Growing Fruit

Worship Music...Review...and Give Away...and God's peace

2012-01-29T13:38:00.000-08:00

It's a Monday as I write this. I was walking around a few hours ago with groaning in my spirit. Another Monday. I DID have presence of mind to stop and pray. The still small voice of the Holy Spirit said, "put the headphones in your ears and listen to the new Vineyard music you have to review." WOW! The difference in how I FELT was almost immediate. I often times think, "I should turn on some worship music." But do I? Not often enough.

The lyrics I am listening to as I write this are:

All who are weak
All who are weary
Come to the rock
Come to the fountain

And as I listened, I was able to ignore the chaos surrounding me. Instead of reacting, I just DIDN'T react. (It is all about God here!) And over the next half of an hour the chaos calmed. I was able to go to the kiddo and just be with him. And he calmed down. We moved into reading. And as I write this (with music in my ears), he is sitting across from me doing MATH. (Some of you know what a miracle that is.)

Fast forward through the week and it turned out to be one of the most difficult of the past few years. Again I just kept coming to Him... via prayer, the Bible and worship music. Specifically this CD. I love Christian music in general and I also like secular hits as well, but music that focuses on Him really helps my Spirit soar.

So on to the review.. I love it. Here is a bit about the Album I Love Your Presence.

LOVE OF GOD was recorded live at the Burn Bright: Worship and The Kingdom Of God conference, hosted by Vineyard Worship. Several hundred worship leaders and worshippers gathered in the Arizona desert to explore the nature of God’s kingdom through music and teaching with some of the Vineyard’s most gifted communicators and musicians. This inspiring collection of songs recorded live at the The Vineyard Church North Phoenix will immerse listeners in the powerful worship that was the highlight of the event. LOVE OF GOD reminds us to not just think of worship as singing songs, but also laying down our lives for Him.

It contains some amazing tracks:

TRACK LIST:

Let It Come
Glory To The King
Saving Grace
What Can I Bring
Love Of God
One Thing Remains
Now And Ever
Invitacion Fountain
Sweet Mercies
Isn't He / Amazing Grace
I Love Your Presence
Perfect Sacrifice
I Lift My Eyes Up (Psalm 121)

Lots of places to find these folks and samples of this album can be found there as well. These include Facebook, their website, that twitter place (which some day I will become part of in a more regular way...) and of course Itunes!

And guess what... they are sponsoring a give-away! It is in download format but that is the way I received this music and I can tell you it is super easy to do. So if you wist to win.. you can enter several ways.

1) Leave a comment

2) Put this blog post on your facebook and leave another comment.

3) Put this blog on your twitter account and leave another comment.

"Disclosure of Material Connection: I received one or more of the products or services

mentioned above for free in the hope that I would mention it on my blog. Regardless, I

only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

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."

Poor Poor Neglected Blog.... A Great Bunch of Link Ups

2012-01-15T07:04:00.000-08:00

My poor poor neglected blog. I have had LOTS in my brain to blog about but when I go to sit down and write....nothing. I have been journaling like a mad-woman but I'm just not sharing most of that!

One of the things I have been listening to however is Brad Jersak on how to listen to the Holy Spirit. Just last night I went to a talk by Francis Chan and he spoke about how the Holy Spirit is a missing component in the American Christian church. Brad lays it out in such a way that it is SIMPLE. Each of these is almost an hour long but in my humble opinion, they are worth it. I know not everyone will be interested in learning but if the Holy Spirit prompts you to.. do it. I turn on the computer and play them while I'm doing dishes or whatever. Good stuff.

Brad Jersak Listen Up! Session 1.

Brad Jersak Listen Up! Session 2.

Brad Jersak Listen Up! Session 3.

Brad Jersak Listen Up! Session 4.

Brad Jersak Listen Up! Session 5.

Brad Jersak Listen Up! Session 6.

If you want them all on one page here they are.

I have some God stories to tell you all on what has transpired from these but will leave those for another post. I am actually only half way through these so take your time!!! No need to power listen through them. Don't discount just because it seems lengthy. Listen as you can as you feel led.

Winner of Cooper and Me book

2011-12-17T18:56:00.000-08:00

Yea for Penny! Congrats

Cooper and Me Review!..deals and give-away.

2011-12-08T10:39:00.000-08:00

contest closed..

There is a great series of books called Cooper and Me. There website can be found here. From their website:

Explore life along with Cooper, a fun-loving black Labrador Retriever, whose entertaining adventures help kids navigate the emotions and challenges of everyday living. Created by mother-daughter team Monique and Alexa Peters and inspired by their real-life family dog, Cooper and Me provides adults and children with opportunities for meaningful conversation and tools for constructive problem-solving. Kids will laugh at Cooper’s antics, and adults will appreciate the resilience nurtured in their children.

I was given an opportunity to review Cooper and Me and the Winter Adventure. This is a sweet story about how Cooper and Bella get lost in a snow storm. It is a VERY loose social story about making proper decisions. I say it that way because I am not a huge fan of social stories so I like that this was 'framed' with animals and then you could steer the grand conversation, if you wish, to your own child.

Kiddo very much enjoyed this reading. He can read chapter books but we still enjoy reading picture books together. It is a rhyming book with fun graphics. The back of the book contains bonus pages. These includes an "Information about Me!" page where you can fill in the blanks. There are several pages of 'curriculum' but if you know me, you know I prefer to just see where the discussion leads. Kiddo enjoyed reading this over again a few times after we read it together. It book sells for $12.99 on their website.

Now for the nuts and bolts. First, they have a facebook group where they give information and run promotions. They also tweet. Also, through February 2012, $1 of every Winter Adventure book sold will go to advance research and treatment of pancreatic cancer, via the Lunstgarten Foundation.

And, and you will have to work fast on this one, Cooper and Me is offering an Exclusive Deal for the blog readers. If you make any purchase of $25 or more at CooperandMe.com, you will get free shipping. This is good until December 15, 2011. The code for his is SPECIAL.

And, yes of course, there is a give-away via the folks at Propeller. So...
1) Leave a comment
2) Facebook this blog and leave a comment
3) Tweet this blog and leave a comment
4) Re-blog..and leave a comment.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received one or more of the products or services
mentioned above for free in the hope that I would mention it on my blog. Regardless, I
only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.
I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255:

Winner FFH Download

2011-12-07T07:13:00.000-08:00

Chef Penny was the winner! Congrats

It's The Thought That Counts....

2011-12-06T14:07:00.000-08:00

So I have been struggling with 'commercialism'... and how Christmas seems all about 'just more stuff.' Not wanting to shop, being stressed about it, not even wanting anything really.... Then I received two surprise birthday gifts from two friends....

I realized it wasn't of course about the gift. But being thought of. The mug was actually something I have wanted..one of those ceramic traveler jobbies. This is a friend I only see a couple of times a year and she did not know I had wanted one! But it was so sweet and warmed my heart.

The earrings I spied last summer at an art fair when I was with a friend. I loved them but couldn't see buying them. My friend had gone back and purchased the earrings..and held on to them for many months. She had wanted to give them to me several times since but held on to them to surprise me for my birthday.

Both of these are friends who I don't generally exchange gifts with. It was fun to be thought of. (Perhaps one of my love languages IS 'gifts.') So I guess I am not 'anti-giving' anymore. Because it isn't about the gift. It truly IS the thought that counts. Off to make a list and check it twice.....

Merry Christmas!

Kid budget- Review

2011-12-05T08:39:00.000-08:00

I have had the opportunity to review Kid budget. From the website:

Kidbudget is fun, ,engaging, and entertaining. The workbook is full of activities, games, riddles, and more. Kids learn basic concepts like needs vs. wants and how to set goals. It is more than just a budget, it is a complete money management system.

What they say is true. We received everything seen in the picture below: The Vault, pouches, workbook and wrist band.

This program is very engaging to the kid and we will be using it over the next few months. If you are familiar with envelope systems this one is similar. The pouches serve different purposes: long term savings, short term goal, fun money and giving. If you know us, we like to tweak and as we go through the workbook we will likely change these up just a bit. It is adaptable. The workbook has sections to describe each one and also information to develop those goals. Each part has fun activities as well... jokes, mazes, and lots of great graphics. There are many charts and descriptions in how to track your money, plan for savings and also discussions on how to make money.

I love that this gives a foundation for what to do with your money. Last week our homeschool co-op had a stop and shop. We made a food product and I tried to get kid to understand 'profit' versus what we had to spend to make the product. He just was not grasping it and it was resulting in 'difficulties.' I finally said, "Ok we are partners. We will split 50/50." That he understood. This week we are going to figure out what our total was, split it and then use the envelope system designed in this product to perhaps target some of these funds for various purposes. At least that is the plan.

The one thing I would have liked was to have giving as the first pouch described in the workbook. Kiddo really struggles (as most ADULTS do) in this area. This section gives ideas on places to give and also a place to put the percentage you are going to give. I might just do this section first if I can get away with it.

I was talking with some friends recently on how those in general education tend to focus on teaching to test but not on practicalities. We homeschool and so tailor our education to what is needed at the present time. But I actually think special ed in the schools has a leg up on the practical. They spend TIME doing things like budgeting and money. This is a very good tool for the home educator- either in a home or co-op/class setting- to teach a child about the 'money flow.' It could also be very beneficial for those in public or private school to reinforce or expand upon the 'use' of money; special or general education. This could be an 'after school' or summer activity. Families have various thoughts on things like allowance but at some point a child will need to learn how to handle their funds- whether it be from an allowance or simply from gifts they have received for their birthdays. This is a good tool for that.

Specifically for special education, I think that this tool is quite useful. Some may find it busy and in fact some kids in special education need plain black and white with very simple steps. But I think this can be used as a tool that perhaps you expand upon where needed. My kiddo found it fun and fairly easy to understand. Again, just today, I was chatting with some friends on particular math programs, and there are some good ones out there, but some of the best are lacking in the practical. This could fill that gap easily.

The Kid Budget system is $29.99 plus $4.95 shipping. The component are also sold separately.

I received this free of charge in exchange for my honest review.

Winners...

2011-11-27T17:31:00.000-08:00

The Winner of The Christmas Lodge is Nick and Catherine.

The winner of the Worship CD is Tammy from Aut-2-B Home.

FFH Christmas CD still out there for grabs and only ONE Entry!!!!!

Nourish MD...Real Appetizers eCookbook

2011-11-27T14:36:00.000-08:00

I had the opportunity to review another of Nourish MD's eCookbooks....Real Appetizers. As in the other cookbooks, she covers the basics of eating REAL food in a step by step approach so that you can become more of a REAL food eater each day. They talk about REAL foods, fake foods and then those that bridge the gap. I like that this is not an "all or nothing" deal. While it is ideal to move more and more to REAL foods it is not practical to do that 100% all on the first day. (We can all probably recall a diet that we have done that way and it lasted three days.)

After the explanations, each cookbook follows with many recipes and in this case REAL APPETIZERS. This would be an awesome addition for the holidays. (There is also a holiday cookbook!) Below is the table of contents and you can see the mouth watering choices available in this book.

They make adaptations for those that need to be gluten, casein or other 'free.' The description of each eCookbook indicates how many recipes can be made gluten, casein or meat free. I haven't tried any of these yet as we just had Thanksgiving and I am still working off the leftovers but I have made quite a few recipes from other REAL books and they do not disappoint. I will update this post as I make some appetizer treats. The grilled steak sticks sound really tasty. Might even make those for dinner some night!

You can buy the eCookbook here. Also join their facebook page. They regularly have specials for both new eCookbooks and bundle packs of several (or even all) of the eCookbooks.

I received this eBook in exchange for my honest opinion.

2011 Gratitude Challenge November 24... Thanksgiving

2011-11-24T13:02:00.000-08:00

I sat down this morning to make a list of 100 things I am thankful for. Got called away at 60 and will get the other 40 later. Big and small.... It started in my mind because a friend posted that she is thankful for her oven. They recently moved and their new home did not have an oven..and today they have one. The first on my list is warm house.. the second is oven. I don't think I appreciate the things I have. I thank God for my hearing...because my son can't hear without a cochlear implant (of which I am thankful!)

But do I thank him I can walk, talk, see, smell, taste?

Taste.. gotta go write that one down. I didn't this morning. I have a friend that can't taste very well. I often stick my foot in my mouth saying, "I made this really great recipe. I think you would like it." But I forget she can't taste. And so I am thankful for her overlooking the fact that I do this..probably more often than I realize...

People do the same to me. So I am thankful that I have been more FILLED with God's goodness and grace and am more able to pour it out on to others....

So I am not going to share my 100 list with you. It's kind of private... at least parts of it. But it is a super good exercise. I found the above graphic online. I love it... I might do that! It gets you into the more creative side of your brain when you do exercises like pictures. And so I am thankful for both sides of my brain (because not everyone has that luxury)... off to write that down.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING

2011 Gratitude Challenge November 23- My mom... and life!

2011-11-23T06:54:00.000-08:00

So today is my birthday. Twenty nine- plus a few. Can you spot me in the picture above? That's my mom. So thankful for my mom!! Thankful for life. Thankful for the life that God has given me.

2011 Gratitude Challenge November 22- Technology

2011-11-22T06:58:00.000-08:00

I have already thanked God for cell phones, cochlear implants etc.. But today I am thankful for technology in general. Phone is officially busted. I must get a new one. "To iPhone or not...that is the question." Was thinking of the kid- and the cochlear implant and what might work best for him so I dashed off a note on my facebook and had many responses. Yes the iPhone can work well for those with hearing impairments. But DID YOU KNOW that cell phone companies have 'texting only' packages for those that do not use voice? and DID YOU KNOW there is a new phone captioning technology out there? I am going to find out more about that later. I am sure there is much more I don't know.

I am thankful that texting is the 'way to communicate' now. It is my kid's preferred way to converse with someone not in the room and apparently this is the way most kids talk now. He is not 13 but he does have a fake FB account so that he can IM those few friends I have allowed him to have. I know he would have a crack up time IMing his cousin but he'd probably get them both in trouble! (I picture them both at their respective kitchen tables where they are suppose to be working but are texting instead. I actually like that picture... it is a picture of 'normal.')

So although I do have a love / hate relationship with technology such as face book and video games.. I am so thankful for those things that continue to increase the availability of the world to my son.

For now I am pretty sure I won't get the iPhone. Kid is not 'quite' there needing it yet. (I still want one but can't use him as an excuse.)

FFH!- Christmas CD! And a Give Away!

2011-11-21T16:36:00.000-08:00

I had the opportunity to review a wonderful new CD from FFH. I had a friend (10 years my junior) ask, who is FFH? Who is FFH??? I loooove them. I just looked at their music page. It does appear that I have one of their first CDs. I guess that dates me. They are great.

The album is full of all the favorite Christmas songs put to familiar and new tunes. Glorious Impossible and The Birthday of the King were new to me and both are lovely songs. Below is a listing of the tracks.

