Menu and More

Jerk Chicken Nachos
Tacos
Spaghetti
Roast
homemade pizza
not sure about Saturday
Sunday- ham, green beans, scalloped potates, salad, fruit and lemon pie

We are taking off Good Friday (April 2) and all of next week for Easter. I hope to have Bella's school lesson plans uploaded during that time. I also have some pictures I want to share.

Have a blessed Easter week!

Olivia's Wolf report

Olivia's video report. There are a few spelling errors and I don't believe that one wolf can eat 300 pounds of meat. I think that was suppose to be 30 lbs.
Anyway, I think she did a good job.

Asking for Trouble

Asking for Trouble (London Confidential)
by Sandra Byrd

What’s a girl to do when she moves to a new school in a whole new country?
Savvy and her family move to England for her fathers job. Starting a new school is hard enough but in a new country makes it even more tough. Some of the kids and neighbors seem nice but standoffish.

Savvy has a few hard decision to make in the quest to win friends and be excepted in a group. I’m a big sap, and the loneliness Savvy feels did make me tear up. This book has a good biblical message, but it isn’t preachy and doesn’t slap you in the face.

Both dd and I enjoyed learning about how things in England differed than here in US. We found some of the candy mentioned in the book at World Market to try which was fun. In an interview with the author about why she decided to set the series in London she says “I think, at heart, we are all fantasy travelers, excited about visiting new places - especially places that speak English! London is such a fun, cosmopolitan town. They speak English, but with an enchanting accent that American girls often imitate because it sounds so, well, posh!  We love their royalty, their history, the fact that they are both very similar and yet different from us. The girls who read the London Confidential books may not be able to visit London in person this year, but they can go there via the book. And then plan the REAL trip to follow.”

This is a book aimed at tweens/teens. I say tweens because there isn’t anything in this book that wouldn’t let my 12 yo read. My 15 yo dd read this book in one day and really liked it as well. Both dd and I want to continue the series. We have discussed what we would like to see happen with the main character. Will Savvy join the youth group? Will friendship with Penny ever grow? Will she get the cute boy? Sandra Byrd states, “The final two books in the series release on September 1, 2010 and talk about good friendships and bad, why it's important for Christian girls to stick with only liking, even crushing on, Christian boys, how to persevere in times of trouble, and taking your first adult steps in your faith. When girls open any of the books, they'll find a girl who is a lot like them, with dreams and hopes and fears like theirs, and God who works things out in ways they would not have imagined.  There are friendship ups and downs, school ups and downs, guy ups and downs, family issues and lots of fun. I wanted to write books that would be fun to read, and yet still be meaningful. I hope the girls find the books to be just that.” We are looking forward to seeing what will happen. 

Thank you to Tyndale House Publishers for the review copy in exchange for my honest review.

Real World Parents

Real World Parents: Christian Parenting for Families Living in the Real World
By Mark Matlock

Excellent book! Fear based parenting can lead to legalism, help your kids ( and yourself) see their part in God's story line, rather than operating in the story line the world tells them is true. I don't agree with some of the first 2 chapters but after that it is a wonderful book.

Where I disagree with the author is that the world isn’t getting better nor is it static, that is not the nature of sin, sin causes degeneration. True there aren’t “new” sins, but the world has gotten so far from God and His holy standard that many sins are excepted as normal, not harmful, or are a valid choice.

Once I got past the first 2 chapters I really loved the message of this book. It is all about teaching yourself and your children a Biblical Worldview from Gods point of view.
Mark Matock has a heart for youth and teens. He has several other workbook Bible studies for teens that I plan on getting for Emilie.

I really like media analysis guide, helping kids and self to make wise choices with all forms of media be it TV, music, web and books. The Story Worldview analysis will be used in our literature classes.

Each chapter has a few questions for digging deeper that would make this great for a Bible study for parenting/and or worldview. I wholehearted recommend this book.

Thank you TB&B Media for the copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Finding Easter at Walmart

The Hardwick family of Creation Sensation were stuck in Walmart for a few hours after picking up a screw in a tire. This little Easter video is what come out of their boredom. Enjoy and remember!

Homeschooling for the Rest of Us.

Homeschooling for the Rest of Us: How Your One-of-a-Kind Family Can Make Homeschooling and Real Life Work by Sonya Haskins is a wonderfully uplifting and encouraging book for those of us that aren’t perfect and are a long way from it.

This book is affirming and validating homeschooling parents that they *are* doing a good thing even when things go wrong. This book really is needed in the homeschooling community where everyone likes to brag how their children are excelling in academics. My kids are not super big brains and that is OK. My house is decorated with educational posters, time lines, calendars and marker boards and that is OK. My kitchen counters have a few piles of newspapers ( current events)a sink of dirty dishes and a dishwasher of clean dishes ( home life skills) and that is OK.

We are home educating for the glory of God and not ourselves, and that’s more then OK!

