additional stories to read and analyze. A final draft is written with creative touches added. Grammar is included in the 30 weeks of study. The students will learn basic rules including capital letters, punctuation, quotes, and all eight parts of speech. Your child will recieve handwriting, vocabulary, dictionary skills and spelling.

Your child will concentrate on one fable for two weeks. First week you will be introduced to the story. The story gives the child the help in completing that units grammar lesson. For example I have samples of Lesson 3 as follows.

This is Lessons 3 and 4's Fable they read is above.

Each unit has a vocabulary lesson with words included in the story.

They will also have copywork. This is a passage directly from the Fable that they are studying.

Then comes along the grammar lesson. For Lessons 3-4 they are studying kinds of sentences

I feel the best part of this curriculum is the rough draft and final drafts that your child needs to complete in each unit. The first week the final lesson of that week is writing a rough draft. This is a retelling of the story in their own words but they are not able to change anything about how the story takes place.

In the final draft at the end of that unit they get to retell the story by changing things while keeping the same storyline. For example, they can change the character's. This particular story is about mice. He/she can make them any animal they would like. Give them names etc. My son absolutely loves this part of the unit. He gets to be creative in his writing.

Here is his final draft for Lessons 3-4

Each unit has extra activities to help enforce the concept they are trying to learn. For example above is helping my son learn about nouns. He played a game with me on naming nouns associated with each category.. person, place etc.

Here is another example of extra activities provided for additional learning. Here above my son had to retell the story by creating a little storyboard.

Some of the lessons your child will cut out strips of the story they read and put them in the order of how it happened. I love this because it shows me he's comprehending what he's reading.

About the Teacher's Guide

I really feel the teacher's guide is easy to read and understand. Just like the HOD curriculum, you can literally pick it up and just start. There is a few things that you may need ahead of time but it says before you need it to allow time to obtain it if you don't have it already (library book).

Here below is a sample of the teacher's guide for one week- Lesson 3.

The great part about this curriculum is that it has lesson plans for both individual and co-op classes. It's set up for five days a week but we've altered it to fit our HOD curriculum since HOD is four days a week. We just do an extra lesson at the beginning of each week. Level 1 is geared towards 3rd and 4th grade students. They also have a Level 2 which we plan to use as well for next year since it works so well with what we are using.. On most days we can have each lesson completed within 20 minutes.

Well, here is our Language Arts curriculum we are using and loving! I hope you received enough information about this curriculum to help you understand it better. Feel free to leave a comment if you have any questions.. Would love to help you out with whatever I can.. Come back next week for more information about Heart of Dakota and how we are using it.. Until then....

Check out the other homeschool bloggers that have participated in this week's curriculum fair by clicking on the links below.. Let them know you stopped by, by leaving a comment..

Reading on Time by Cindy Horton @ Fenced in Family

Playing with Words: the Language Arts by Christa Darr @ Fairfield Corner Academy

Reading and Beyond: Language Arts in Our Homeschool by Laura O in AK @ Day by Day in Our World

Language Arts that Work for Us by Melissa @ Grace Christian School

Learning Language at Our House by Jessica @ Modest Mama

Virtual Curriculum Fair: Language Arts by Christine T. @ Our Homeschool Reviews

The Learning of Language by Dawn @ tractors & tire swings

Reading and Spelling: Modifying the Magic by Pam @ Pam and Everyday Snapshots

An In Depth Look at All About Spelling by Missouri Mama @ Ozark Ramblings

Virtual Curriculum Fair: Let's Talk About Words by Debra @ Footprints in the Butter

Why We Love Classical Conversations Essentials (and how I know that is not a complete sentence!) by Nicole @ Schooling in the Sun

Virtual Curriculum Fair---Playing with Words: the Language Arts by Angie @ Petra School

Whole Language vs. Phonics by Christine @ Crunchy Country Catholic

It's All About the Art of Language by Brenda Emmett @ Garden of Learning

Watching Movies for Language Arts Class by Debbie @ Debbie's Digest

Only 5 Spelling Tests a Year! (Can we do that?) by LP @ justpitchingmytent

Playing with Words by Chrissy @ Learning is an Adventure

Language Art at Our House by Joelle @ Homeschooling for His Glory

Virtual Curriculum Fair Week One Playing with Words: the Language Arts by Leah Courtney @ The Courtney Six Homeschool Blog

Playing with Words, the Language Arts by Cindy @ For One Another

Running for 2012

2012-01-02T22:56:00.005-07:00

I've been running for a year now. I started back in late December 2010. It was a VERY slow start though as my mind was more ready to run than my physical body was. I ended up injuring my tendon in one leg in January and then the other in March. I was down for about two months after that to heal..

