Celebrating and Savoring – MSM

As you know, if you follow my fb profile, I am often on Money Saving Mom’s page, and sharing her posts!! I recently purchased Crystal’s book Celebrating and Savoring, A Simple Christmas.  It is a short book with ideas to stay with in your gift budget, budgeting time, Decorating, and much more.  I have read about half of it, and am feeling encouraged that I’m on track . . . mostly 🙂  I have my cash budget, I have most of the supplies to make the gifts I’m going to make (and about 1/3 of the way done) and already have a plan for when I’m decorating (Day after thanksgiving, and planning on keeping it simple, I do have little people.  
Anyway, Crystal is giving away a Kindle in honor of her book! So check it out on her site. Sounds like today is the last give away.  Also check out her book, I think it is 0.99 for one more day!! 

 

WFMW – Sonlight reading box

all of our books are held easily in an old Lego box!

Our family uses Sonlight as our School curriculum, and one of the things we do (besides only put 5 weeks of the lesson plans in a small binder) is to put all of the books in the same box. An old LEGO box!!
I put all of the books that we will use during that 5 week time period in the box, and then I can (or one of the kids) can just grab all of the books at one time!! It makes the school day so much faster and easier.

Works for me Wednesday!!

<a href=”http://wearethatfamily.com/”><img alt=”works for me wednesday at we are that family” height=”198″ width=”300″ src=”http://wearethatfamily.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/wfmw-300×198.png” /></a>

 

Has it really been two years??

I was thinking about my blog the other day, and came over to look at something, only to realize IT”S BEEN TWO YEARS since my last post!?!?  Wowser’s!!  I am hoping to get back into it, mostly doing reviews on books the kids and I read for school, a few that I read on my own, and things that we use, which will probably be mostly kids things 🙂
I am also thinking about doing the Works for Me Wednesday’s  Just to give me a need to get on!! 🙂   Let me know if there are things you would like to see on my blog.
Andrea

 

Want to win a KINDLE??

A Kindle is defiantly on my Christmas list (I really want the Fire HD, so the kids can use it to watch some of their school videos, and we can play educational games, so I like the gc option, I have Swagbucks I could add to buy it!!:)  )

Crystal at MoneySavingMom.com is giving away one  Kindle Paperwhite in honor of her new Christmas ebook!!
Go sign up!!

 

*I am an Amazon Affiliate!! 🙂

 

Naomi and Her Daughters

Naomi and Her Daughters

From the cover:
From master storyteller Walter Wangerin, Jr. comes this familiar biblical saga told in a fresh, transfixing way. You’ll feel you’ve never heard it before! Melding historical accuracy with imaginative detail, Wangerin uses the biblical books of Judges and Ruth to explore themes of love, faith, grief and community set against a backdrop of war and political instability.The widow Naomi grieves the deaths of her two adult sons after the shocking murder of a beloved adopted daughter, while pondering her responsibilities toward her Moabite daughters-in-law. Ancient Israel is in chaos. When her daughter-in-law, Ruth, begs to return to Israel with Naomi, events are set in motion that will change the course of history.But wait…this isn’t the tame, flannel graph story you heard in Sunday School. In the tradition of Anita Diamant’s The Red Tent and Elissa Elliott’s Eve: A Novel of the First Woman, Wangerin imbues his tale with strong female characters and an earthy realism that gives the timeless Old Testament narrative so much power. You’ll find echoes of contemporary issues throughout: deceit, heartbreak, loss, war, and, of course, the power of love. Naomi’s combined strength and tenderness becomes the pivot upon which a nation turns; her decisions ultimately lead to the founding of the family lineage of Jesus Christ.Breathtaking descriptions, shocking violence, and inspirational courage make this spellbinding novel by a beloved award-winning author a story you won’t soon forget. It’s the perfect novel for your book group, and a satisfying read for those who love thoughtful biblical fiction.