I am sitting here blogging this with the songs playing in the background. This would be a fabulous addition to your Christmas song collection. I honestly don't know what else to say other than these are a fresh take on songs we love to hear this time of year. Poke around on their website and listen so some of the previews of the tunes. I think you will love them. I know this will be playing on our mp3 this season.

You can facebook them here. And of course you can tweet them.

Tracks or the whole album can be purchased on itunes. Tracks are 99 cents each or $9.90 for the album. But Propeller is sponsoring a give away of a downloadable version of this CD. If you are interested please do one or all of the following. (Please...leave a way for me to contact you. The winner of the last drawing had to forfeit because they did not leave contact info.) Leave a comment for each thing you do.

1. Leave a comment.
2. Re post on facebook.
3 Tweet this post.
4. Blog this post.

"Disclosure of Material Connection: I received one or more of the products or services
mentioned above for free in the hope that I would mention it on my blog. Regardless, I
only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.
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."

2011 Gratitude Challenge November 21- Thank God!

2011-11-21T14:04:00.000-08:00

Joyce Meyer has a lot of 'sayings'... one of her favorites is, "I'm not where I need to be but THANK GOD! I'm not where I used to be." And Thank God indeed! Today my phone died. It fell. And it was already literally hanging by a thread. THANKFULLY I have a husband who 'takes care of things' and he programmed his old phone and within an hour I was powered up. The phone dropped..and it broke. Two years ago I need a new phone and I am not going to tell you how that came about. Lets just say that although today, I had a mini wig-out about no phone, two years ago the wig out came before the new phone was needed...and that's all I'm going to say. ;) So..although I am still a work in progress, I am so thankful for the grace and mercy and forgiveness God has given me to get me where I am today.

(I suppose upon reading this I should also be thankful for my cell phone. I have a love hate relationship with technology. I found myself accidentally leaving mine at home one day and was decidedly uneasy! Sad... very sad... )

2011 Gratitude Challenge November 20- Friends.. and a reinforced kid proof swing

2011-11-20T13:01:00.000-08:00

So thankful for friends in general but today a friend sent her husband over to help and I am super thankful. He came over about a month ago and reinforced the swing set (where the hanging swing is on the right) because, if you know my kid, he gives things a beating. Every time he would swing, I would fear it was going to break like a twig. Today he did the left half and lengthened and reinforced it. It is now useable with a tire swing!!! Before this time he would have hit his head trying to go out of control. He also connected the two structures to give it more...structure. AWESOME.

2011 Gratitude Challenge November 18- Good Family Entertainment

2011-11-18T07:22:00.000-08:00

This year I have had the awesome opportunity to review for Propeller. I am not even sure how it happened except that I followed God's leading about what to do this year and as soon as I let one thing go, another thing popped up. (hmmmm......) So mostly these have been products that are just for me and I think God was sending a message. Just this morning I was listening to Joyce Meyer talk about how we need to love ourselves. The verse about "love your neighbor as yourself" depends on that! God has provided some really cool Christian entertainment so I could just sit back and relax from time to time.

THERE IS CURRENTLY A CONTEST on Revolution Worship CD and The Christmas Lodge DVD. Link up and comment THERE to win.

So here is a list of products I have reviewed this year with links to the reviews. If you want some great family entertainment then peek in on these links. They could make some nice Christmas presents as well. I will keep this post updated with a link on the sidebar so that you can refer to future products as well!

The Grace Card- DVD
Game Time Tackling the Past and Walking in My Shoes-DVDs
Theo-Children's DVD
Ginny Owens-CD
The Shunning-DVD
Jeremy Riddle-CD
The Mighty Macs- At The Movies
Brittany Hargest- CD
Revolution Worship-CD
Christmas Lodge-DVD

2011 Gratitude Challenge November 16- "the team"

2011-11-16T11:34:00.000-08:00

Over the years we have had various professionals and other people involved in the care of Andrew. There have been a few 'misses' but many have been 'hits.' I hesitate to list them all since I would probably miss quite a few. You know who you are. But we have had doctors, OTs, PTs, Speech therapists, autism consultants, swim teachers, teachers (both in and out of the public schools), friends, neighbors, relatives... all who love my kid for who he is. Not who he 'should' be.

As of late we have a new babysitter/respite worker with us. You know someone is a good fit when, after your child has hit her (more than once) she tells him as she is leaving, "no. We didn't have a bad day. We had a few bad moments but we had lots of fun too." Yes she is the latest edition to the team and I am so thankful for that blessing.

2011 Gratitude Challenge November 15- My hubby

2011-11-15T05:43:00.000-08:00

Today I am thankful for my hubby. I have lots of lovely pictures of the two of us but this one makes me smile. It was taken..um...20 years ago maybe?? We have been married over 19 years now and it has been a wild ride. God is again good...very very good.

I feel a returning to the 'fun times' of our youth. But in a different way now that we know Jesus "20 years better." There is a verse in the Bible: "May your fountain be blessed, and may you rejoice in the wife of your youth." (Proverbs 5:18.) I don't think hubby exactly wants all of how I used to be..... but I think we both want to return to some of that joy. I have just finished reading Nehemiah and in chapter eight it talks about joy and celebration. (This will be another post on how I ended up in Nehemiah...God story.) But I want to celebrate the victories and the progress we have made.

I love you my hubby. So very very thankful for him and how God made him. We make quite a team. God knew what he was doing.

Winner- Brittany Hargest

2011-11-14T14:02:00.000-08:00

And the winner is...

Well the winner WAS anonymous. No name and no email so I did put a note on the blog for someone to claim that comment and they did not so this is draw number two. This time it was another anonymous but she did leave her contact info. It is Tricia from Warren. Congratulations!!!! You will be receiving your CD from Propeller.

2011 Gratitude Challenge November 13- Keeping the Sabbath (not what you think.)

2011-11-13T13:20:00.000-08:00

I bet you think you know what this will be about.... rest. And how I am thankful for rest. And how the Sabbath refreshes. Well I am thankful for rest and refreshing. But that is not what this is about.

Today I went to pick up a roaster that a friend was giving me. (That will be blogged later this week.) It was out a ways from where I live and there is another family that lives out that way so I decided on a whim to give them a ring. I prayed that if we were suppose to go there that they'd pick up the phone and welcome us.

It is VERY rare that you can get anyone to do anything on a spur of the moment. I figured this might not work but still I decided to give it a shot.

And... for the first time (in a long time anyway) they had decided to take a Sabbath day. To stay home and just hang.

And it was such a GIANT blessing for me. I was with Andrew and I had pocketed the iPod touch so he'd have something to play so I could visit, but the dad took Andrew and his two year old out in the back yard. And... I was able to visit for over a half an hour with my friend.

Many of you might be saying..Whoop Dee Doo. But I can assure you this was a giant deal. With a special needs kiddo, you RARELY get to go ANYWHERE with your child and do the 'normal' thing of chit caht with other moms. Since this was foreign to me it took about ten minutes for me to just relax and enjoy myself.

And Andrew had a wonderful time. A CALM wonderful time playing in the back yard. I was amazed at the interactions...and not only that but there was something that had bothered him during the visit (I can't recall now what it was) but he said, "even though XYZ happened, I still had a good time." THAT is rare as he focuses on the 'bad' thing that happened. I see a shifting in Andrew and am so thankful for that. (That will be a later post too I would guess!)

So for all of you that do Sabbaths out there- God is blessing others through you and in turn God will bless you. God is good. Very Very Good.

Question on a comment on a contest I had.....

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

Someone wrote as a comment in one of my contests: "I follow you on GFC and Facebook". It is from anonymous. Who are you?

2011 Gratitude Challenge November 11- Veterans

2011-11-11T09:51:00.000-08:00

Today I am thankful for our veterans who have served our country.

My son did the above at a Treats for Troops event with our homeschool co-op. It seemed like good photos to include here.

2011 Gratitude Challenge November 10- COFFEE

2011-11-10T13:20:00.000-08:00

About ten years ago I was with a friend. She mentioned that she could only have one cup of joe. Even decaf upset her in various ways. She is about ten years my senior. I thought, "what a SHAME!"

Fast forward ten years....

I was having 'issues' with coffee and one day I was lamenting to God and said, "really? Lord do I have to give up coffee?" And God said, "No girlfriend. Just stick to one cup." (REALLY! That is what I felt him saying to me.)

So I am a now a one cup gal and my body is find handling that. The other day though, I was thinking how I'd like another cup and immediately the Holy Spirit stopped me and said, "You have a cup. ENJOY IT!!!"

That is a microcosm for my life..enjoying the moment. Hard to do. But the coffee thoughts catapulted into further elaborations in other areas of my life...

But that is another post.

2011 Gratitude Challenge November 9-Thankful List

2011-11-09T05:29:00.000-08:00

I actually have quite a list of things I am thankful for but every time I go to blog I think, "I can't really blog that." But I am thankful for my thankful list. I am thankful that I get time every morning (more or less) to spend with God. I let the child play the computer and I spend time with God. Truly, it is a good thing for us. Even the extra screen time is fine because I am using that time to just be with God. So, although what I do each morning changes from time to time, a recent addition is to come up with a thankful list each morning. It could include big or little things. Over the next few days I think I will blog some of the things on that list. (It might be every other day as it appears that I am only able to get to these posts about that often.)

By the way, I found the image below by googling "thankful list." I think DRAWING is an awesome way to get out of the left side of the brain and move into the creative right side. I am a very left brained gal. My son is a right brained kid. It helps me understand him more when I try and draw what I am thinking. These drawings will not appear here nor will they be in any gallery near you! And it does help me come up with new creative thoughts and ideas on occasion because I am using new neuron pathways in the brain.

2011 Gratitude Challenge November 7 - Retreats

2011-11-07T06:28:00.000-08:00

I had the opportunity twice in the last year to go to the Capuchin Retreat Center for a 'private retreat.' I am posting this today for any local folks because they are having a private retreat day on Thursday and I HIGHLY recommend it. You have your own room with a bathroom. But the grounds are incredible. Both days I have gone the weather has been phenomenal. But I am thinking I'd like to go even in the winter, sit in the large room (which I think had a fireplace,) and just soak up the atmosphere. Here is a PDF on The Day of Reflection this Thursday. Give them a call if you are interested.

This is a picture I took on my little iPod touch when I was there. Amazing. Very thankful both for this place and for the time I was able to spend with just me and God.

2011 Gratitude Challenge November 5- God's Word

2011-11-05T09:49:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I didn't post. So much going on. But I did spend time in The Word and God took me to some really cool verses that he planned just for me yesterday. I love it when He does that. I think that "I don't memorize well." But when I need it, the right verse comes to mind, because I have spent time in The Word and with Him. So thankful for how that works.

2011 Gratitude Challenge November 3- Giveaways!

2011-11-03T10:02:00.000-07:00

Today I am going to be thankful for THREE give-aways that I have here on the blog. I love give-aways. I recently won four iPad aps by leaving comments on a blog contest. And I once won a Rocco DiSpirito book...signed and everything.

So today.. you can be thankful in advance to the folks at Propeller for giving away CDs..and DVDs.

I wanted to post this so that folks would be aware again of these contests. Please go to the blog entries for a chance to win and leave comments as directed. Here are the three open contests here on this blog. Please go to the individual posts (as linked below) to leave comments to win.

Brittany Hargest CD

Christmas Lodge DVD

Revolution Worship CD

I really do want you folks to win!!! It is super easy. If you don't have a google account you may leave it anonymous and then leave your email in the comment. Truly folks...that easy. There is no trick. There are no strings attached. Just enter..and win...and be blessed..and thankful! I will not contact you in any way unless you win.

I am posting this as part of the Gratitude Challenge so others can be thankful for freebies too!

Praise the Lord!!!!--- Worship CD review and Give Away

2011-11-03T09:48:00.000-07:00

Christian music is one of the first ways I really came to KNOW the Lord. Other than Amy Grant it was foreign to me. Gradually I came to know more Christian artists.

And now I have close to 200 downloads on the iPod not to mention countless CDs that I purchased before iPod days. I have also come to really love worship music. This is music that is all about God...who He is. It is more specific that just 'Christian' music (which is lovely in its own right.) It talks about the attributes of God and when you listen and sing it puts you in a different atmosphere.

What I have had the opportunity to review is a wonderful album on just that...worship music. It is called Revolution Worship. Over the past few years we have had the chance to visit a variety of different churches. My favorite was a congregation that spent at least 45 minutes in worship every Sunday. With this CD I can do that whenever I want. I just put it on and let 'r rip.

In this amazing worship video there is a track that invites people to come to know Jesus. I am so glad this is available for me to share here on this blog. A quote from this track I think many will like: "It isn't about behavior modification. It is about life transformation." Additional information is also available here.

Here is information that I received about this CD:

“Revolution Worship…Live At Joy Church International”, is a tremendous Praise & Worship album with a powerfully inspiring collection of songs that is unparalleled to any other Praise & Worship series in it’s category. Filled with meaningful lyrics and sincere, personal worship, “Revolution Worship…Live At Joy Church International” masterfully demonstrates authenticity at it’s best. From fiery, electrifying tracks with edgy, rock-driven guitar to peaceful, intimate tracks, this album focuses on pointing attention to God.

And because it’s recorded live, you get to experience the congregational feel of being in a vibrant church service.
Infusing musical quality with a spiritual impact that raises the bar on what to expect in new Praise & Worship music, “Revolution Worship…Live At Joy Church International” brings you a brand new worship experience.
From start to finish, this release is about the act of ministering uncompromisingly God-centered music through pure, heart-felt praise!

You can find their itunes page here where you can listen to samples. The CD is just $7.99 as of the writing of this review.

Their facebook page is here.

Of course they tweet. (I must catch up to the trend and start tweeting....)

You can see their promo video here.

So yes I highly recommend this CD but you can first try and win your own copy here. The generous folks at Propeller and those that work with them are sponsoring another give-away. How to win?

1) Leave a comment that you follow me here via GFC or Facebook
2) Post the contest on Facebook (and leave an additional comment.)
3) Post the contest to twitter (and leave additional comment.)
4) Post this to your blog (and leave an additional comment.)

"Disclosure of Material Connection: I received one or more of the products or services
mentioned above for free in the hope that I would mention it on my blog. Regardless, I
only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.
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."

Christmas Lodge ...Review and Give Away.

2011-11-02T11:56:00.000-07:00

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!!!!!!!!

Well it is the beginning of November! And we need for you to have time to win this new family film!

Christmas Lodge... a feel good movie good for the whole family.

Here is a synopsis I received:

Thomas Kinkade presents Christmas Lodge: a place where a heart-warming past and loving future meet for one remarkable group of people. During a weekend trip to the mountains, Mary (Erin Karpluk) finds herself at the now- dilapidated lodge where she spent the holidays with her family growing up. She becomes determined to restore the building to its former glory. Inspired by her grandfather and guided by her grandmother in heaven, Mary throws herself into the project, and during the process finds herself drawn to Jack (Michael Shanks), a handsome man who loves the lodge as much as she does. Historically unlucky in love, this chance encounter allows Mary to renew her faith in life and discover her one true love. For an uplifting story about the importance of faith, family and the true holiday spirit, go to the Christmas Lodge.