I then had to start running slowly once I no longer felt pain in my tendons because I didn't want to injure it again. It was painful! Around late Summer have I really been able to run more regularly. At least 3 days a week and some weeks more than that. I love running. I now can run 4 miles w/out much issue..

I am trying to run outside as much as I can and stay off the treadmill when possible. The weather has been awesome here in Montana this Winter.. Warm weather in the 40's, 50's and maybe tomorrow a 60 degree day.. I am taking advantage of this because I am sure snow will be in the future and I will be back in the gym running..

Running outside is helping me condition for some races I would like to participate in this year. The first one is coming up in March. The St Patrick's Day race. I did this in 2010.. My very first ever race. I ran the 2 mile race part, but this year I want to race the 4 mile one. The second race is the Ice Breaker. I would like to run the 5 mile for that but we will see.. This is in April.

I've decided to log in my miles for this year to see how many I can run. I haven't set a goal yet but I like to.. I'll have to calculate what I'd like to run but for now I am calculating it on a ticker in the sidebar of this blog. So far I've ran 7.75 miles this year.. Yesterday was 4.5 miles and today was 3.25 miles.. I think I'm off to a great 2012 running year..

3 in 30 Challenge for January

2012-01-02T20:29:00.005-07:00

I've been seeing this on other blogs over the past few months and I really think I should participate. I think this would be wonderful to set 3 goals a month to help me become a better person, mother, and wife.. So for January here is my 3 goals I'd like to accomplish or work on..

1. Be more diligent with my time- I really feel like I am wasting time each day. I need to prioritize and set up a time for certain things each day and stick to it. I don't do well with a tight schedule but I can easily set up one for the bigger things that I know should be done daily.. school, meals, chores..

2. Save more money- I feel like I could save more money & stop spending it. So I'd like to take this month to really try to save more than I have in the past. To be more aware of times I go to the store.. Limit my trips will help and to stay away from sites or shows that may entice me to spend money... ( I want to note that we are debt free except our home mortgage. I just would like to save more money than spend it)

3. Do a Bible Study- I really want to get into the Word. I am happy that I read the entire Bible from July-Oct this past year but I really want to do bible studies. The ones specifically for books of the Bible. I'd like to complete one this month.

This is my 3 goals I'd like to work on this month.. We'll see how it works out in the weeks to come.. Click on the button above if you'd like to join in....

Cake Decorating

2011-12-28T18:30:00.003-07:00

Since 2009 I've been making my own cakes. I've done them in the past before 2009, but just this past couple years have I really wanted to make them and have truly enjoyed it.

I am in the process of thinking up a cake for my hubby's birthday which is coming up in January. While doing that, I was thinking about my mother. She used to make cakes when I was younger. I remember one in particular that I loved. It was a submarine cake that she made for my dad's work. He was a naval architect while I was growing up. It was awesome!

I saw how much work my Mom put into making these cakes. I guess watching her do this spurred something in me to make cakes too. I always thought she was so talented. I am not sure if my Mom makes cakes anymore. We aren't as close as I'd hope to be these days.

I do know that I miss seeing her making cakes. I remember a doll cake she made me for my 12th birthday. I also remember seeing the cakes with the beautiful roses on them. I don't know how to make roses or flowers yet and wish I could learn that from her. I know I will learn them though. I hope to take a cake decorating class here soon!

I'll have to go through my pictures of when I was younger and see if I can pull up some of the cakes she made.. It would be cool to see them again if I have the pictures of them.

I am very thankful that she made those cakes as I was growing up. I guess that's why I make the cakes for my family. Because of how I felt with her making those for me, I felt special and worth something! I want my family to feel special and worth something too!

Here is some pictures of the cakes I've made this year and last year..

This was a bday cake for my youngest for his 8th birthday in 2009. He wanted an American Flag themed cake

my ladybug cake I designed for my bday in 2010

my daughter's 16th bday.. 2010

My youngest son's snowman cake for his 9th bday in 2010

my husband's carrot cake for his bday in 2011

my son's 12th bday cake 2011

I made the cake for my daughter's Spring Fling Prom 2011

I made a graduation cake for my oldest son for finishing up Elementary School this past June 2011

This is my bday cake for this yr. 2011. Not my best but it turned out cute

My anniversary cake I made back in November 2011 for our 14th anniversary.

My latest cake was for my son's 10th birthday a couple weeks ago!