This book needs to be read by everyone who struggles with keeping up with the perfect family. Not every family that seems perfect on the outside has it all together. I think this is a big problem in the homeschool community. We all struggle but feel we can’t share this struggle publicly for fear people will think less of our abilities to teach, our children’s ability to learn and the validity of homeschooling in general. That’s a lot of pressure!

I encourge all fellow homeschoolers to share your stuggles, you will be surprised how many other families stuggle with the same time.

Thank you Bethany House for this book in exchange for my honest review.

The Flowering Cross

The Flowering Cross
by Beth Ryan is a new Easter book for children.

Katie's family ministers to a cranky old neighbor by showing the love of Jesus to him over a long period of time. One Easter Katie invites “Papa Jack” to church. Surprise! Papa Jack says yes.

Because of the love and commitment to minister to crabby old Jack, he was able to see the love of Jesus in this family,and wanted it for himself. Katie's church decorates a cross with flowers as part of the service. The flowering of the cross has been traced back to the 6th century. It is an especially striking and beautiful way to symbolize the new life that emerges from the death on Good Friday. I never knew of this tradtion. I really like it. Directions are included to make a small table top cross for your own family or to give to others.

This is a touching story that you can share with your children to teach them that just loving people can soften their hearts and prepare them to accept Jesus into their lives. Some people are only an invitation away from Jesus!

“By this shall all men know that you are my disciples, if you have love one to another.” John 13:35 and Galatians 5:14 “For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”

Thank you Thomas Nelson for providing this book in exchange for my honest review.

Book give away winner

Tracy is the winner of the Finding Inner Peace booklet.

I have not been able to contact her. Tracy, if you're out there please email me.

If I don't hear from Tracy by Friday, March 12, I'll draw another name.

Update- March 17, 2010
I've been unable to contact Tracy to send her the book Finding Inner Peace, so I drew a new name. Susan is the winner!
Susan if you are out there, I need you to contact me so I can get your book sent out to you.
Thank you ladies.

He's Everything to Me

He is Everything to Me
Words and music by Ralph Carmichael

In the stars His handiwork I see,
On the wind He speaks with majesty.
Though He ruleth over land and sea,
What is that to me?


I will celebrate Nativity,
For it has a place in history,
Sure, He came to set His people free,
What is that to me?

Til by faith I met Him face to face,
And I felt the wonder of His grace,
Then I knew that He was more Than just a God
who didn't care,That lived away out there and .....
Now He walks beside me day by day,
Ever watching o'er me lest I stray,
Helping me to find that narrow way,
He is everything to me.
(repeat 3 times)

We sang this song at church camp. I've always loved it.
I'm looking for another song we sang, An Attitude of Gratitude, but have been unsuccessful.

Chosen: The Lost Diaries of Queen Esther (Lost Loves of the Bible)
by Ginger Garrett is an intriguing blend of the biblical account of Esther, Persian history, and fiction. This story of Esther is told in First Person narrative in a “dear diary” form. Esther is a young Jewish girl who has lost her parents and has been raised by her older cousin Mordecai. When current queen Vashti falls out of favor, King Xerxes calls for all available girls to be brought to him for the chance to win his favor. After a year of training and beauty treatments it is Esther’s time to meet the King. King Xerxes’ imagination is captured by her beauty, wisdom, and purity and he chooses for Esther his queen.

Danger and conspiracy are all around Esther as people close to the King deceive him. Neither Xerxes nor Esther are truly safe.

There are a couple things that I wasn’t satisfied with in this account of Esther’s life. I wasn’t all that fond of the feelings she held for Cyrus for so long. I didn’t like that she waited so long to tell Xerxes that she loved him, I didn’t like the timing or the words she used. I didn’t like the the ultimate traitor at the end.

It was a good story, not racy or too sexy. It made me cry which is a sign of a good story. My 14 year old daughter is reading it now. The whole time reading this book I did have visions of the movie "One Night with the King".

Some people have posted on Amazon about recipes and beauty treatments included in the book, my copy had none of those things.

The other books coming in the series about Jezebel and Delilah are of no interest to me at all. An idol worshipping murderer and a traitor, lier and deceiver are not women I want to read about. These women are not the heroines of their stories.

Thank you to David Cook and TBB for my free copy in exchange for my honest review.

A sonnet by Shakespeare

CXLIII.

Lo! as a careful housewife runs to catch
One of her feather'd creatures broke away,
Sets down her babe and makes an swift dispatch
In pursuit of the thing she would have stay,
Whilst her neglected child holds her in chase,
Cries to catch her whose busy care is bent
To follow that which flies before her face,
Not prizing her poor infant's discontent;
So runn'st thou after that which flies from thee,
Whilst I thy babe chase thee afar behind;
But if thou catch thy hope, turn back to me,
And play the mother's part, kiss me, be kind:
So will I pray that thou mayst have thy 'Will,'
If thou turn back, and my loud crying still.