This is a lovely movie. My hubby was walking in and out while I was watching and I asked for his input. One thing he hates in a movie is when a good story line makes some giant turn at the end and lands it in a whole other direction. This movie doesn't do that... although you can tell what will happen during most of the movie, it leaves you feeling all warm and fuzzy at the end.

If you would like to see a behind the scenes on the making of the movie you can go here. And below is a short trailer.

I enjoyed watching this film and it is certainly appropriate for the entire family. The younger elementary crowd might find it a tad tedious. I have to say one disappointing factor- no captions. Not sure why but I always disclose when there are no captions. Perhaps they could have been turned out through the TV but it was not an option in the menu.

I try to not google other people's reviews before I write one but I did want to see what others thought. You see, while I thought this was a good movie...it was good in an "After School Special" kind of way. Over at Footprints In The Butter she talks about some really good positives in the movie. She said I could repost them here and I agree with them all.

there is ONE romantic kiss in the entire movie. So almost no "Do we have to see the kissing part?" comments are even possible.
when the boyfriend-girlfriend go away for the weekend, it is clear that they have separate rooms at the hotel.
there was not a single scene in the movie where I would have to tell my kids to cover their eyes. Not one.
characters actually talk not only about faith and God, but about Jesus.
Mary and Mr. Wrong are dating. But with Mr. Right, the word used is "courting." I don't know where I really stand on the dating vs. courtship issue, but I still loved the contrast here.
the characters weren't all drop-dead gorgeous. Most seemed fairly real in appearance.
Michael Shanks is incredibly convincing in his role

She also talks about some thin character development and I think that is maybe where it fell short. But it certainly is a good family movie to watch.

And again the generous folks at Propeller and those that work with them are sponsoring a give-away.
How to win?

1) Leave a comment that you follow me here via GFC or Facebook
2) Post the contest on Facebook (and leave an additional comment.)
3) Post the contest to twitter (and leave additional comment.)
4) Post this to your blog (and leave an additional comment.)

"Disclosure of Material Connection: I received one or more of the products or services
mentioned above for free in the hope that I would mention it on my blog. Regardless, I
only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.
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."

2011 Gratitude Challenge November 2

2011-11-02T11:22:00.000-07:00

I am thankful today for....

---- My sister. She lives in a different state and it is always fun when we get together. I am cracking up at this picture because we look SO much alike. She is 10 years younger than me and I left to go to college when she was six. We didn't really get to know each other until we were adults.

--- photos. I am also thankful for photos because our trip to this Children's Zoo this week was less than stellar. Kiddo had an issue because he had missed Zoo Boo there that weekend. (He saw flyers and realized this fact while at the zoo.) All of the employes rolled their eyes at Zoo Boo because it had been so busy. That would have been torture for all. This day we had the entire zoo to ourselves. (Not kidding. We were the ONLY ones there.) It seemed so stressful at the time though because of this ONE issue. But as I look at this picture (and others) I am reminded that we did have fun. I want to enjoy more fun 'in the moment.' (Detaching from the situation is one of our current parent goals in RDI actually.)

Read what others are thankful for over at Garden of Learning.

2011 Gratitude Challenge November 1

2011-11-01T16:34:00.000-07:00

Garden of Learning is doing a gratitude challenge again this November. It was such a blessing last year that I am going to participate at least some this year.

Today it is a double whammy. I am thankful for Andrew's cochlear implant. Ten years ago today he was activated.

....and today is my dad's birthday. And I am thankful for him. Happy Birthday Dad!

Brittany Hargest...Review and Give Away!

2011-10-26T09:10:00.000-07:00

Looooooooovvvvveeeee it! Two thumbs up!

Brittany Hargest of "Jump 5" fame has a new CD all her own and I have played it more than a couple of times already. It is rare that I like all the songs on a CD and I really do like all of these. There are some that I hit the rewind button on over and over.

The record is call Love All The Way. Below is a video of the Making of Love All The Way with the title song in the background.

From her website another reviewer talks about the making of this music. It really does hit the highlights of this music.

Brittany Hargest's Love All The Way is full of energy, hope, and heart. My first listen to the record came at the end of a stressful day that was part of a long stretch of difficult days. But this record was just the balm I needed. I came away from it restored, energized, and emboldened. This is the mission and call of Christian music: to encourage, to bring hope, to spread the good news of God's love. Brittany can consider her mission accomplished! The only downside to the record is its brevity – the 10 tracks clock in at just under 33 minutes. However, this album succeeds in showcasing both a talented artist and a merciful, loving, unwavering God. Brittany Hargest doesn't miss a step. She's right on beat with this debut solo project.

The website page also talks about each track and the 'story behind the song.' You can read more of that here.

This is "dance around your house" music... walking music... it is FUN! I love fun. And it is fun and God honoring!!!!!! I ripped the music onto my iPod and then played it through almost twice while I set about my house cleaning and it made it effortless. (Ok...almost effortless.) I laugh that this is the perfect music to give a teen girl yet this forty something mama loves it too.

And shhhh.....don't tell anyone...but the kid liked it!

Of course she has a facebook page, she tweets and has an itunes page where you can hear samples of all the songs.

And... a give away. Wanna win?! Enter here.

1. Follow my blog via GFC or FB and put a comment. If you already follow that is fine too.
2. Put the blog post on your FB and comment.
3. Tweet the post and comment.
4. Reblog the post and comment.

I will draw a number on November 11th so enter up to midnight on 11/11/2011.

"Disclosure of Material Connection: I received one or more of the products or services
mentioned above for free in the hope that I would mention it on my blog. Regardless, I
only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.
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 Autism Cookbook... a review

2011-10-23T16:30:00.000-07:00

Update... I just published this a few hours ago but it has been brought to my attention that in all probability the pictures that are so wonderful in the book (and my favorite part of the book) are not the actual recipes. That makes me sad. I have not 'confirmed' this but read enough to give me pause. Anyway, I will keep the original intact... but given that this is probably the case, I wouldn't recommend.

---------

I am very very good about completing reviews on time. But when I'm not given a deadline, I consider that a reason to not do it (apparently.) So I found three books while cleaning my desk, all on autism in some fashion, that I had not reviewed. I am a woman of my word so I will be blogging these in the next few weeks. Here is the first one:

The Autism Cookbook: 101 Gluten-Free and Dairy-Free Recipes by Susan K. Delaine.

One of the primary reason I purchase a certain cookbook is the pictures and this one has delicious ones! I absolutely love the layout of the cookbook. Each page has a picture and the recipe on the facing page. I recently posted on my facebook page that if only we could press a button on a book or computer and the desired food item would come out... well that would be fabulous.

The initial pages of the cookbook cover a very basic overview of 'why gfcf.' It also discusses the health benefits of a raw diet. (To me there is some controversy here because some folks are lacking enzymes for processing of raw food.) It also contains replacement charts for gluten and casein foods.

The main part of the cookbook has all the usual recipes from soup to nuts. When I received this book I am pretty sure I made some things from it. If you know me, I am a COOKBOOK NUT. In fact if you want to pop over to my Settings of Silver blog you will see I just got rid of 15 cookbooks...and that just scratched the surface. So the fact that I didn't make a ton of the recipes does not indicate the usability of this book. I think my primary hesitation was that The Kid has such a small band of foods the he enjoys. The very first recipe is "Apple Chicken Sausage." I happen to buy pre-made Apple Chicken Sausages and have tried a variation of these but i am sure that The Kid would snub his nose at them. I am also a creature of habit. Once i find something that works, I tend to stick with it. (There is a fair amount of quinoa and buckwheat flour in here too and I try and stay away from both. ) To be honest as I flip through the book I would like to try a few more of the recipes. They do look very good.

The hardcover $12.11 on Amazon.com This is available as a kindle product but I don't recommend as the pictures are fabulous. I would recommend this cookbook if you are gfcf and like to try new things. (I received this book free of charge in exchange for my honest review.)

Courage

2011-10-17T12:09:00.000-07:00

I think Emily Colson's book Dancing with Max has changed my thinking more than any other book on autism. Probably because it is about love. Emily has said that she got up finally one day and said, "I am going to live every day as if it is my last." She continues to go out, and have successes..and failures but she goes out. Here is a clip I found on youtube. If you haven't read the book... at least listen to this short clip. But buy the book.

But I'm stuck. What does that even look like? Because today we could go to gymnastics. If we go, AJ has to take off his implant and I will find myself jumping into the foam pit to get him out. He may not reference as he needs to and he won't be able to hear. And I will find myself running down the trampoline tumble track with my pants that don't fit quite right..and well..anything could happen. And I'm trying to avoid the chiropractor this week.

I think that is what I struggle with...what should we do every day? God did not make us to be hermits but on the flip side when the failures outnumber the successes you tend to follow the path of least resistance. Does God mean for me to go out today and get stressed? Is the stress from myself or is it a 'lack of peace' and so should we stay home and relax.

So for today anyway, I started being very stressed over wanting to do something fun for the kid and yet not wanting to deal with the potential results. I felt God saying, don't stress. I am praying for a helper to go with us and I know that if we are suppose to go today He will provide one. Maybe next month we can try it 'for sure.'

As I was noodling over this post before I published it, i was thinking of the serenity prayer:

God grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference.

I was thinking maybe for me it goes like this:

God grant me the serenity

to accept the things I shouldn't go 'do'

courage to go do the things you want me to do;

and wisdom to know the difference.

I heard in a book or movie recently..."The safest place is in the center of God's will." That is where I want to remain. And I want grace to forgo those activities that are seemingly good but are not what God's plan is. Several friends have tried to encourage me to step out more with Andrew..."I won't know unless I try." I want to know if it is lack of courage that I am not stepping out or if it truly isn't God's timing and place.

The Mighty Macs- Movie Review

2011-10-15T17:50:00.000-07:00

Next week The Mighty Macs will be opening in theaters everywhere. I had the opportunity of an advanced screening and I have to say, it's a winner!!! First....what's the story. From the website:

THE MIGHTY MACS is based on the incredible true story of the 1971-72 Immaculata College team that started in obscurity but became the original Cinderella story in women's basketball. This team of pioneers went from barely making that inaugural tournament to the first dynasty in their game. And Cathy Rush, the woman that was ahead of her time, became immortalized when she was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.

As it says, it is a Cinderella story. Even though you know what the ending will be the movie is full of wit and fun and plenty of drama. The movie is about dreams and hope. It is about commitment and tenacity... and heart. And it is funny too!

Here is the trailer:

I wanted to watch this with hubby but as things go, unless we get a babysitter and leave the house, that just doesn't happen. But this movie is great for the whole family. There is zero swearing, sex, violence. It is rated G. I would think very young kids would be bored a bit but certainly even elementary age children might enjoy the story line. As for the men...sometimes movies like this are billed as "great because they are a sports movie and the hubbies will like it." I can tell you that my hubby does not necessarily like dramas that are based on sports; real or fiction. He might enjoy it but not because it is a 'sports' movie. I think they probably take many liberties and he knows the real games too well not to see the 'holes.' Still I do think he would enjoy it for entertainment. Just don't bill it to your hubby as a 'sports film.' Tell him you want a night on the town that includes dinner and a great movie. I give this one two thumbs up.

The Might Macs of course has a facebook page. And they tweet. Visit either to see what others are saying. It opens next weekend..October 21! So come out and support a great family film.

I received access to this movie in exchange for my honest review.

The Grunt Crew

2011-10-11T17:42:00.000-07:00

In her book, Dancing with Max, Emily Colson talks about how Max, her son with autism joined the grunt crew at church. I can't begin to tell the story as she did so buy the book. But in a nutshell, he found a PLACE at church. Something that worked for him. For quite a few years, they would go to their church at the END of service, because the actual service didn't work for him. He would help clean up after and THIS was his church. He became part of the community that way.

We decided not to do classes at our homeschool 'co-op' this year. We are however, meandering in there from time to time just to say hi. This week we got there and Ms. Tricia said, "Hey AJ! We have a service project for you!" AJ loves service. He loves to serve. To feel useful.

So we stuffed journals and card decks into plastic bags for them to pass out on Sunday. And then...JUST like in the book, AJ started helping by stacking chairs. It was at that point I realized the parallel between AJ and Max in the book. He was part of the team, part of the group and if I dare say, he was doing it with more enthusiasm than most.

Then he spent some time playing with a three year old. It was effortless for him. (AJ is eleven.) His joint attention was fabulous and if he was three you wouldn't have known there was any issue. But this is actually quite sweet progress because in the past this would not have happened. He would not even have been able to play tag with a three year old. He shared snacks, played hide and seek and had a genuine peer relationship with him. Our RDI consultant said is the fruits of our labor of the last two years.

He is also enjoying his 'typical peer' relationships more... his buddies of the same age. But I love that his relationships are not defined by just age. We are going for our RDA (Relationship Development Assessment) soon and I can't wait to document the progress we have made over the last year.

Winner...again :)

2011-10-08T06:28:00.000-07:00

Congrats to lucky number 6 of the Math Games Cards NickandKatherine! I hope you enjoy.

Two Roads

2011-10-07T15:44:00.000-07:00

I went on a personal retreat yesterday at the Capuchin Retreat Center. It is the second time I have been blessed with going. There were only four women this time and after I went last time, and saw the fruits from it, I couldn't imagine not going again. You can go any time (more or less during the week but must call first) and if you want more information let me know. Make time.. you will walk away with MORE time as you reevaluate your goals. (It is a Catholic retreat center but you do not have to be Catholic to go.)

I post this poem every once in awhile. The two pictures below were taking on my little iPod Touch. So they aren't high quality but there was a maze of trails to choose from and I think of this poem when I look at these pictures. (There is also a prayer labyrinth that I have not yet done but have thought about doing. A very interesting spiritual practice.)

Oh and if you don't know me..I am a Martha Martha Martha. This was a very Mary practice. And it fit me just fine :)

The Road Not Taken

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth.

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same.

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I--
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

Robert Frost

Poem for a Monday

2011-10-03T10:37:00.000-07:00

my poem may not have much,
but it says u pack a punch.
even though its small it has ♥ you see,
i ♥ u, u ♥ me.

Just found this. Kiddo wrote it a few months ago. I think the 'pack a punch' was suppose to be the love packs a punch ;) I ♥ my kid. God brought this poem to me today because, well, it is a Monday. And on some Mondays you just need a little whisper from God.

Math House Games... Review and Give Away!

2011-09-27T16:18:00.000-07:00

Yea! Another review and give away!! This time it is a unique set of math game cards to help your child gain the concepts and practice of math. This set of games is in three stages: 1) Quantity, 2) Numeration and 3) Operations. Each stage has between five and ten cards with games to gradually cement the concept. The cards are on a ring and very sturdy. They sell for $23.95 and that includes shipping.