Weightloss- Plateau is Over

2011-12-28T17:28:00.005-07:00

I haven't posted anything on my weightloss in awhile because I haven't lost any weight in a month.. The scale decided to stay the same throughout the entire holiday season. A big plateau.. but I am glad I had it. It gave me a little time to relax through Thanksgiving and Christmas. I didn't gain so that was nice. I enjoyed some sweets that I've taken out since September. Ate in moderation but was able to enjoy them nonetheless! It was nice.

Now back to the grindstone. I still have some weight to lose. The scale says 11 more pounds to where I want to be but I feel thinner than I did when I was this weight years ago.. Since I now workout, weightlift and run I am now more muscle than before! Very little jiggles now! oh ya!

I've lost 2 pounds this week so I am finally going back down. 23 pounds down. I am now officially smaller than I was when I moved to Montana back in 2007. I haven't been this size since 2006.

I am very happy with my progress and will continue to lose weight until I am in a solid size 8 in all my pants... Almost there. I have one pair that are 8's but all the others are a 10.. So close!! Plus I actually want my weight to be correct on my driver's license.. smiles....

This was taken today at 23 pounds lost so far!

Christmas 2011

2011-12-27T19:49:00.002-07:00

We had a great Christmas here at our house.. On Christmas Eve we opened a few presents.. had the kids open one an hour for three hours, then saved the rest for the morning time. It was fun watching them wait in anticipation..

The boys opened the gifts they got for each other first...

My first gift I opened was a key chain sock monkey. I've wanted a sock monkey when I was a kid and up until recently you couldn't really find any. I kept saying something about them on occasion when I was with the family and told them I don't really have a purpose for a doll sock monkey but DS12 told me he saw a keychain one awhile ago and I told him that would be cool, I could put it on my purse.. So he got that for me! Isn't he awesome!

Family photo with the Christmas tree.. My DD17 isn't in the photo. She spent Christmas w/ her father in S. Carolina this year.

Yes, the tree is small. I replaced the one we had because it was falling apart. Purchased this after Christmas last yr. I pulled it out of the box this yr and started putting it together and thought, 'Wait, shouldn't there be more?'. The box said 7'.. hmmm.. oh well, can't do anything about it since it's been a yr.

Me, with the presents/tree

Hubby and I in front of the tree

DS12 wanted a guitar. I didn't want to spend a large amount on it if he decided later that he didn't want to play it. I found this beginner one to see if he'll stick with it. If so, then a bigger one will be in his future!

This is an electric Christmas Tree that DS12 bought for his dad so they could put it together as a team!

YEH! A stereo to play my CD's...

Hero Factory is my favorite!

Hubby got me an awesome history book of the county and city we live in. Can't wait to read through this and look at all the old photos of the area!!

DS10 found some jerky seasoning for his dad. Since both of us shot deer we have a lot of meat in the freezer. Now we can make some jerky.. mmmmmm

Stocking fun!

Christmas morning!

I love the new robe that hubby got me. It's SO thick and warm.. It makes me look twice as big but it's so worth it.. I am now warm.. I had a thin sweater I wore around the house and now I have this one. It's long too so my whole body is warm.. YEH!

Each year for the past 11 yrs I've purchased a family dough ornament. Most of them have been a theme that represented that year. This year since we were hunters for the first time ever, we're deer.. Don't you think that's fitting??

While dinner was cooking on Christmas day I decorated a gingerbread house. I asked the family if they'd like to help but they were all too busy playing with their new 'toys'..

All Complete

Here we are getting ready to eat our yummy Christmas dinner. For Thanksgiving we had deer roast since we have three deer in the freezer. For Christmas though we decided to get a turkey... It was yummy since we've eaten nothing but venison since November! (not complaining)

Hope you all had a truly blessed Christmas and that we took time out of our busy day to remember the reason for this special day.. The birth of our Lord Jesus Christ.. What a perfect gift to receive!!

Son is Officially 10..

2011-12-27T19:36:00.003-07:00

My DS9 is now officially DS10.. On December 22nd...I can't believe it! My little baby is now double digits working towards becoming a grown man. When people tell you that time goes fast with raising children, they are not joking. It feels like yesterday I took this little bundle of joy home from the hospital.. Now he's in 4th grade, independent and well on his way of becoming a wonderful adult..

My little man and me on his birthday. He's still small enough to sit on his momma's lap!

Since his birthday was several days before his actual birthday and his cake was gone, I made him some cupcakes w/ blue sprinkles.. His favorite color.. I made him lasagna that he requested and we went to Dad's work (since he was working) and had dinner with him and cupcakes for dessert..