My thoughts:
First let me tell you two things: 1) I didn’t read the description above very well the first time, just skimmed it, and was excited about hearing a good story about Naomi,Ruth, and Boaz. 2) I didn’t finish the book, and I’ll tell you why.
1. The story was very ‘broken’ in my opinion, most scenes jumped very quickly, making it hard to keep track of what time frame you are in, and who you are with.
2. There were some very vivid descriptions from a birthing room. . . (Naomi “checking” the mother is given in detail-if you don’t understand that, ask a mom what I mean)
3. Boaz is portrayed as a hotheaded teen (in earlier mentioned birthing scene). Let me explain why this bothered me. It has nothing to do with expecting bible characters to be perfect, because we all know that Christ was the only perfect human. But, Boaz is called the kinsman redeemer (an example to the old testament people of what our kinsman redeemer would be like) and because the Bible doesn’t give us anymore details on Boaz’s character, I think it would be best to leave his image a positive one, not perfect, but positive, because he is an old testament example of Christ.

So, my main reason for not finishing this book was his ‘vivid descriptions’, but the artistic license that the author took cemented my lack of desire to finish this book.

*Note- this book was provided free from Zondervan, and I was not asked to write a positive or negative review.

 

Adventures in Odyssey – Cause and Effect by Focus on the Family

Adventures in Odyssey
Cause and Effect
Focus on the Family

Adventures in Odyssey is a kids program that teaches biblical lessons in a fun and adventurous setting!! Geared to young school aged children it teaches lessons it teaches real life lessons.
Each of the 12 25 min stories has a different twist.
1-2 The Mystery of the Clock Tower
Why is the Clock tower counting down?? A reminder that your actions will effect the future, one way or the other.
3 Wooton’s Broken Pencil Show
When Connie has to leave the air, Wooton takes over for her. Wooton helps show that ‘entertainment should have a point’
4 Stage Fright
Everyone is excited about the newest play, but all of a sudden everyone is unreasonably scared.
5 Fast as I can
A description on fasting, its uses and the types of things you might fast from.
6 Opposite Day
Even opposites can be friends, their friendships just might look different
7 The Owlnapping
When you believe in something more than Someone
8 Square One
What to do when you break someones trust.
9 A Thankstaking Story
Think A Christmas Story only at Thanksgiving 😉
10 An Agreeable Nanny
When presented with a new nanny, the Parker kids decide to take advantage of the situation. Listen to find out what they learn.
11 The Malted Milkball Falcon
When Milkballs go missing from a fundraiser, the kids at Whits End try to solve the case, and are surprised by the truth.
12 Grandma’s Christmas Wish
A busy episode about the busyness of Christmas.

My kids hadn’t really heard Adventures in Odyssey a whole lot before, but now they are very excited to hear even more.  They love the excitement and suspense of the episodes, with out being too scary.
This new CD came out in October and would make a great addition to any traveling this holiday season!! or even as a fun stocking stuffer or Christmas gift!!

 

Unlocked – Karen Kingsbury

Unlocked
Karen Kingsbury

From the Cover:
Before You Take a Stand … You Got to Take a Chance. Holden Harris is an eighteen-year-old locked in a prison of autism. Despite his quiet ways and quirky behaviors, Holden is very happy and socially normal—on the inside, in a private world all his own. In reality, he is bullied at school by kids who only see that he is very different. Ella Reynolds is part of the ‘in’ crowd. A cheerleader and star of the high school drama production, her life seems perfect. When she catches Holden listening to her rehearse for the school play, she is drawn to him … the way he is drawn to the music. Then, Ella makes a dramatic discovery—she and Holden were best friends as children. Frustrated by the way Holden is bullied, and horrified at the indifference of her peers, Ella decides to take a stand against the most privileged and popular kids at school. Including her boyfriend, Jake. Ella believes miracles can happen in the unlikeliest places, and that just maybe an entire community might celebrate from the sidelines. But will Holden’s praying mother and the efforts of Ella and a cast of theater kids be enough to unlock the prison that contains Holden? This time, friendship, faith, and the power of a song must be strong enough to open the doors to the miracle Holden needs.