These are very attractive cards and when I had them sitting out at the table AJ grabbed and read them for about half an hour. He is probably past most of the games but he had fun reading them including some of the myths and reality cards that were at the beginning of the deck.

The ring set up for the cards is very nice. You can pull out a card or flip them so the card you are working on is in front. They are easy enough to wipe off should they get messy. You can read quite a bit about them here and below is a snippet from that page.

The Carlito C. Caterpillar’s Sensory Math Teaching System is the outgrowth of years of research and development. It utilizes the natural way children learn.

Games and play are the learning media for young children. Early childhood development professionals note that young children are most open to learning when they play. Thus, we have created activities and games for parents to play with their children. The material is presented in 3stages, with a total of 20steps and 2 games in each step covering quantity, numeration, and operations.

The games are designed to build upon the knowledge young children already possess. Only when a child fully understands a concept, will you increase the complexity, such as reversing the roles of the players and designating the child as the leader.

If you focus on maintaining an environment of play, the child will experience the learning as an active participant rather than a passive spectator.

The website has some fun extras. You can print out certificates when your child finishes a level. They of course have a facebook page. Some of these games you have heard of elsewhere but what I like about this deck/book is that it is developmental, it is all in one place and they are 'kid friendly' in that they can take the cards themselves and use them. Many kids lose the love of math because it involves sitting at the table and doing worksheets. With this it is all about the games..and not just 'card games' that most people think of. It is using every day objects to teach the lesson. You could even keep these in the car with a Ziploc full of some of the manipulatives to have with you if you get stuck somewhere.

Even the very first game was something AJ and I could do now, even though he is 11. (Some of the games would be for younger.) It was Alike It or Not. It involves gathering objects that are alike and then having a child determine which is different. I decided to do an 'older' version.

These happened to be four items sitting in front of me. A cordless mouse, a flip phone, a cup and a pen. I have to tell you that my son is WAY more creative than I am. Here was his assessment. The phone and mouse are electronic. Three of them are silver. There are two things that they ALL have in common that he came up with. 1) They are all made of plastic and 2) They are all household items. I would have scratched my head to come up with one thing in common and that exercise took all of 60 seconds. I am not saying that I would necessarily purchase this for an older child but if you have varying math levels in the house you could certainly think about using it for the older. Even though we are above 'pre-math' it helps to go back to basics and see how the thinking skills are working.

Once again there is a cool contest courtesy of the folks at Propeller and you can win your set of these cards. You may enter up to four times. Please leave a comment HERE (not on FB) to be counted in the drawing. (I use random.org and just count up the number of comments and ask for a random number.) I'm going to run this until October 7, 2011.

1) leave a comment HERE that you subscribe here or on FB
2) facebook this post (and leave an additional comment)
3) re-blog this post (and leave an additional comment)
4) tweet this post (and leave an additional comment)

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received one or more of the products or services mentioned above for free in the hope that I would mention it on my blog. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.

Livin' Large....

2011-09-24T17:38:00.000-07:00

Big doin's tomorrow. 90th birthday party. I dug out a two tier serving piece I had hidden away in the basement to help serve the mini muffins. My sister in law has worked her buttocks off for this party. And I can't wait. AJ took one look at this on the counter and said....

WOW!!!!

He has a lot of words to say but he was totally blown away by my glass tray that my Grandma gave us for a wedding present. So WHY do we keep this stuff tucked away in the basement?! I am going to bake next week and put the goodies out on the tray. I am going to see what else I have hidden in the depths of my cupboards. I was just eyeing two crystal bowls on the high shelf of the kitchen because.."I never use them." Well next week I shall!

Get out the good stuff folks and party down! You don't have to wait for a 90th birthday party to do so!

WonderMaps CD Review

2011-09-24T16:12:00.000-07:00

I was given the opportunity from Timberdoodle to review WonderMaps by Bright Ideas Press.

This is a unique mapping 'program' / CD where you build what you want in your map in layers and can print off specifically what you are studying. WonderMaps works with both a PC or a Mac and requires Adobe Flash Player 9.1. (I had to load Adobe on my MacBook to use this because I use another reader.)

First the nuts and bolts:

WonderMaps is designed with easy-to-use layers that allow you to enjoy great customizable features with just a click. Select:

historical or modern-day maps
outline, reference, political, or topographical maps
black-and-white or color maps
features including: names, borders, rivers, cities, physical features, and graticules

WonderMaps includes:

60+ maps of the world
60+ maps of the USA
125 historical maps, including 25 biblical maps
The complete map sets from The Mystery of History vols. I–III and All American History vols. I & II

So how does this work? Our first foray into the program didn't go so great. For schooling here we are 'set' with our math program and everything else kind of just follows depending on our interests. I had decided a few weeks ago to start Veritas Biblical history. We were reading the Bible, and AJ wanted to know where the Garden of Eden would be located. When you go into WonderMaps you can choose from four sections...The World, US, Historical and Thematic maps.

I did check the Bible section but that does not start until The Table of Nations in Genesis 10 so I hopped over to world regions and found the correct map. The nice thing about this program is that you can declutter your map to include just what you want..rivers, states, capitols. But, I never did find Iraq. For some reason those countries are not labeled on the map. Perhaps it is because they are war torn and there is no way to know exactly what the foundations look like.

As I mentioned, sometimes we go with the wind on what we will study. AJ saw "World Wars" and wanted to take a peek. This is one of the choices underneath the Thematic section. This is a great section that shows the lay of the land at various points in history.

I decided to just keep it simple from this stage and to have AJ identify the places he has been. As fans know, we went on quite a trip this summer. Just for fun I will include a few fun pics.

AJ is not one to fill out a worksheet but because we had been to these places he found a connection and gladly looked at a map (without the states) to try and fill in the blank.

You can watch a six minute tutorial to see more about it here.

And you can see other reviews by going here. This sells for $44.95 on Timberdoodle. It is a unique CD and I have never seen anything else like it anywhere. It takes some getting used to but it can be used throughout your children's education.

A few final words. Timberdoodle, if you are not aware, has many items that many homeschoolers and 'brick and mortar' schoolers could use. They also have a homeschool specific catalog both online or in print. (I am betting many 'after-schoolers' would like this as well.) Of course they have a facebook page! I have spent just a few dollars with Timberdoodle.

Enjoy!

I receieved a copy of WonderMaps as part of the Timberdoodle review team in exchange for my honest review

And the winner is!

2011-09-24T05:50:00.000-07:00

The winner of the Jeremy Riddle CD is comment number 5 nickandkatherine.

The winner of The Shinning is ALSO nickandkatherine. They also won last time! They are certainly very blessed people! (I prayed during this drawing that the right person would win... so this will be a true blessing to them!)

Giving the Credit to God... Big Shouts of God.... routines

2011-09-18T12:54:00.000-07:00

I have been posting so many reviews and I wanted to just post a bit more about US!

Last night AJ went to bed post tantrum because he did not eat chips yesterday. Somewhere in the recent past he decided that he HAD to eat chips EVERY day. And he ALWAYS has to eat chips in front of the TV. I could see this habit starting but when I see it, it usually is already a habit. ie: Too late. And by habit I mean compulsion/obsession. It wasn't like he was trying to 'get' chips at 11 pm. He NEEDED chips at 11 pm. We actually got through the night without chips.

So the first thing I was going to talk about was routines. In schools they have routines. Routines are good...right? Except when they don't go according to plan, which, lets face it, is about 80% of the time. Yet routines and schedules can help the day flow better. I struggle with that. When we go willy nilly so little gets done. Yet if I have a plan for the day and show it to AJ, then we MUST work the plan. That is OK for most but when I say MUST..I mean 100%. I have lots of ways around this and I will share those in another post.

So fast forward to a few minutes ago. I told AJ that we were going to leave in an hour and that he could watch TV..and...have chips. As he was down in the basement grabbing a bag of chips (thank you Grandma for our steady supply of small chip bags from Sams club).. he says, "I don't think I need chips every day." and THEN... "Did God give me the strength to say that?"

I just love that on so many levels. First he was giving the credit to God. Second he was leaning on God. And his heart is right with God. And he is LISTENING. I just heart my kid...and I heart God. He is good. All the time.

The other thing that is important is that he SPOKE this and his ears heard it. His natural/mechanical ear (cochlear implant) and his heart ears. I think speaking is important. Speaking...out loud. I have been listening to various preachers and they are all saying the same thing (or at least that is what I am hearing). You must say it out loud. (The teachers I am listening to include Joel Osteen, Joyce Meyer and John Paul Jackson..to name just three.)

Faith and fear are opposite sides of the same thing. Faith is believing that something good will happen. Fear is believing something bad will happen. So why choose the fear side? And when we say things OUT LOUD it penetrates and it builds our faith. We can listen to uplifting things but I heard Joyce say recently that we believe what we say ourselves out loud more than anything anyone else says. I just said out loud, "I'm tired." Well I am and I am not going to say, "I am awake and alert." But I COULD say, "God gives me the strength I need today and in Him I can do the next thing with peace and joy." AJ spoke it out loud regarding the chips and it gave more power to it! I could then also hear it and affirm it. We don't need to lie to God (as if that is possible) but we can choose to direct our thoughts and words toward a positive end and let faith take over.

It is a process....

Jeremy Riddle's FURIOUS CD.... review and give-away

2011-09-17T18:30:00.000-07:00

Did I tell you? I am loving this new review gig. I think I mentioned that before. It is great to have something that is 'all for me.' This time it is a new fabulous CD from Jeremy Riddle called Furious. I have only listened a few times and already the title track is in my head. Great uplifting worship music. This is the type of stuff where I could put on my headphones and listen all day long!

First about Jeremy... I had never heard of him before so if you want to know more about him you can go to his bio here. His heart is worship and I 'heart' worship music. His title track, Furious, really speaks to where I am right now... knowing (or maybe not knowing) how deep and wide is the love of Christ. The lyrics to the chorus in Furious are:

His love is deep, His love is wide
And it covers us
His love is fierce, His love is strong
It is furious

Furious... I LOVE THAT. His love is FURIOUS. For giggles I looked up the word in Webster.

a (1) : exhibiting or goaded by anger (2) : indicative of or proceeding from angerb : giving a stormy or turbulent appearance <furious bursts of flame>c : marked by noise, excitement, activity, or rapidity

It does give a word picture doesn't it?

Here is a video on his making of the album Furious.

Furious (New Album from Jeremy Riddle) from Vineyard Resources on Vimeo.

I loved the first song also, Fall Afresh and the entire CD displays the how good God is. Here is the track listing:

1. Fall Afresh
2. Furious
3. Love Came Down
4. One Thing Remains
5. Acquitted
6. You Are Good
7. Walk In The Promise
8. One Thirst
9. Glory To The Lamb
10. The Lord Is My Shepherd
11. Here
12. Always

So you must at least take a listen to samples. You can go to the Vineyard Music website and on the bottom scroll to the Jeremy Riddle page. You can listen to bits of the songs. You can find him on facebook and twitter.

So yes I would recommend... however.. again.. the folks at Propeller and/or the companies producing these are offering a give-away! So before you buy.... ENTER to Win. How?

You can enter up to four times. The contest will end September 23, 2011.

1) leave a comment HERE that you subscribe here or on FB
2) facebook this post (and leave an additional comment)
3) re-blog this post (and leave an additional comment)
4) tweet this post (and leave an additional comment)

Please leave a way for me to contact you if you are the winner!

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received one or more of the products or services mentioned above for free in the hope that I would mention it on my blog. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."

The Shunning.... A review and ANOTHER give-away

2011-09-17T18:10:00.000-07:00

Oh man! What a GREAT movie! I was given the opportunity to review The Shunning which is based off the Beverly Lewis book by the same name. I had no girlfriends to watch this one with but I popped it in my computer and put on the headphones.

I hesitate to give away the plot. The title basically says what happens. A young woman is shunned from her community. How she gets there, the plot and the acting are genuine and keep you on the edge of your seat. I really felt for the main character, Katie Lapp as she struggled with who God made her to be and what her community demanded from it's members. Honestly, although I don't know if this is close to what Amish life is really like, I do know that it is a struggle for many Christians. There are man made rules and God's grace. I mean no disrespect to the Amish when I say this but I wonder how many of us have been shunned by those in the Christian community or outside for one reason or another. I guess I hope I give grace and get it as much as possible. And some characters do that in The Shunning as well. It was a wonderful film full of struggles that I think we all have to some degree if not by the name of shunned.

The acting was wonderful. I do not know any Amish people to compare to but I thought the accents were real. The movie is clean and family oriented although the topic would be somewhat heady for younger folks. It is rated G and closed captioned.

If you want to know more about the plot, the actors or other details you can of course go to all the usual places.
Facebook
Website

Here is the trailer:

Ok for the downside.. at the end, I wanted moooorrreee!! What happens next? There were several unanswered questions. I thought there HAS to be a sequel! And yes indeed... there is..in book form. Although I received this DVD free of charge for my review, I will be buying the entire trilogy of these books. I actually think I just gave away a few of her books that my neighbor gave me because I thought I'd never get to them. Guess I will have to buy them for the Kindle. I do hope they make a sequel to the movie as well.

As for the contest. You can enter up to four times. Please leave a comment for each one and a way for me to contact you should you be the winner. The contest will end September 23, 2011.

1) leave a comment that you subscribe here or on FB and please tell me your favorite family film.
2) facebook this post (and leave an additional comment)
3) re-blog this post (and leave an additional comment)
4) tweet this post (and leave an additional comment)

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received one or more of the products or services mentioned above for free in the hope that I would mention it on my blog. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."

And the other winner is...

2011-09-17T18:06:00.000-07:00

I forgot that I had the opportunity to give away TWO THEO dvds. The winner of the second one is Valerie! Congrats. Again I did a random number via random.org.

And the Winner is...

2011-09-17T10:32:00.000-07:00

The winner of the Ginny Owens cd is Lori. The winner of Theo is NickandKatherine. I do not have contact information for Nick and Katherine however so please contact me with your address. Yes I did confirm that I can ship to the UK. I used random.org to generate a numbered winner. I will be having two give aways this week... Jeremy Riddle CD and The Shunning DVD so please enter to win! (If Nick does not claim their prize within a week I will draw another winner.)

Ahhh... The possibilities

2011-09-13T17:41:00.000-07:00

Well today I kept trying to drill and skill my kid in math. He really does need it and it is time to do that; however, he also found his lego Star Wars watch he was given for Christmas. We have worked for years on time. The watch that he owns doesn't even have all the '5' markings on it. But he knew exactly what time it was every time he looked. But the fun part was that when he was counting down to the next minute he went, "YEA!!! A new minute!" 5-4-3-2-1-0! (He just did it again.) Each minute brought new and fabulous opportunities! How great is that! You can drill and skill all day but a kid is going to get it when he gets it. I wish I could look at each new minute that way.