Can't have a bday without candles and a Happy Birthday song!!

Happy 10th Birthday to the greatest son ever! We love you DS10!!!

52 Books in 52 Weeks Book List 2011

2011-12-27T19:02:00.003-07:00

This is my second year participating in the 52 Books in 52 Weeks challenge over at Read 52 Books in 52 Weeks. It's been a great year and my 52 books in 52 weeks for 2011 is coming to an end as well. Last yr I read 57 books.. This year I read 57 books.. It looks like that is a number to beat for 2012..

The blog above had some questions to answer to finish up this year's challenge..

1. Did you reach the goal of 52 books or did you manage to beat your own personal best?
I did read more than 52 books. I was really hoping to beat my goal from last year but it seems like it was a tie..

2. What book are you ending the year with?
I am almost complete with a book by Martha Rogers called "Autumn Song" It's really good!

3. Did you discover a new author or genre? Did you love them or hate them?
I review books throughout the year and most of the books I read are directly from the publisher. I have come across some new authors this year and they are all really good writers. I look forward to reading more from them. Some include Kathy Herman, Patricia Hickman, Trish Perry, Cathy Marie Hake, and Amy Clipston

4. Did you challenge yourself to read more non fiction if prefer fiction or more fiction if you prefer non fiction?
My goal for this reading challenge is solely fiction. I do read non fiction but I don't record them.

5. Did you read from a list or wing it?
I read books that I get from the publisher to review. Each month I choose what I want to read. Some are also from my personal collection.

6. How many classics did you read? What did you think of the writing style or author?
I haven't read any classics as of yet. I do love historical fiction but most all of the books I read are new releases.

7. Name one book that you thought you'd never read and was pleasantly surprised you like it. "The Pirate Queen" by Patricia Hickman. I thought the storyline was going to be a bit dry but was very happy when I read it how easy it was and how the characters came to life!

8. What are your top ten favorite books?
In no particular order..
1. 'The Girl in the Gatehouse' by Julie Klassen
2. 'Larkspur Cove' by Lisa Wingate
3. 'The Thorn' by Beverly Lewis
4. 'The Journey' by Wanda E. Brunstetter
5. 'Abigail's New Hope' by Mary Ellis
6. 'A Most Unsuitable Match' by Stephanie Grace Whitson
7. 'Wings of a Dream' by Anne Mateer
8. 'Save the Date' by Jenny B. Jones
9. 'Hidden Affections' by Delia Parr
10. 'Love on the Line' by Deeanne Gist

9. What are your ten least favorite books?
I don't have any. I liked all the books I read this year.

10. Did you start any books that you just simply couldn't finish?
not this year

11. What did you think of the mini challenges and did you join in or complete any?
I didn't know about those. I will look for them in 2012 if they are still going...

12. Did your family join in on the fun?
no, this is just something I do for myself..

13. How many books have you added to your wishlist since the beginning of the year?
way to many now that I know about Paperback Swap.. smiles...

14. What was your favorite thing about the challenge?
It keeps me accountable and keeps me motivated to continue reading..

Here they are below along with my list of books I read this year

Here is my list of books in the order I read them this year.. I look forward to seeing what my book list will be for next year...