My Thoughts
Autism is such a sensitive topic, and Karen showed all sides of it. The side of Holden’s mom, his dad, their best friends (and daughter), the school mates, and Holden. Karen showed each person’s struggles and pain and joy.
Unlocked covered many more topics than just Autism too, it included bulling, lost friendships, separation of spouses, prejudice, and a very unexpected twist.
An emotionally packed book with lots of sadness and lots of triumphs.

At first I felt like Unlocked was a little unrealistic, but if you read the authors notes at the end of the book, you will find out that Karen knew a young man who was ‘unlocked’, the real young man was much younger, and his unlocking took longer than Holden, but the situation had many similarities.
This book was another great book by Karen, and handled yet another delicate topic tactfully.

*Note, this book was provided by my mom 😉 Who also loves to read these books (thanks mom), Zondervan, Karen Kingsbury, nor my mom have asked me to write this review, and I have not been paid to write a positive or negative review 🙂

 

The Way Home – A movie review

The Way Home

A movie review

Randy Simpkins (Dean Cain “Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman”) and his family are packing for vacation, when Randy leaves his two-year old son outside playing while he ‘checks his work email real fast’  When he returns Joe is gone.   But where?  As a workaholic, Randy is often busy, and his wife is sick of t, and fully blames Randy for Joe’s disappearance!!

When the Simpkins pastor puts out a prayer chain the entire community pulls together to look for the little boy.   The community unites in prayer, love and searching.

My Thoughts:  Wow, an emotional powerful movie!!  The producers did a fabulous job of showing the gaumant of emotions that the parents would be feeling, and all of the friends/family and how they would also feel.  I also gained more appreciation for the technical trials of searching for someone, and the complications and procedures that would need to be followed.  It had enough details to make it feel accurate (movie based on a true story), but not so much that it was bogged down.

This movie is a clean movie, and safe for the whole family if mom and dad are willing to answer questions.  *note, I always recommend pre-watching all movies, but especially with this one, you want to know if you really want the questions (I won’t personally be letting our little people watch it yet).  The Sheriff and other a few other people talk about the possibilities, ie: ‘two year old body floating face down’ etc.

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

 

The Boy who Changed the World – Andy Andrews

The Boy Who Changed the World

Andy Andrews

Released Aug 31,2010

I first heard this story in Andy Andrew’s book The Noticer (well actually at Women of Faith, so I first read it in The Noticer).  It is a story about a boy who grows up and saves thousands, but was it him who changed the world, or the one who taught him to love learning and who taught him to want to help people.  or maybe it was the person who. . .  well, I don’t want to give the story away, so I’ll just say that the ideas behind this story is that old saying about butterflies and how they can make changes to the weather on the other side of the world.  Your little bit does make a difference.

The drawings are simple, and cute. I love the ‘hidden’ butterflies that are on most of the pages (look for them!!).  The story line is neat, but might need to be explained to children.

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

 

Why Does My Child Hate to Write ebook- Carol Barnier – TOS

Why Does My Child Hate to Write
Carol Barnier
an eBook from TOS $1.95

Carol Barnier gives ideas on how to make writing less painful for your active child.  Explaining that active children (with active imaginations) can often get bogged down with the difficulty in producing written words.
I read this guide without knowing how applicable it would be to my family.  We are in our 4th week of school, and I can’t tell you how many times I’ve said, just write it down and you will be done.  I’ve called friends to see if they had ideas, and then I came across this, and thought, well my seven-year old isn’t writing stories yet, so this probably won’t help.  But it can!!  She gives great ideas that I can’t wait to try.  Hopefully tomorrows lessons won’t be so much of a chore!!

Note:  This eBook was provided free from TOS, I was not asked to write a positive or negative review, nor was I compensated for this review, all opinions are my own.