And what was he looking forward to doing?? Going to the zoo?! no... To the movies?? no... A playdate? not that either... He has wanted to clean the car for several days. He says, "God has told us to clean the house and the car. Everything but the basement." I have to say that God has been telling me that too (although eventually I want to get to the basement.)

Only when you do RDI can you find the FUN in something like cleaning the car. When you clean the car the 'RDI way' it is about the experience together. Should we save or throw? Does it need to be washed? How long have these pennies been here anyway? Do you think that we can try the taco sauce to clean those pennies? (Well we only had ketchup on the car but we might try that too!)

We also took out his booster seat. Perhaps we should have done that awhile ago but it kept him grounded but he was so excited. We decided to take a drive (to get more ketchup packets) and while waiting in line at the drive through he says, "oh this is the life!" I asked him for detail and he gave a rundown of a clean car, a new watch and no booster seat. Sometimes it's the little things.

Ginny Owens- Get In I'm Driving!..review and GIVE AWAY

2011-09-11T10:04:00.000-07:00

I had the opportunity to review Ginny Owen's new CD called Get In I'm Driving. I LOVE it. Not only that but my husband, who does not generally listen to contemporary Christian music (or music in general) said when he saw the album cover, "is that Ginny Owens? I like her music." I am guessing that this CD will be in the background more often than some others I have! It is 'jazzy' and easy listening music but also great music to stick in your ears when you go for a walk.

As I was listening to the music I kept thinking...I like this song best. And then I'd listen to the next song and that would be my favorite. My first favorite is Daughter of Destiny. At the beginning of the song she has two little ones singing the lyrics..so important to drill into our daughters how beautiful they are. It is funny that I listened to this song right around the time I was sitting with some ladies at the coffee shop and we were talking how we were getting older. I think I should buy this song for all of them. Last summer we did a Bible study on how beautiful and captivating we are as women in the eyes of God. The song is a great reminder. You can go here to see the lyrics and listen to a promo of the song

My second favorite song..and really my favorite favorite song.. was Joined at the Heart. I was listening while I was in the backyard watching my little guy swinging. A few tears were shed. Lovely song. Yes it is my favorite. You can go to amazon to hear a sample of the song.

You can see more of Ginny's bio here and she also gives a video blog of how this album came about. I have included it here as well.

Ginny's website has many 'behind the scene' journal entries which give you the story behind the music.

So where can you find Ginny?... All the usual places:
Her Website
Facebook
Twitter ....and last but not least...
iTunes

HIGHLY recommend :) Now before you rush off and buy it, wait one week and see if you WIN it here!!! Contest runs through Friday September 16, 1022. You can get an entry by:

1) leave a comment that you subscribe here or on FB
2) facebook this post (and leave an additional comment)
3) re-blog this post (and leave an additional comment)
4) tweet this post (and leave an additional comment)

Please leave a way for me to contact you if you are the winner!

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received one or more of the products or services mentioned above for free in the hope that I would mention it on my blog. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."

Theo Presents- Review and Giveaway! (And they are CAPTIONED!)

2011-09-09T15:45:00.000-07:00

I received a promotion copy of Theo which is a new anamation series that guides children and adults through a careful study of systematic theology. There are many Christian cartoons to choose from but this takes a much more systematic approach to teaching theology (get it..Theo..) so that it can be accessed more throughly by children.

What I received in the promo package was the Good News Episode and one episode from Foundations of Faith. All of the DVDs can be found on their website here. As I was watching I was thinking, gee I would love to have a curriculum to go along with this. Low and behold, when I looked at the website that is what is included. It is $39.99 for a four episode dvd as well as a written curriculum. The episode that I watched was 10 minutes long and there are four on the dvd. The curriculum will come as a ROM portion of the dvd. I was able to play the dvd on my computer. You can watch the Good News Episode here! It is also on the dvds.

Theo - Good News from Theo Presents on Vimeo.

And YEA they are captioned! The boo is that the promo is not captioned. I was going to just watch it myself but decided to let AJ take a gander at it. He did not catch everything and to use this as a teaching tool for him I would probably need it captioned; however, when Theo asked, "did you know God loves you?" AJ responded with, "yes I do!" Heartwarming. If he got nothing else that was enough for me that day. (A little whisper from God.) I did confirm SEVERAL times that they are captioned DVDs.

I begged AJ to give an video review but alas, he did not want to. But he did give me a few thoughts on what he liked. He loved what he called 'art work.' This was certain parts of the cartoon that broke out into mini-cartoons. (Hard to explain. The upshot is that they present the material in a variety of visual ways.) When I asked AJ if he wanted to watch a second episode he said, "yes please!"That is a sure sign that he liked it. The one downfall is that he said they were too short. He called them "nano-sodes." I actually liked the 10 minute format.

I personally liked that there was a mix of cartoons yet 'old style' references. For example, they made reference to hymns when Theo was walking through the hall singing Faith of our Fathers. Although this was a cartoon, it wasn't all "action" cartoon. There were actual 'teaching' times that I think caused AJ to slow down and think. (For example, when Theo asked if you knew God loved you.) There were other times when they inserted more cartoony moments. It was a very nice blend. I like that Theo was a real person trying to teach them vs. an cartoon character. Both can serve a purpose but I found this format lovely

So where can you find Theo? First there is the website and you can find samples of the curriculum here as well as coloring pages and parent pages which are very informative on the episodes. They also have a facebook page. And you can find them on Amazon or Lifeway. They also have a FREE ap that you can find via their website.

Now for something REALLY cool. They have a Buy 1 Give 1 Campaign. For every Theo DVD purchased, Whitestone Media and Child Evangelism Fellowship® will send a child in need their very own copy of Theo. You can log onto TheoPresents.com after making your own purchase, and select the region of the world you'd like another copy of Theo to be sent.

AND... You can win a free copy! I have the opportunity to give away two dvds. Keep in mind these might be the promo dvds (as they are sent from elsewhere) and may not be captioned. If you are hearing impaired and win, let me know and I will see what I can do. If you buy them they will be captioned. Contest ends Friday September 16, 2011. You can get an entry by:

1) subscribe and leave a comment. (If you are my FB friend that counts since I post there. Or subscribe via GFC on sidebar.)

2) facebook this post (and leave an additional comment)

3) re-blog this post (and leave an additional comment)

4) tweet this post (and leave an additional comment)

I received one or more of the products or services
mentioned above for free in the hope that I would mention it on my blog. Regardless, I
only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.
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.

Planning...Schmanning....

2011-09-02T10:43:00.000-07:00

Ah to be a new homeschooler again... Wide eyed... full of ideas... Excited for the year to start.....

Alas I think I have hit the speed bump where we are going 5 MPH.

I debated on posting this because it does sound like a downer but as I was reflecting on where we have come from and where we are going, I see that it is a journey. But we are in the 5 MPH zone right now..actually we have been there awhile so maybe we will find our way through soon. I am learning to be OK with that. I am finding not an excessive joy of the upcoming year. Rather it is a resigned peace.

But my planning consisted of a big piece of cardboard and a sharpie. I cordoned off six blocks. Wrote various subjects in each one and sat in my "back room" full of books flipping through to see what we could do. Here is the start of my "planner." While sitting back there I was thinking about what a friend is planning to do for her own son. She is going to write on notecards various things they do and then sort them into subjects later. I might do that as well.

I know.. it isn't fancy. But I am going to post it next to my desk. Often I plan way to much. This will focus me on a few good things. And then we will add as we go along. Perhaps I will show you along the way how I add to it, change it, modify it... I am a tweaker. I love to tweak systems. I rarely stick with them.

Perhaps when we round the corner it will be straight road at 70 MPH.

Set the DVR...Family Movie Night!!

2011-09-01T11:42:00.000-07:00

My previous post promised a review of the upcoming Family Movie Night upcoming show if I was afforded the opportunity...and I was! Game Time: Tackling the Past did not disappoint. It contains all the necessary drama and fun to please the whole family. There is football, romance, drama and family angst. It deals with the important topic of deciding what is most important in one's life.

The acting was great. (Yes I cried.) The leading lady was Catherine Hicks...from Seventh Heaven fame. Many times 'clean/family' films don't live up to my expectations in the talent and production department but this one did.

I have to say one of my favorite parts of the movie was the tunes! I loved all the background music and may have to download a few 'i-tunes.' My biggest problem in the movie was that I could not pause it (because I was watching it live in a virtual theater) so I will be recording it to watch a few choice scenes again. And when is it you might ask? Saturday night... 8 PM EST... NBC. B there or B square. Set the DVR. Make some popcorn.

As for ages of who might watch the show, Andrew (age 10 and special needs) was there watching part of it but it was a bit over his head. I am not giving anything away by mentioning there are scenes with dad in the hospital and some of that might be an emotional issue for some kids but they really do that part nicely and don't focus on that at all. I only mention, because some folks have kids that might be especially sensitive to that.

Below you can find a synopsis of the movie. I hope family movie night on NBC will become a regular feature. Apparently you can pick these Family Movie Night features at Walmart but they sell out fast. Watch and support!

You can find additional information here:

Facebook Page

Youtube Page

Website

Game Time: Tackling the Past Synopsis:

Pro football star Jake Walker is living the dream… or so he thinks. The veteran tight end is a fan favorite and on pace to set the all-time receiving yards record that will guarantee him a spot in the Hall of Fame. While working out at training camp, Jake receives an unexpected call from his brother Dean – their father Frank has suffered a major heart attack. Jake immediately leaves practice and returns to Riverton, North Carolina, the small hometown he’s avoided for nearly 15 years. Memories of glory and regret flood his mind as he returns to the family and friends he abandoned in pursuit of his career. Jake dutifully visits with Frank and Dean, but hurt and misunderstanding from the past begins to resurface, leaving him counting the days until he can return to his team.

A second unexpected call, this time from his agent, delivers Jake another crushing blow. His contract is not being renewed amid concerns about his surgically repaired knee. Suddenly, the life Jake knows is over. To avoid the media circus around this news, Jake reluctantly decides to extend his stay in Riverton. Attempting to make the best of the situation, he begins reconnecting with the community that once revered him. Jake is reintroduced to Sarah, his high school sweetheart, and helps Dean take over their father’s high school coaching job.

Surprisingly impacted by the people around him, the real Jake begins to emerge from behind his armor to see that life is much more than the accumulation of personal stats. But when Jake’s offered a lucrative new contract to play for another team, he is forced to decide whether to go back to the career he thought he loved, or stay in Riverton and embrace the people who always believed in him.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received one or more of the products or services mentioned above for free in the hope that I would mention it on my blog. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."

Family Movie Night!

2011-08-28T17:55:00.000-07:00

I just watched Family Movie Night's encore presentation of Walking in my Shoes. What a great show. One of my favorite quotes from the movie is, "Life isn't so much a puzzle as a plan." If you didn't set the DVR, then you can actually buy the movie at Walmart! For $15 you get the Blueray dvd and audio CD. The regular dvd and audio CD appeared to be out of stock.

And next week, Sept 3, is a great new family movie called, Game Time Tackling the Past. I may actually be able to see this before and if I do I will be sure to give you a review.

Pro football star Jake Walker is living the dream… or so he thinks. The veteran tight end is a fan favorite and on pace to set the all-time receiving yards record that will guarantee him a spot in the Hall of Fame. While working out at training camp, Jake receives an unexpected call from his brother Dean – their father Frank has suffered a major heart attack. Jake immediately leaves practice and returns to Riverton, North Carolina, the small hometown he’s avoided for nearly 15 years. Memories of glory and regret flood his mind as he returns to the family and friends he abandoned in pursuit of his career. Jake dutifully visits with Frank and Dean, but hurt and misunderstanding from the past begins to resurface, leaving him counting the days until he can return to his team.

A second unexpected call, this time from his agent, delivers Jake another crushing blow. His contract is not being renewed amid concerns about his surgically repaired knee. Suddenly, the life Jake knows is over. To avoid the media circus around this news, Jake reluctantly decides to extend his stay in Riverton. Attempting to make the best of the situation, he begins reconnecting with the community that once revered him. Jake is reintroduced to Sarah, his high school sweetheart, and helps Dean take over their father’s high school coaching job.

Surprisingly impacted by the people around him, the real Jake begins to emerge from behind his armor to see that life is much more than the accumulation of personal stats. But when Jake’s offered a lucrative new contract to play for another team, he is forced to decide whether to go back to the career he thought he loved, or stay in Riverton and embrace the people who always believed in him.

If you want to find out more about Family Movie Night, here are a few links:

Youtube Family Movie Night channel

Facebook Family Movie Night

Family Movie Night Website

Thelma and Louise!!!

2011-08-27T15:16:00.000-07:00

Here my friend Lori and I are test driving cars today!!!!!

OK...maybe this is us. But we could have just taken off for the weekend!!!!!

Anyway...THANKS Lori! It wasn't exactly going out for a relaxing cup of joe but it was fun! I'll keep you posted on what we get. Then I can pick you up to go get the cup of coffee!

And we have a winner!

2011-08-19T16:55:00.000-07:00

Number 6... you are a winner of The Grace Card. Congrats to Ohiohomeschool! I think that she won my last contest... and just won a friend's contest too! You are one blessed gal!

Amy's Agenda....August 16, 2011

2011-08-16T18:18:00.000-07:00

Current Mood:
hmmmm.... just hmmm.....

Outside:

Tunes:

Kid is:
Watching Man Vs. Wild with Dad. That is one crazy show!

A Giggle:

The children were lined up in the cafeteria of a Catholic elementary school for lunch. At the head of the table was a large tray of apples. A nun lettered a note and posted it on the apple tray: “Take only ONE. God is watching.”
Moving along the lunch line, at the other end was a large tray of chocolate chip cookies. A girl wrote a note, which she put next to the tray of cookies, “Take all you want. God is watching the apples.”

Something new:
Gluten Free Blueberry bread. Recipe to follow on the Settings blog. Also see 'pic' for our new horizontal tree.

Blessings:
My boys. I "heart" my boys.

Reading:
We just started reading one of The Boxcar Children books. We had read #1 years ago and when I brought this one home from the library Andrew said, "we read that already." Little did he know it was a series. We are listening on CD as well.

Accomplishments:
Andrew had a bath today. We were at a friend's house and the kids smelled Andrew's hair...and they both went ewwww. Ok I got the message!

Looking forward to:
Some time with a girlfriend on Thursday evening who I haven't seen in awhile. Also looking forward to healing rain. Listen to tunes :)

Pic:

It's Movie Time... A Review and A Give Away!

2011-08-14T15:46:00.000-07:00

YEA!!! I was given a MOVIE to review! A MOVIE! For ME! And I HAD to do it! It was such hard work!!! But I had to fit it in to the schedule....

So I made popcorn...

And invited Sally....

And we had a wonderful time watching The Grace Card. Since this is my first movie review, I was thinking, I don't want to give away any of the plot. You can watch the trailer on the website to get a feel for what it is about. You can read the synopsis here and I will also include it below if you would like to read it. It is a Christian film in a very real way and it is also about life. It shows real emotions, real life, real tears.