1. 'The Girl in the Gatehouse' by Julie Klassen
2. 'Serendipity' by Cathy Marie Hake
3. 'Someone to Blame' by C.S. Lakin
4. 'Larkspur Cove' by Lisa Wingate
5. 'Another Dawn' by Kathryn Cushman
6. 'A Promise of Forever Love' by Vanessa Miller
7. 'Texas Heat' by Debra White Smith
8. 'Texas Pursuit' by Debra White Smith
9. 'A Billion Reasons Why' by Kristen Billerbeck
10. ' When All My Dreams Come True' by Janelle Mowery
11. 'A Bond Never Broken' by Judith Miller
12. 'Hearts a Glow' by Tracie Peterson
13. 'A Heart Most Worthy' by Siri Mitchell
14. 'The Caregiver' by Shelley Shepard Gray
15. 'False Pretenses' by Kathy Herman
16. 'The Thorn' by Beverly Lewis
17. 'The Perfect Blend' by Trish Perry
18. 'Tea for Two' by Trish Perry
19. 'The Journey' by Wanda E. Brunstetter
20. 'Abigail's New Hope' by Mary Ellis
21. 'Cowboy's Touch' by Denise Hunter
22. 'The Judgement' by Beverly Lewis
23. 'Undaunted Faith' by Andrea Boeshaar
24. 'The Fine Art of Insincerity' by Angela Hunt
25. 'Hope Rekindled' by Tracie Peterson
26. 'The Lady of Bolton Hill' by Elizabeth Camden
27. 'When Chicks Hatch' by Heather Randall
28. 'To Win Her Heart' by Karen Witemeyer
29. 'Love's First Bloom' by Delia Parr
30. 'She Makes it Look Easy' by Marybeth Whalen
31. 'Save the Date' by Jenny B. Jones
32. 'Hidden Affections' by Delia Parr
33. 'Forever After' by Deborah Raney
34. 'The Protector' by Shelley Shepard Gray
35. 'Hidden' by Shelley Shepard Gray
36. 'Wanted' by Shelley Shepard Gray
37. 'Forgiven' by Shelley Shepard Gray
38. 'Grace' by Shelley Shepard Gray
39. 'Summer Dream' by Martha Rogers
40. 'Love Finds You in Amana Iowa' by Melanie Dobson
41. 'Out of Control' by Mary Connealy
42. 'A Most Unsuitable Match' by Stephanie Grace Whitson
43. 'Dancing on Glass' by Pamela Binnings Ewen
44. 'The Survivor' by Shelley Shepard Gray
45. 'A River to Cross' by Yvonne Harris
46. 'A Whisper of Peace' by Kim Vogel Sawyer
47. 'Wings of a Dream' by Anne Mateer
48. 'The Mercy' by Beverly Lewis
49. 'Dangerous Mercy' by Kathy Herman
50. 'Love on the Line' by Deeanne Gist
51. 'Maggie's Journey' by Lena Nelson Dooley
52. 'A Lasting Impression' by Tamera Alexander
53. 'Christmas in Sugarcreek' by Shelley Shephard Gray
54. 'Shadows on the Sand' by Gayle Roper
55. 'The Pirate Queen' by Patricia Hickman
56. 'Naomi's Gift' by Amy Clipston
57. 'Autumn Song' by Martha Rogers

How to Have a HEART for Your Kids Book Club

2011-12-26T21:43:00.003-07:00

The New Year brings a new book to read. Actually like a bible study but online. I am really excited about starting this Bible Study book called "How to Have a H.E.A.R.T For Your Kids". We will start up with an introduction week on January 2nd and then start reading a chapter a week until the end of February. I was so excited when I found out that I won a copy from her blog so I can participate.. I hope to get my copy here real soon so I can start on time with the group.

I want to post each week on what I've learned and read through each chapter here on my blog. I truly desire to grow deeper in my Christian walk and grow deeper as a mother and wife. I look forward to seeing what this book will do for me..

If you'd like to join in, it's not too late.. Just click on the banner above and it will take you to the website to sign up.. Starts January 2nd.. What a great way to ring in the New Year to grow as a mother and wife..

Stay tuned

The Pirate Queen by Patricia Hickman Book Review

2011-12-21T17:07:00.002-07:00

About this Book:

The envy of all her friends, wife and mother Saphora Warren is the model of southern gentility and accomplishment. She lives in a beautiful Lake Norman home, and has raised three capable adult children. But she’s also married to a successful, yet philandering plastic surgeon. It is for that reason that, after hosting a garden party for Southern Living magazine, Saphora packs her bags to escape the trappings of the picturesque-but-vacant life. Her planned destination is a neglected family bungalow on the Outer Banks.

Saphora’s departure, though, is interrupted by her husband Bender’s early arrival home and his words that change her life forever: I’m dying.

Against her desires, Saphora agrees to take care of Bender, who instructs her to take him to fight his illness in their coastal home in Oriental—the same house to which she had planned her get-away. When her idyllic escape is overrun by her grown children, grandchildren, townspeople, relatives, and a precocious neighbor child, Saphora’s escape to paradise is anything but the life she had imagined.

My Thoughts on this Book:

What a heart wrenching story from the beginning. Having a relationship where you feel the only way to find happiness is to leave is hard to comprehend. That is how Saphora felt. What do you do in that situation when you are ready to walk away for good and your spouse tells you, 'I'm dying.' Saphora took her role as mother and wife seriously even to the end. Don't want to give away the wonderful ending but you are sure to need a tissue or two..

While we read about Saphora and her husband Bender we also get a glimpse into a child's life with AIDS. Both of the storylines worked beautifully together and was very happy to see how the stories unfolded at the end! Looking forwarad to reading more by this author in the future..

About the Author:

Patricia Hickman, M.F.A., is an award-winning author of fiction and non-fiction whose work has been praised by critics and readers alike. Patricia first studied creative writing at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock and then went on to do graduate studies in creative writing at Queens University. She writes for major publishers and is currently at work on her eighteenth book, a novel set in the North Carolina Piedmont. Her next novel,The Pirate Queen, will release Summer 2010, a story that takes readers journeying from suburban Lake Norman to the sailing villages of the Outer Banks. She has served as a writing professor at UNCC and taught in writing workshops across the country offering her popular “Creating Characters–Giving Story People Life” workshops and courses on fiction. She, along with her hubby, founded a non-profit charity that benefits moms and children with HIV called The Secret Angels Project. Her fiction is known for its depth of understanding of the human condition underscored by redemptive themes.

Son's 10th Birthday Party

2011-12-18T21:54:00.002-07:00

My youngest son just had his 10th birthday party yesterday. He will be officially 10 on the 22nd.. His Mustang Race car themed birthday was a huge success. We had everyone he invited come except for one family and the kids had a blast! We played four games. The first game was a left/right game. I was able to personalize it w/ my son's name and age and it was really cool! I gave the kids tickets and I drew numbers for them to pick wrapped gifts from a bag. After all the kids received a gift we played the left/right game. At the end each kid got the one they had left.

The second game was a skit game. I had two bags with five items each in it. We split the kids into two groups and they went into separate rooms to put together a skit that used every item in the bag. It was so neat to watch them perform these.

Here below are the groups putting their skits together.

I videotaped each skit and you can watch it below.

The third game was make a mummy with toilet paper.. This was hilarious to watch them wrap up their friends..

We then had them play one more game. A treasure hunt outside. Yesterday's temp was in the 50's. That's right.. in December! It was awesome. Broke them up into two groups and each group had to follow the clues to the treasure box..

Running around looking for clues!

Before singing Happy Birthday my son wanted to take the cars off the top of the cake.

Picture of the cake with the candles lit

Singing Happy Birthday

Birthday boy's piece of cake on our special birthday plate

All of his wonderful gifts. His birthday balloons are behind him..

If you want to see more pics of his cake and how I made it you can go HERE

I can't believe that my little baby will be 10 in a few short days. Just planning his birthday was hard knowing my youngest was hitting double digits already. I honestly don't know how public school parents handle being away from their children all the time. I am around mine all day, everyday and just can't believe how big they are getting. I know I will miss them something fierce when it's finally time for them to leave the nest.. I am not looking forward to that day!

On Thursday DS9 will officially be DS10.. I know he's excited.. me, not so much.. hee hee!!

Race Car Checkered Cake

2011-12-18T20:14:00.003-07:00

My son's 10th birthday party was yesterday. This year he wanted a Mustang themed party. I thought I would make him a race track cake and put Mustang Hot Wheels on top. The inside of the cake is checkered with chocolate and vanilla cake batter.

I made four 9" round cakes. Two were chocolate and two were vanilla. I was originally going to just stack them, frost it and then decorate. I then thought, hey! maybe I can make a checkered cake.. I found a wonderful website that helped me put this together.. You can check out the website HERE.

Here below is how I put it together..

I took each 9" cake and cut them length wise in half. Then took a cake pan that was 6 inches in diameter and a cookie press that was 3 inches in diameter. Used both of these to make the circles you see above.

I did that to all eight of the cake rounds. Then took one vanilla and one chocolate and put them back together like below. Each layer I frosted with a yummy rasberry cheesecake filling. This keeps all the layers from falling apart. This wonderful tip was given by the blog I found this from.. What great advice!

Then I stacked them like below..

I then frosted it with cream cheese frosting for a crumb coat since this cake was cut up quite a bit.

My cake idea came from this blog HERE

Here below is how I decorated it. I frosted the bottom with chocolate frosting to resemble dirt.

The top part of the cake was decorated to look like a race track. I used two small bowls like below

I got Teddy Graham crackers, crushed them and filled in the spaces around the bowls like below

Filled in where the bowls were with green sprinkles

Added Good and Plenty candies for lines, two Mustang Hot Wheels along with two checkered flags to the top..

The one below is with #10 candles

Cut the cake and here below you can see it checkered..

The cake was a hit!