I have been DVRing a bunch of older Christian movies over the past month because I found a family channel that I didn't know was available. And overall, I find the movies to be lacking in many ways except the message. The acting in many Christian movies is poor as well as the filming and editing. It is a shame because films can bridge a gap between cultures and ages so well- but they have to be worth watching for the message to get out there. I think that people are putting more money into making these films and...

The Grace Card is definitely worth watching.

I sense a brand new generation of Christian films and this is one of them. There were five movie previews on the dvd and they all looked great as well. The Grace Card's story is one of..well..grace..and forgiveness. The acting and filming were quite good. There were some holes in the story and a few places where the panning out made you yell "commercial" but I also shed quite a few tears and smiled at the love that the characters had for each other. Only good acting can do that. There were some places in the movie where I felt I knew what was going to happen next and then other places where it totally threw me off my game and surprised me!

The movie is rated PG-13. There are several good online movie review websites that detail all the content areas of films but the best thing is to watch it yourself before showing to the kids. This is a clean film but there are scenes that are violent and the themes are quite heavy. You know your kid...and if it is right for family (teen) viewing.

Of course they have a facebook group which can be found here. You can buy the film on August 16 from one of these retailers.

Now for the give-away. You can enter by leaving a comment. I will pick a winner at random on Friday August 19, 2011. PLEASE leave a way for me to contact you. If you don't win, I believe this would be an excellent movie to purchase. There is so much 'junk' out there today and this is GOOD and clean. They have license opportunities if you want to purchase to show it to a larger audience outside your home. You can increase your chances of winning by multiple entries. Here is how:

1) Leave a comment- entry one.
2) Post on facebook - entry two
3) Re-blog it - entry three

Please leave a comment for each entry and what you did. That way I can pick a random winner by number.

Here is the synopsis. There isn't really a spoiler alert but it does give away a few surprises. Read if you wish.

Everything can change in an instant ... and take a lifetime to unravel.

When Mac McDonald loses his son in an accident, the ensuing 17 years of bitterness and pain erodes his love for his family and leaves him angry with God ... and just about everyone else.

Mac's rage stonewalls his career in the police department and makes for a combustible situation when he's partnered with Sam Wright, a rising star on the force who happens to be a part-time pastor and a loving family man.

Mac's home life is as frightening as anything he encounters on the streets of Memphis. Money is tight and emotions run high as he constantly argues with his wife and his surviving son Blake, who is hanging with the wrong crowd and in danger of flunking out of school.

Sam Wright also never expected to be a police officer. He has a calling—to be a minister like his Grandpa George. But leading a small, start-up church doesn't always put enough food on the table for a young family, so Sam doubles as a police officer. With his new promotion to Sergeant, Sam starts questioning if his real calling might actually be police work rather than the pastorate.

Can Mac and Sam somehow join forces to help one another when it's impossible for either of them to look past their differences—especially the most obvious one?

Every day, we have the opportunity to rebuild relationships and heal deep wounds by extending and receiving God's grace. Offer THE GRACE CARD ... and never underestimate the power of God's love.

Planning and God's perfect timing...

2011-08-11T09:35:00.000-07:00

I was just doing the dishes and thinking... everyone is doing their curriculum planning and blogging about it. I have done the same in the past. Each year, I get less rigid and more 'fluid.' But I was lamenting (to myself) a bit about how we are doing Alpha and Gamma MathUSee for Andrew- at the SAME time. For those that don't know MUS, Alpha is basic addition and subtraction facts (8+6, 19-5). Gamma is basic multiplication and division (3X4, 9/3). We have been doing basics for years.

Today I drilled Andrew on +8 facts. And I was thinking, with hopeful thoughts, that this is the first time I have been able to SPEED drill him for math. Now I could go down the path of thinking, "we have been working on this for YEARS." But in fact, I now feel God was guiding me AWAY from drilling and into learning concepts and now returning us to drilling. (Drilling created GREAT anxiety in Andrew and it was so counterproductive.) Beta in MUS is more complicated addition and subtraction with regrouping. We had made our way all the way to the subtraction with re-grouping. I feel that, although I had worries and angst along the way, I finally gave in to God giving me direction. This is NOT the path that ANY math program takes you. And believe me, I know because I have them all. (Singapore, Developmental, Righstart, Miquon, various workbooks.) I bought all the levels for all the programs in a panic about a year and a half ago. At some point someone else will get blessed with them or we will use them to reinforce our work. But I know that we will breeze through Beta and probably Delta (complicated multiplication and division) once we go back and re-do the facts.

Mr. Demme, in MUS says both concepts and facts are important. I agree. Typically though they suggest to not go on to the next unit until you do have the facts and the concept. If I did that we'd still be at the very beginning with very little concept work. This round-about way has worked for us. (They DO say in their videos that especially if you have special needs kids, you might not follow the path directly.)

I have many favorite Scriptures but two come to mind here and I bet some of you can guess the first one.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding;
in all your ways acknowledge him,
and he will make your paths straight.
Proverbs 3:5-6.

So straight up to you Jesus... thanks for the guidance.

I also am thankful for his grace and forgiveness when I didn't specifically ASK for guidance. Lets face it, I probably have wasted time trying to drill Andrew before he was ready.

A few years ago I read a book about a woman whose child has ODD and he is now doing well. She used a Scripture I had never read before but I love it for these situations:

I will repay you for the years the locusts have eaten... Joel 2:25.

I believe that in God's economy, nothing is wasted, and he can make up for any time that was lost. (We were just talking about that at our small group last night..but that part doesn't quite fit with math.)

Whispers from God...

2011-08-09T07:08:00.000-07:00

Definition (according to Amy's dictionary):

Whis.per from God
Verb: An active speaking from our Lord and Savior letting you know that He is there and active in your daily life.

I had three of these yesterday but sometime during the middle of the night, one of them got lost. I have asked the Lord to bring it back to memory and at some point He will.

The first one was listening to Joyce Meyer which I had on the DVR. The air date was 8/4/2011. That is kind of funny because 4 and 8 are two of my favorite numbers. I had a bit of OCD to those numbers when I was a kid but thankfully I have been healed of that. (Praise the Lord!) I think it is funny though that He kind of highlighted this for me with the numbers. But I was listening...and Joyce was talking. (Sometimes I talk back at her but that is another post..or maybe I'll just keep that private.) Her audience was actually Grand Rapids Michigan. And she was talking about how it can be hard in a bad financial climate but that we have to hold tight to the Lord. I was doing dishes and just felt sad...thinking in my head..that's all nice Joyce but I have other issues.

Then...

Then Joyce says (paraphrase)... "God doesn't just give you strength in times of financial trouble." (At that point I was figuring she'd say something else that didn't effect me presently. I was not high in faith at that moment.) "You might have a very difficult child. Or a special needs child. God will give you the strength you need to get through that day." It was as if Joyce knew my mind. And of course in a way she did because we are connected through the Holy Spirit. AJ has been a bit more difficult than usual. God knew WHEN I'd need to hear that message. And at that EXACT moment, when I needed it most, I do honestly believe He arranged for me to hear those EXACT words. It is not coincidence to me.

Looking for Joyce's teaching that I listened to? Go to this page and scroll down to the 8/4/2011 broadcast. I haven't listened to the 8/5 one but it is a continuation. Honestly though, a different one might be a blessing to you. So pray and let the Holy Spirit guide you.

My second whisper was a bit less dramatic but I still see God's hand at play. I took a roast out of the freezer. Roast in summer..blech. But the gas it out on the grill, and I have much cow in freezer. So I took it out a couple of days ago. Yesterday I was going to put it in the crockpot but I didn't much feel like it and it was still partially frozen. I have recently taken a facebook vacation and although I am trying not to fill that time with more cyberspace, I have been looking at long forgotten blogs that I really enjoyed. I was looking at Only Sometimes Clever and found this really nice recipe for a Summer Slow Cooker Roast! I have most of the ingredients here at the house- although I will probably use some more fresh herbs. I was suddenly excited about my roast! I will blog what I do over on my Settings of Silver blog so stay tuned for that. I do consider this just a small whisper that He cares about the little things.

I wish I could remember the third whisper. I guess that will be it's own blog post at some point!

Amy's Agenda...August 2, 2011

2011-08-02T17:37:00.000-07:00

Current Mood: Expectant

Outside: Muggy...very very muggy. I think I will spend a few days at the Lake House ;)

Tunes:

Kid is: Cranky. Praying for improvement soon. (Thus the expectant feeling. I am hoping it gets btter soon.)

A Giggle: Joel Osteen has a funny every week. Here is one collection I found on youtube.

Something new: A new ipod touch. I heart amazon. My gyroscope feature stopped working and they replaced it for free..no questions asked. Old one goes back tomorrow. Still considering that Iphone but it is that $30/month that is stopping me.

Blessings: My sissy is in town! I made more Magic Shell tonight.

Reading: We just finished Henry and Beezus. I have found books on tape to be wonderful for AJ. I get both the CD and the book from the library and go to town. Today I was on Amazon checking out the Audible books and perhaps may download an Audible and a Kindle book next. I wish the Audibles were cheaper. They don't give them away.

Accomplishments: I am whittling away at organization. I was flipping through some old photos. About six months ago I pulled EVERYTHING from my desk and re-organized... yikes what happened? I need a place for everything and everything in it's place. Perhaps a friend will come help me organize and it will stay that way. (A few of my friends who have known me a long time know that I get a different type of planner every year in hopes it will make me organized... it never seems to stick.)

Looking forward to: A few days at the Lake House and perhaps a stop at the Children's Zoo on the way back.

Pic:

Amy's Agenda July 25

2011-07-25T10:33:00.000-07:00

Current Mood: Faith filled.

Outside: The breeze is divine. There are over 30 small green grape tomatoes on ONE of my tomato plants. The others have plenty as well!

Tunes: I need a new hymn. One to sing in the shower. Love Holy Holy Holy but we need variety. Any suggestions?

Kid is: Tired. He only slept 6 1/2 hours last night. Maybe because it was cooler? There is quite a bit of time that will be spent on screens today.

A Giggle:

Something New:
A few new recipes on my Settings of Silver blog. Check it out :)

Blessings: Thankful today for delicious food on the table....for having energy even though Andrew got up very early today...for numerous answered prayers.... I could go on.

Reading: Magazines for one! I have them piling up and I really enjoy a few minutes in the backyard (or the bathroom) leafing through a Bon Appetit. Also reading a Premier Design Jewelry catalog because I went to a party..it was fun. And I want to have my own party. Interested? Let me know. Considering reading Heaven is for Real. It was suggested by a friend. I downloaded the first chapter to the Kindle. Has anyone read it?

Accomplishments: The first thought that comes to mind here is that anything I have truly accomplished..I give all the glory to God.

Looking forward to: Mom's night on Tuesday and Bible study on Wednesday. And a good night's sleep tonight!

Pic:

Amy's Agenda

2011-07-18T18:15:00.000-07:00

Last week I started Amy's Logbook. I got the idea from Lisa..who did Lisa's Logbook. It occurred to me that perhaps she thought of Logbook because..well..it starts with L. So I will do Amy's Agenda..until I come up with a better name.

Current Mood: Not quite as peace filled as last week. I'm a work in progress and apparently the work is a bit of a roller coaster.

Outside: Last week..it was hot! This week.. REALLY hot! And REALLY muggy. Oppressive. It's Michigan...I should enjoy it :)

Tunes:

Kid is: Apparently on a roller coaster as well. Grumpies continue. Yet today we had an amazing moment where I realized how important positive reinforcement is to him.

A giggle:
This is rough cut but worth a listen! Funny stuff.

Something new: hmmm.. We have a new ring on the toilet. It was leaking.

Something yummy: Aarti's Banh Mi! (See picture below.)

Blessings: Well, I am blessed because I have an Abba Father that loves me. I am blessed to have a husband that loves God, loves me and loves his family.

Reading: Acts. I am also reading a book about the life of Paul so trying to read along in the Bible at the same time.

Watching: Well, I just bought the last episode of Lie To Me. I liked that show and apparently it is not returning in the fall. Oh well. In a few minutes I will turn on Switched at Birth. It is interesting because one of the girls in the shows is deaf. We shall see how the hearing impaired / cochlear implant angle turns out...

Working on: Eating healthier..and less.

Accomplishments: Keeping the kitchen and dining room clean..most days..but not right now.

Looking forward to: Jewelry party tomorrow night.

Pic: Banh Mi

Summer Small Group...

2011-07-14T17:34:00.000-07:00

For the past 2 years, I have done a small group for women. Two years ago, it started as part of Beth Moore's Summer Siestas. Beth is a hoot and a half. She picks another author's book and then does several videos over the summer to help facilitate the groups and she posts them on her blog. You can read when we did that two years ago here. Last year we didn't do that...we did Captivating by Staci and John Eldrige.

This year I was all ready to go back to Beth's Summer Siestas and she was NOT going to do one!!!! booooo :( I cried. But then I just "happened" to spy on my shelf a book by her called To Live is Christ. I purchased it 2 summers ago and the book itself was published back in 2000. This fit quite nicely with some other things I have been studying including Jewish culture. God is good.

This book has DVDs and a study that goes along with it but mostly we are reading, and discussing. It is a very easy read and yet meaty.

But what I LOVE about these summer sessions is the way God brings women together..at just the right time. I have a story from last year and you can read that here. We all have expectations of how things should be... on everything.. and when we give them to God then He can do it exceedingly abundantly. And I had thoughts on how God would bring together certain people at this first session. I was pretty sure I knew who would show up and who wouldn't. God had other plans and put the perfect people right next to each other.

About an hour into conversation, one of the women realized that all last year she was going by the room of the other woman who happens to be a special ed teacher in the public schools. It was just one small whisper from God on how he brings it all together. Last year he brought a single gal to our gathering amongst 3 women with young children. This year he brought a woman whose children are out of the home and she is an empty nester looking forward to what God's plan is next. I don't know what these connections will end up meaning at the end of the day, but I just love thinking about the possibilities.

When we start out I always feel a bit tentative and scared...will it work out? will the ladies gel? Why do I concern myself with these things?? (Even if it didn't go well- giving it to God means it isn't up to us anyway.. but I still pray it goes well!)

Other weeks may look different as there are four other women who may join us from time to time. But I was reminded how God truly does about work all things for good! He knows who needs to be where at what time and if we listen and keep in step with the Spirit, it is good. Very good.

One last final funny note. We were discussing that Barnabas was Paul's encourager at the beginning of his ministry. And so we wondered..what is the plural of Barnabas? Barnabi?

Amy's Logbook

2011-07-11T05:46:00.000-07:00

Trying to get back into the blogging groove. A friend does Lisa's Logbook... so going to try my own for a few weeks perhaps.

Current Mood: Peace filled!

Outside: Hot! Hopefully today little guy and his teenage buddy will be getting out the super soakers!

Tunes: Hymns! Just downloaded a new ap for the ipod touch that gives the lyrics to hymns. Loving to sing the hymns lately.