One Thousand Gifts 370-399

2011-12-18T19:40:00.003-07:00

Multiple Blessings, One Blessing @ a Time

370. baking healthy foods for Thanksgiving dinner.
371. having deer roast for Thanksgiving that we killed ourselves
372. putting up the Christmas tree
373. staying home in my warm bed and not venturing out for Black Friday
374. having all my shopping done before Dec 1st
375. baking Christmas goodies for family, friend & neighbors
376. getting a hug from a thankful neighbor when delivering cookies
377. Saturday evening church service
378. Advent
379. Christmas movies
380. Cub Scouts Chariot Race
381. making Pinewood Derby car w/ dad
382. kids helping in the kitchen
383. kids doing their chores w/out issue
384. presents under the Christmas tree
385. planning son's 10th birthday party
386. making a checkered race car cake for son's 10th birthday
387. watching my son enjoy his birthday party
388. hot cup of tea on a snowy cold evening
389. my AWD vehicle on slick roads
390. having a month of from reviewing books to enjoy Christmas
391. making greeting cards for friends birthdays and Christmas
392. my stamping class- learning new techniques
393. hanging w/ the neighbor at the craft store
394. Christmas lights throughout the house
395. setting out our keyboard and listening to the kids play
396. receiving Christmas cards from friends and family
397. excitement in my kids faces when they shop for their father for Christmas
398. Jesus's birth
399. having three weeks off of homeschool to enjoy the Christmas season

Goodbye to Another Pant Size

2011-12-14T17:01:00.002-07:00

Continuing on my weight loss journey. It's been three months and have lost a total of almost 21 lbs. The scale has not moved in 3 weeks.. but I am getting thinner. I think it's the fact I am now lifting weights again at the gym on top of my running and cardio workouts.. I'm getting leaner but the weights not moving.. How do I know this??

I've dropped a dress/pant size.. I started at a 14.. Yep, that's right.. Not proud of that fact but I am now in an 8.. Some of my 10's still fit ok but I have two new pairs of pants that are 8's.. OH YA!. I haven't been this small as far as dress size in a very long time.

I found my daughter's prom dress from this past Spring in the closet and thought I should try it on since it was an 8.. It fit!!

Low light B&W

With flash..

I am so excited to see things progressing as far as my weight loss goals. This isn't just about seeing the scale go down (don't get me wrong, that's totally nice) but it's about seeing myself get smaller, having more energy, being able to run longer and faster and just feeling overall healthier.. This journey has changed the way I look at food, how I look at exercise as well as how I look at myself.

I am eagerly looking forward to the new year.. and this summer where I won't be embarrassed to wear shorts or a bathing suit... I'm not done with my journey yet. I still would like to see the scale go down another 10 lbs so we will see where that takes me.. Until then...

Pumpkin Shooting

2011-12-14T16:37:00.002-07:00

We still had our pumpkins from our Fall decorations. Still pretty firm being December and all.. We decided to take them to the shooting range and see how they faired using our 243 Rifle. I was hoping to see them blow up.. Unfortunately they didn't. Hubby said next yr we will fill them with water, then they will explode.. oh ya!!!

Our pumpkins awaiting their exile

It was DS9's and DS12's first time shooting with our 243 rifle.. Didn't snap a photo of DS12 shooting but did get DS9..

Pics below of our pumpkins...

Homeschool Weeks 13-14 in Review

2011-12-14T16:23:00.003-07:00

I did it again.. Didn't get around to posting this each week for the past two weeks. Here is weeks 13 and 14. We are taking a three week break off from school while we celebrate a birthday, Christmas and New Year's. We'll be back at it first week of January...

DS12

He made a fossil

Watercolor painting of a lighthouse

DS9

Unveiling his secret code he made the day before. Here he is painting over it to reveal it!

His silk moth he drew while studying about silk

Learning about the silk road, he needed to map the routes used

For his science we've been studying dinosaurs. His experiment was about balance for dinosaurs. He made a marshmallow dinosaur w/out a tail and w/ a long neck and it couldn't stand balanced, it needed a long tail to help..

Cub Scouts Chariot Race

2011-12-12T18:53:00.002-07:00

Last weekend DS9 joined w/ his pack and den for the annual Chariot Races for Cub Scouts. He had a blast last year and couldn't wait to participate again this year. They had their pack meeting race a couple weeks ago. Now they go head to head with the cities Cub Scout packs.

Hubby volunteered to time the races. Here he is above waiting to start.

My little Webelos waiting for his turn to ride in the chariot.. (aka.. cardboard box they decorated and added ropes to pull)

DS9's first race he was riding in the chariot.. There goes his den...

Waiting for the second run!

Setting up for their final race. DS9 is now a puller..

Hubby received a patch for helping out. DS9 didn't win a metal this time around but he did receive a patch as well for participating..

Win Free Bible & Apple iPad 2

2011-12-08T23:20:00.004-07:00

I wanted to let you know about a great giveaway happening over at the New Living Translation Facebook page

Here are the NLT Facebook page giveaway details:

Starting on November 29th until December 24th at the New Living Translation Facebook page they're giving away lots of great prizes and something free for you just for signing up.

By visiting the giveaway entry page and entering your name and e-mail address you'll be entered to win the following prizes:

One random person each day will win a Life Application Study Bible Family Pack (Guys Life Application Study Bible hc, Girls Life Application Study Bible hc, Student's Life Application Study Bible hc, Life Application Study Bible hc, Life Application Study Bible Large Print hc).

One Random person each week will win an Apple iPad 2!

Everyone that signs up gets a free download copy of the Life Application Bible Study – Book of Luke!

Check it out. The download is awesome. Can't wait to go through it!

Menu Monday

2011-12-05T20:47:00.004-07:00

Over @ www.orgjunkie.com she is posting her menu for the week. I did this last week and thought it was cool. It also keeps me accountable to make these each day.. smiles.....

Monday- Sourcream Burgers w/ homemade buns using ground venison

Tuesday- Slow Cooker Venison Roast

Wednesday- Shredded Vension Sandwiches w/ homemade bread

Thursday- Turkey Meatballs

Friday- Venison Sloppy Joes w/ homemade buns

Saturday- Pita Pizza

The 365 Most Important Bible Passages For You Book Review

2011-12-01T20:44:00.002-07:00

It is time for a FIRST Wild Card Tour book review! If you wish to join the FIRST blog alliance, just click the button. We are a group of reviewers who tour Christian books. A Wild Card post includes a brief bio of the author and a full chapter from each book toured. The reason it is called a FIRST Wild Card Tour is that you never know if the book will be fiction, non~fiction, for young, or for old...or for somewhere in between! Enjoy your free peek into the book!

You never know when I might play a wild card on you!

Today's Wild Card author is:

Jonathan Rogers

and the book:

The 365 Most Important Bible Passages for You: Daily Readings and Meditations on Experiencing God's Richest Blessings in Your Life

FaithWords (November 10, 2011)

***Special thanks to Sarah Reck, Web Publicist | FaithWords & Center Street | Hachette Book Group, for sending me a review copy.***

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

No matter what he is writing, Jonathan Rogers is motivated by the astonishing reality of God's transforming grace in the lives of human beings. He is passionate about seeing the truths of Scripture bear fruit in the lives of students - lives of integrity, purpose, and joy. That passion is reflected in his books, including Words to Live By for Teens, What Really Counts for Students, and his Wilderking Trilogy of adventure novels - The Bark of the Bog Owl, The Secret of the Swamp King, and The Way of the Wilderking. Jonathan holds a PhD in English literature from Vanderbilt University. He lives with his family in Nashville Tennessee.

Visit the author's website.

SHORT BOOK DESCRIPTION:

This year-long devotional is both unique and simple by targeting the general reader, both men and women. Features include:

--A comprehensive overview and accompanying meditation for each passage;

--Daily encouraging and engaging scriptures that focus on the Bible passages that reveal the divine character of God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit; and

--Insightful comments and applications to daily life.

Product Details:

List Price: $15.99
Hardcover: 400 pages
Publisher: FaithWords (November 10, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0446574996
ISBN-13: 978-0446574990

AND NOW PRESS THE OPEN BOOK WIDGET TO READ THE FIRST CHAPTER:

My Thoughts on this Book:

365 wonderful devotional readings. Perfect for the busy person that wants to get into the Word but doesn't have much time. Each day you will be given a bible passage and a reading relating to that scripture. I loved this devotional and look forward to starting over in January and going through it for the entire 2012..

Kiss for a Kiss Advent

2011-11-30T19:46:00.002-07:00

I can't believe it's that time of year again. Time to bring out the Countdown to Christmas boxes and start our kiss for a kiss countdown. Basically the kids give me a kiss on the cheek each morning from Dec 1-24 and they get a Hershey's Kiss. A couple years ago I made a magnetic calendar that holds little tins. In each tin carries two kisses for each of my boys. Last yr I had to use another container since my daughter wanted to participate, which was awesome since she was 16 and still wanted to give her dear old mom a kiss each day..

This is up and ready for the morning.. WOW, time flies!! The boys are excited..

If you'd like to make something like this here is the post with all the directions and materials needed HERE