Kid is: Working through some stuff. He has had the grumpiess a few days. Not sure what is going on.

A giggle: Even though the kid is working through some stuff, he still comes out with the greatest stuff. He cracks me up.

Something new: This blog post! I have done a logbook before but it has been awhile so I count this as new. I would love however, those popsicle makers- not the dollar store ones, but the fancy one that you plug in and instantly have a popsicle. Zoku Quick Pop Makers.... That would be new.

Something yummy: That one is easy..the Magic Shell....home made version.

Blessings: So many answered prayers lately. Waiting in expectation for a few more!!! I know God is good... all the time.

Reading: To Live is Christ by Beth Moore. First group meet up tonight! In the last month I have read The Hiding Place (Corrie TenBoom), The Duggars new book, and Dancing with Max by Emily Colson. All wonderful reads. I guess you could say I am in the reading groove and it took the place of blogging for awhile. I'm good with that :)

Watching: Food Network Star and other FN shows! Aarti's Party just started a new season. Love her show. Hubby also put a bunch of great Christian speakers on the DVR and looking forward to filling myself with good stuff this week.

Considering: A camp for kid. Still looking. Should you want to create a camp for a week and have my son, please let me know. I will pay. Also considering various school options. If God wants it to happen, the right option will appear.

Working on: Time with God. Trying to focus on working on what He wants me to.

Accomplishments: Doing this blog today.

Looking forward to: Small group tonight, Kid's mentor coming today, lots of things....

Pic: (from the garden)

TOS Special Needs Planner

2011-06-30T04:28:00.000-07:00

I had the opportunity to review The Old Schoolhouse Special Needs Planner. This is set up similar to their other PDF planners but contains a variety of new information that could be very helpful to those working with special needs children. It sells for $29 and can be found HERE.

After a basic calendar section where there are oodles of calendar types to choose from, the next section has some wonderful articles written by many authors; some you may have heard of before such as Cynthia Tobias, Melinda Boring and a personal favorite Carol Barnier. There are many articles by lesser known authors too that are very insightful. Great stuff...

Many people with children on the autism spectrum follow a gluten and casein free diet. The planner contains some very yummy recipes! There is even a recipe that says, "A taste of Cinnabon®." Now if they could just perfect that application where you click on the recipe and it appears on your counter!!!

I have last year's 'regular' planner from TOS and the forms section is unique and adapted in this selection. There are places to work on an IEP, whether that be with the school as part of your homeschooling or one you do at home. There are vaious ways to map out goals and objectives. In addition, there is even a place where you can write information on your child's learning styles.

There is also a medical section that gives places to write down doctor information, therapy schedules, medical history and more. I can't tell you the number of times I have been asked for information on a doctor form such as, "when did he first crawl" and I have no idea because I just didn't keep a record. This might be a good place to keep track of that type of info as well. This section of forms is quite extensive. There are also 'diary' pages to keep track of diet or behavior.

At the end there are some very nice sequence cards for things such as washing your hands and charts that help show you and your child accomplishments they have made in these areas. Print these out on card stock, maybe laminate, and you are good to go.

At the very end is a list of picture books. I love picture books. Even though Andrew is a great reader he still loves them. And did you know that WORDLESS books are a GREAT way to work on READING! It is true! They make you think and discuss and have a GRAND CONVERSATION. You can find one article on them here and have fun googling 'wordless books' and taking rabbit trails from the link. If you have a reader, even in middle school, and still have Hop on Pop on the bookshelf, pull it off for some good experience sharing. I think sometimes that the older teaching the younger works so well for some because the older gets to 're-experience' some of the FUN that they missed the first time around because it was 'work' to them at the time.

You can find a sample of the planner here. I received this planner in exchange for my honest opinion.

She Has HAND MAIDENS!!!!

2011-06-27T11:56:00.000-07:00

A few days ago I picked up a post on Proverbs 31.. it was great. I posted it on my facebook and another friend read and and noodled on it and came up with her own thoughts. I just loved them! And so with permission, I post Liana's take on Proverbs 31..She Has HAND MAIDENS!

--------

Have any of you really considered the life of the Proverbs 31 woman? Seriously, I read it this week differently than I've ever read it before. Before, I've always seen her as a Victorian work-horse, cleanliness is next to godliness, idle hands are a sin, oppressed, sacrificing her health for the good of her family and pampered autocratic husband. But this week, thanks to Amy's facebook post, I took a second look from within the context of ancient middle-eastern culture and the writer's perspective. And I was EXCITED!!!

First of all, this woman has HAND MAIDENS!!!!! That right there is the first clue to this woman's life. She's wealthy. She has women around her taking care of all the mundane details, providing daily support, while she focuses on the BIG PICTURE. LOL. I want that.

Secondly, her ancient middle-eastern husband trusts her in all things. I.E. -- she's EMPOWERED. She's esteemed and respected.

Thirdly, she has enough cash flow to make large impulse purchases -- such as a field. They are landowners, and she can acquire MORE LAND on IMPULSE when she spots a good deal. And you know what... it's her OWN CASH. Which means she didn't have to wait to consult her middle-eastern husband, she simply purchased it. THEN... she was able to DECIDE what she wants to do with it. She gets to not only dream and plan, but implement -- hiring workers to prepare, plant, and harvest the best cash crops. Realize, this woman has hand-maidens. She's not out there with a shovel, planting summer squash. She's creating a vineyard and winery. She's a "Rich Dad" developer. No kidding.

She also uses her creativity. She's a clothing designer, and sells her work in the market place. Not only is she out in the community, interacting with her world, but I'm guessing she enjoys it too, because she's using her skills and gifts. And she has time to do this, because she has HAND MAIDENS!!!!!

She gets up early and makes sure her staff is taken care of. Consider the opposite from a king's perspective -- she's not sleeping off her hangover until noon, because she's a spoiled brat princess debutant habitually partying her life away. She takes care of herself and others, and is responsible.

She sees her trading is profitable, and her lamp never goes out at night -- I heard a sermon on this once. It doesn't mean she stays up late, it means she knows how to barter and get good deals. She shops at Costco. Lamp oil was expensive and a luxury of the rich, and if you didn't stock enough, you had to ration the amount of time the lamps were on, especially in the long winter when it gets dark early.

Her staff wears scarlet and she wears purple. Two very expensive colors. In other words, they were ALL well heeled, and she herself wears Prada. And remember... this lady has STAFF!!!!!!

She is like the merchant ships, bringing her food from afar... SHE EATS WELL. They have imported bananas from the tropics, and spices from India. Today's equivalent would be organic, grass-fed beef and local free-range chicken eggs...

She speaks with wisdom and faithful instruction -- she's educated and wise, Charlotte Mason and Rich Dad combined... and people want her advice!

She gives to the poor and needy, she's also compassionate, instead of having princess like entitlement issues.

She laughs at the future... because she's so good at creating wealth.

Her husband is respected at the city gates. He has positions of importance, and probably studies the Torah and philosophy and judges the people. Their whole household has respect, in part, because of her, and her husband is also a noble man. A leader in the community. The kind of guy we all want.

She's a noble woman. She's the middle eastern equivalent of a duchess or at least a lady of a great estate.

Sign me up! LOL!

Sharing.....

2011-06-20T12:40:00.000-07:00

I loved our vacation. I mean, my kid goes everywhere and yells.. "HEY! WE ARE TOURISTS!!" And then he proceeds to take pictures of things big and small. (If you are my facebook friend you can see about 100 pictures!) We had to stop at every state line to get out, take a picture and then proceed. Illinois didn't have one but you can see where we have been.

And even little things give this kid a thrill. The cereal dispenser, four slice toaster and pancake making machine were 'epic.' (And they weren't even gluten free!) It was a thrill and a thrill to share.

We have been to a factory that makes giant fiberglass sculpture. We saw two men taking GREAT care in detail of this pumpkin which will be on the water tower on our ride back. It was a thrill to share. And I loved how they gave attention to detail in a place that was basically a graveyard of past used fiberglass sculpture. Here is a link to their website.

One of the best parts so far is that I received an email from a friend who I haven't spoken to in many months. She said I was on her heart and she was praying for God to be large. He has been large...very very large...I know others prayed as well. He has provided exceedingly abundantly above all we ask or imagine.

And it goes to show that it is the VERY simple things that can be experience sharing. It is not about what you do- but about the sharing together.

God is good.

Mini-update and Thank You Jesus

2011-05-31T16:47:00.000-07:00

Been a rough week here. I can't imagine how those who are in the worst weather areas are handing it, especially if they have an autistic kid. Late last week (Thursday maybe?) I sent Andrew to the basement for something. He was slow in coming up and I heard him say, "Mom. I think there is something wrong." The basement was flooded... Nothing catastrophic . But above the ankles and kept refilling and a nuisance. And tomorrow we are getting a semi major plumbing job to get at the "root" of the problem. (Tree roots that is.) Andrew keeps getting upset about his 'stuff' but Thank you Jesus for cousin Jamie who works in construction and has loaned us a heavy duty pump. And Thank you Jesus for nephew Ryan who has been helping with the clean up.

We also had some wild weather Sunday night and Andrew did 'ok' with the tornado and other weather warnings..but it still makes for a long week.

But sometimes it is the little things. I went searching for a bathing suit tonight. I am not sure there is a woman on this planet that enjoys doing that. Also, Andrew also has a favorite pair of shorts that Mark bought him...last year. He will only wear that ONE pair. I wanted a swimsuit (the ones w/ the shorts and tank top) and a pair of the same shorts for Andrew. I knew Andrew's shorts were from Kohls so I went in and hoped and prayed...for shorts and God willing, a swimsuit. I turned right to them and found racks of exactly what I wanted. Two trips to the dressing room and two suits found!!

Then on to the boys section... where I found the EXACT shorts. And...everything was on sale. Ok that part isn't a miracle at Kohls. But I didn't have my Kohls card, and when she put in my info it said "please call." After she tried calling unsuccessfully, she said, "do you want me to just give you the discount on your regular credit card?" um..yea.

Sometimes it's the little things...

Why RDI? part one

2011-05-28T10:19:00.000-07:00

Although we have challenges..and daily.. I truly think RDI is the best thing out there for remediation of kids on the spectrum. I think I will blog short entries for a few days.

Reason number one.. it is a do-over. Yesterday the plumber came. Our basement is flooded because of all the rain. Andrew is verkempt over his lost stuff. (I love that word... although I hate it when I see it. My friend Jean taught me that word many years ago.) It was late Friday afternoon and the plumber brought his three year old daughter. Thankfully Andrew was watching Jimmy Neutron because he would have been verklempt over her playing with his toys. (He has watched a lot of TV and played a lot of video games in the last week.) I was able to spend about 30 minutes with this cute as a button little girl and let me tell you- IT WAS EFFORTLESS. And I saw EVERY objective we are working on so hard with Andrew to remediate. The reciprocity, the non-verbals, the joint attention was palpable.

And I sobbed. She left and I sobbed. I only have Andrew and so I never have REALLY experienced proper development and the gap is great. I have thought it when I have played with my niece but she is older than three and so I 'justified' in my mind that Andrew wasn't quite 'there' yet..but Andrew is not even three developmentally although he is 10 chronologically.

But I do see things in Andrew- great growth in the phases of child development. But we have to work for them. Hard. When we got Andrew's cochlear implant they said that progress would be about the same as a typical infant. So he received it at a year old. And so when he was two he should have the language of a one year old. I noticed we have been doing RDI for about 18 months now and Andrew is about 18 months old developmentally. With Andrew's implant it took time and then he skyrocketed. I am praying the same for this. God has a plan and I am going to keep asking for insight to be encouraged.

Later this week I want to talk about the differences of DIR and RDI and how in a way, DIR set us up for future challenges. And then in another entry about how RDI works on communication- and how similar the core deficits are regardless of your spoken language.

Read For The Heart- a TOS Review

2011-05-27T07:06:00.000-07:00

Well, it's been a good year! This is my last review for TOS Homeschool Crew. I may put up a post this summer of my favorites so stay tuned on that. And I have been chosen for next years Crew as well!

Apologia gave us Read For the Heart which is a compilation of books that starts with several chapters on reading in general as well as how to 'pick' a book. The rest of this reference is filled with book summaries. It has books in various categories from picture to poetry. You can see the entire table of contents as well as a sample chapter by going here. The book, as you can see from the link, sells for $17 from Apologia.

There are others in this family of books... An anthology:

anthology [ænˈθɒlədʒɪ]

n pl -gies

1. (Literary & Literary Critical Terms) a collection of literary passages or works, esp poems, by various authors

2. any printed collection of literary pieces, songs, works of art, etc.

[from Medieval Latin anthologia, from Greek, literally: a flower gathering, from anthos flower + legein to collect]

anthological [ˌænθəˈlɒdʒɪk^əl] adj

anthologist n

This anthology is newer and has a Christian bent. There are some that I don't think you would find in other anthologies. Each entry has a brief paragraph or two describing the book with some facts and some opinions regarding that title.

I then performed the "library test." I went to 10 random pages to see if my library would have this book should I want it. Because of the Christian books in this list I wasn't sure I'd be able to find some but I was pleasantly surprised. I have a VERY good library. Eight out of the ten books I was able to find AT my library and the other two I could find through inter library loan. One of those was The Spiritual Lives of Great Composers. YEA!!! Who would have thought?

Would I buy this book? Well I own the other anthologies. So yes, I probably would because I love books and I love books on books. I wouldn't give this one the blue ribbon but it is newer and has some different selection of books in it. If you want to peek at what others thought please click on the banner below!

I received this book in exchange for my honest review.

Flexible vs. Controlling...

2011-05-25T16:17:00.000-07:00

I could also title this post, "why you need a consultant."

I am a do-it-yourselfer. No one else can do it as well as I can. Well let me tell ya. That's a flaw. It wasn't really arrogance or pride so much as needing / wanting to CONTROL. Funny thing was, when I saw that trait in my son I called it 'flexible.' But let me explain....

I used to do RDI as a do-it-yourselfer. There are some things I have done well myself and even better than the professionals. But when you have a special needs child the COST is astronomical over what you think raising a child can be, and so I didn't want to spend money on a consultant. We were already doing speech, OT, PT and other things. We had spent a few pesos on some really stupid stuff and I was gun shy to spend more. RDI is definitely not covered by insurance or even the medicaid waiver in the state of Michigan. So I read books, went to seminars and 'did it.'

The reason I am recalling this today is because we are working on the following objective:

This lesson involves the child learning to successfully adapt to more fluid introduction of variations. Guides increase the rate and the degree of variations that they introduce to shared frameworks

In plain English, when you are doing an activity with a child (such as throwing a ball) and you decide to change up the activity without using verbal cues (for example sitting down), does the child know to follow your lead without any extra instruction?

A few years ago, in the do-it-yourselfer phase, I thought, not only did Andrew KNOW this objective but he offered up ideas on how to change it up himself. That's good right???

NO!

When he does that he is trying to control the activity to do it his way. This is 'normal' in autism. A child wants to be able to control it so that they know what will happen next. But first they have to follow your lead. When you try and 'do it yourself' without a good guide you have no idea which direction you are headed. Andrew needs a guide as much as I needed an RDI guide/consultant. (This is also a good analogy for Christian life but that is another post.)

What does a consultant have to do with all of this? An expert consultant helps you work through it so that you aren't hatcheting away at your 10 year old's esteem while still teaching them that you, the parent, can be the 'guide.' Andrew is ten, after all, but he is working at the developmental age of an eighteen month old. (Yes it is true. He may be academically and physically superior but in developmental years he is a toddler.) So think about an eighteen month old. They need guidance. They learn by observing.

I peeked out the window yesterday and Andrew was playing Zoom Ball with his college age cousin. They were whipping it around every which way and I thought, "I should go out there and show them how to use it." I stopped myself and thought..NO! This will be a great 'framework' for this objective later between me and Andrew.

Here is when I questioned Andrew's control vs. flexibility. When we started zooming, I intended on doing a few back and forth while standing, and then sitting down to see what he would do. But right out of the shoot he started whipping it around and making his own variations. I dropped my end of the toy and waited. He handed it back to me (a nice repair) and we repeated that scene for a few rounds before I said, "no I'm done." At first glance, and in the past, I'd have said, "WOW! That is great that he is being flexible and thinking up all the variations and ways to do Zoomball." But now, with a consultant's help, I know that it is his way of controlling.

Think about an eighteen month old toddler. If they are constantly changing things up, what are you, the parent/guide doing? Chasing them! It is exhausting when they are young and even more exhausting when they are pre-teen. Or perhaps, that IS the age where children start to challenge and control their environment and that is WHY it is so exhausting. Either way...

Today we had a Skype with our consultant and we worked through this particular objective and framework in a way so that Andrew could be ten years old and eighteen months all at the same time. I won't bore you with the details, but it involves letting him be an individual while making my own guided variations. If this all sounds complicated and strange, I promise you it is not. (Strange..maybe. Complicated..not.) Our consultant makes it easy. We also video tape our activities so that we can review it ourselves and have her do the same.

I don't know if any of this makes sense but I struggle daily with Andrew's 'ages' that are all over the map. He is so gifted and talented in many areas. But 'doing people' (aka relationships) is hard for anyone. Add in deficits from autism and it just is so complicated. That is what I love about RDI. It is a do-over for us. It is slow development but it IS development. I have seen great things since we have started eighteen months ago.

If you have any questions, please ask!

Outside Fun Lazy Bum....

2011-05-24T12:19:00.000-07:00

This week I wrote an email to a 'coach' in the area that works with those on the spectrum. He is very in tune with RDI philosophy and started training on it at one point. We had tried soccer a few years back with him and it didn't work but I thought he might have some good ideas or that it might work now. He said that what they do in soccer isn't really a game (I knew that) and that perhaps a solitary sport such as swimming or karate might be better. This was very discouraging because if anyone can coach a kid like Andrew, it would be him. And I want the kid to get more physical exercise. I want him to have more outside time!!!

This weekend hubby and kiddo were outside playing with a remote control car that Grandma had given him a few years ago. They were having a great time with it and so I was trying to brainstorm other outside things that don't involve 'sports.' I asked a few friends and one is an EXPERT at ideas. So I wanted to put them down here 1) because they are great ideas and good to share and 2) because I will loose them if I don't put them down on 'paper.'

model rockets
weather equipment
sidewalk chalk
lemonade stand
potato cannons
nerf guns
water balloon sling
watermelon seed spitting
pumpkin chunking
remote control boats or planes
kite flying
mime
street performing
survey taking
fund raising
door to door evangelism
painting
weeding
nature collections
collecting litter
fishing
stomp rockets
croquet
horseshoes
yard darts
frisbee golf

Now get out there and get your vitamin D! Feel free to leave some comments with more ideas and I will add them to the list!

GoTrybe- A TOS Review

2011-05-11T05:43:00.000-07:00

I had the opportunity to have a subscription to GoTrybe. It is an online fitness program.

One part of the program is physical fitness. There are videos where you drag mini-clips into a video line and then you go thru and complete the videos. They are 'real people' videos. This worked out OK but there are not many male instructors. 95+% is women and girls. I didn't do this with Andrew (see the following info on why), but I didn't find any boys in the ones I did. Some folks said at the next middle school level there were boys and men. It is difficult to convince a 10 year old boy to work along side a female instructor and a couple of pre-teen girls. Although not quite 'dance aerobics', it is still girls dancing. Also, although mostly modestly dressed, some were still in leotard type outfits. I just didn't really want to do this with Andrew because he is so visual. Many other folks reviewing this product thought it was just fine. (Click on the banner below to see their reviews.) I actually go through magazines that come in the mail for Andrew and rip out pages before I give them to him. Mostly these are video game magazines but once something gets in his brain it stays there and he is in the stage of 'making comments' about people's appearance. I also have him pick the 'male' trainer on Wii Fit...so that tells you a bit about where we are in the thinking on this.

The videos are not captioned, but I suppose they didn't need to be because you can follow along. They do talk quite a bit in them though.

There is a nutrition component as well where you answer a daily question and get points to buy virtual prizes for your avatar. The same is true for a motivation section. You also do get points for your exercise.

They did have excellent customer service. I attempted to contact them twice regarding both the boys in the videos and a password issue and they returned my email promptly.

All in all, this was a no-go for us but it could be OK for others especially if you have girls. The good news is that.....

You can try this program for free for a day to see if you like it.

The cost for the program is regularly $39.95 annually. However on the F.A.Q. page there was information that you can use the free code for a day and then sign up after the free day for a one year membership of $19.95. So make sure to use the code if you sign up!

I received a subscription to this free of charge in exchange for an honest review.

Happy Mother's Day

2011-05-08T17:59:00.000-07:00

I was asked to write a summary of our journey for a Cochlear Implant Online and I thought this would be the perfect day to do so...being Mother's Day and all.

A long time ago, in a galaxy far far away... well that is how it seems. As I prepared to write this article, I was sent searching through my pictures to find one the day Andrew was diagnosed as profoundly hearing impaired. You see, he was born before the digital age, so I had to go through a few boxes of actual print pictures to find it! I was recalling all the fun, and difficult times we have had over the last 10 years as I thumbed through the pictures.

Andrew was born with a profound sensorineural hearing loss and was implanted at 13 months of age. He was born early, received the proper hearing test in the NICU and I was told by the pediatrician that he might "grow into his hearing." I was a new, first time mom. This, my dear friends, is not the case and I find it difficult to believe that such a good doctor could even utter those words. Thankfully, I am a pursuer. And pursue I did. We went ahead with the appropriate testing and on October 31, 2000, just two months after Andrew was born, we had a confirmed diagnosis.

The "good" audiologist told us that our Early Intervention folks would call us. Again, I am thankful I did not sit on my laurels. My husband and I made calls, got in programs, had our first run in with IEPs and so on. We have in our area passionate teachers of the hearing impaired. Don't tell anyone this but they let us in the classes even before we had a signed IEP.

Andrew also had other delays early on in his life. I have a very good friend who is also now Andrew's developmental pediatrician. She told me many years later that when I was at her house visiting when Andrew was only a couple of months old, that she knew there were other things wrong with him. But what was she going to do at the time? I was doing the proper things...getting in involved with Early Intervention, going to PT, OT and even speech.

So... I have let the cat out of the bag. Andrew has other things going on in addition to his sensorineural hearing loss.

I have to say we have been blessed for ten years with an incredible team of professionals that have gone above and beyond. Even looking back I see God's favor. Those in Early Intervention know that support is minimal. We were dual enrolled in our district's program as well as the county's hearing impaired program. We had PT, OT and classes in both programs as well as a Teacher of the Hearing Impaired coming to the house. This teacher was assigned to come once a week...and she often came twice. We were going to classes for those who were involved in both sign and oral in an effort to make our cochlear implant decision. God also put in our life Mark's cousin Jeanie. She is a Teacher for the Hearing Impaired in the Upper Peninsula in Michigan. Sometimes I think of God sitting up there when Jeanie was born and peeking ahead to when Andrew was born..knowing there would be a connection.

When Andrew was thirteen months he received his cochlear implant. The surgery went very well and we started Auditory Verbal Therapy immediately. And we worked....and we waited..and we worked..and we waited..and we switched therapists...and we worked..and we waited. And nothing. And we wondered was this the right thing to do??

During this time several speech therapists suggested that Andrew start occupational therapy for sensory integration. I balked at the idea because our initial occupational therapist said that this wouldn't work for Andrew because he has an inner ear malformation. We were also doing physical therapy at the time because Andrew was not walking at age one..or two. I knew in my gut we should try it.

Finally we started both PT for the walking and OT for sensory integration. We were doing this through the schools but added on private services. We also started a hearing impaired oral preschool. Once again God put together a wonderful team of people. Andrew started to walk, and eventually he did start to respond and talk. One of the first words he said was when he was around four years old. We were walking into Meijers (a grocery store) and he pointed to the sign overhead and said..WELCOME. That's what it said! OK...so my kid can read! He is still a reader and loves words. He spells better than I do and will read anything he can get his hands on. This is a picture from a walk we were taking. It is a tag on the fire hydrant..it has words..therefore he must read it. You can scroll down to the previous post where I posted just one of the many poems he has written.

When Andrew was in the oral preschool we knew there were other things going on. We always KNEW that but we needed additional supports. Andrew is a complicated kiddo. In the schools you need labels. So we did the proper evaluations and added autism to his IEP. The professionals were awesome in our county's hearing impaired program and although some have problems getting additional services, this was not an issue for us. Andrew's developmental pediatrician doesn't necessarily agree with this label and I don't know if I do either even five years later, but there are 'other things.' We finished out Andrew's early years in the oral preschool with an autism consultant and other additional supports. But then it was time to make a decision for kindergarten.

There were three choices. 1) Hearing Impaired K-4 classroom, 2) autism classroom or 3) mainstream. None of these fit well. Andrew could read and clearly even the 'accelerated' reading programs were below his capability. I didn't see the county's hearing impaired elementary as a good solution. The autism classrooms were, in our district, mostly about babysitting. And there was no way he could be mainstreamed so we decided to homeschool.

Homeschooling has worked well for us. If I am to be honest, I will tell you that if I could find the right public or private school, I would put Andrew in it. And I am not going to go into detail on why we don't have that in our area. But homeschool can be, and is for us, a blessing.

There are other interventions we have done as well. When Andrew was still in preschool we started a gluten and casein free diet. This does not work for all children but does for him. Our developmental pediatrician is open to both biomedical interventions as well as medication and we do not rule out medication. At this present time we are treating Andrew with antibiotics for PANDAS. Some of the PANDAS signs are tics and OCD type behavior.

We also started Relationship Development Intervention for the autism. This program is much different than both ABA or Floortime, both of which are done for autism. RDI focuses on....relationship and it gives hope because it takes the child back to square one to focus on reconnecting those brain snapases in the proper way. You can start RDI at any age with a child. It is never too late. It is funny because much of what we are doing with RDI is non-verbal but we are blessed to get a consultant who gets Andrew as a WHOLE child and knows that his implant is part of who he is, so she does not take AWAY the verbal- because that is so important to him. (Much of language is non-verbal and Andrew did not intuitively pick up on this. In addition we focused, rightly so, on verbal after the implant. So we are getting a mulligan on the non-verbal right now...as well as working on various behaviors and 'stuff' that goes along with autism.)

There are some unique challenges when you have an implanted child with 'extras.' For one thing, we still wear the BWP..body worn processor. Andrew has worn it since he has been a year old. The BTE...behind the ear... feels different, sounds different and change is very very hard for a spectrum kid. I also would like to look into bilateral implants but honestly, until a year or so ago, getting Andrew to change to shorts in the summer was too much change for him. When he was a year old we could easily make him wear his implant. At 10, it is a different story. He has to buy in. There are ways that you can help facilitate this of course and our decision to wait is thought out and made with prayer. I do know others who have kids with both autism and bilateral implants so if you are interested, please pursue it! They were not doing bilateral implants when Andrew's surgery was completed.

I feel that we spent the first five years focusing mostly on the hearing impairment and the next five focusing on the 'extras.' I feel the pendulum switching back. I am reading all the updates that have occurred over the last few years in the HI world, seeking information and getting involved. It is impossible to know and do everything and we just need to take it one day at a time.

We have had some really rough days when it comes to the 'other' areas with Andrew. I am thankful that he can talk...and well..and often. The cochlear implant has been an incredible blessing and clearly was the right decision. One day he dropped the 'F-bomb' in a museum. I'd like to say that he learned that in school, but we homeschool. Then there was a day when he was about five that he had such a large tantrum in Target that I had to drag him to the parking lot. I couldn't drive with him in that state so we sat there for 90 minutes. At that point I saw the security guy come out because someone had mentioned a screaming kid in the parking lot. Thankfully he had seen the whole thing and we were actually pulling out when he was walking to the car. Just last week, (he's 10 now), he ran out of the yard and INTO the neighbor's house. He was having such a fit, and they took such pity on me that they brought US cookies. I didn't have the heart to tell them we don't eat gluten or milk. I just said thank you. Even at our last audiology appointment, Andrew could not participate the way a typical 10 year old would to get a good map. He did however manage to interview our audiologist. It is lovely and shows how far he has come. Here is that interview for you. (This is my first go at captions. I need to clean it up but this is the first pass and it is read-able.)

When you have a child with autism AND a hearing impairment, you have to really pave your own road. There is no perfect one. I have had to lean a lot on Jesus. For decisions, for comfort, for mistakes... I just wrote a post for another blog that I have, and in a nutshell, when it gets right down to it, the only way for me to make it through some of the really rough days is to give Him ALL of it.

There have been many decisions that we have made where I wonder if they were right. But the implant has always been the right decision.

The Goblor Plant

2011-05-01T12:59:00.000-07:00

The Goblor plant grows from words.
It lives from speech, that's what I heard.
Should it lack gab, it will die.
So talk to it every day, up to the skies.

By AJ Lapain
© 2011

Amy's review: I think this is a wonderful poem that my son wrote in less than five minutes. He has a wonderful gift with words. I love so many things about him!!! And I love his poems. What I like most about this poem is the way he uses the word "gab." I love the silly name "Goblor." There is nothing I don't like about this poem. (He gave me this poem free of charge in exchange for my honest review.)

Writing Tales- a TOS Review

2011-04-27T05:08:00.000-07:00

Can you tell? This is my FAVORITE product of the year. They saved the best for last. What is it? I know you are on pins and needles...

WRITING TALES!!!!!!!!

I received both Writing Tales level 1 and 2 as part of the TOS Crew. I am so excited to have received this product.

You can find a sample here and as you will see, it uses literature, fables and stories to teach language arts. You start out the week reading a passage together. Each week has a focus (nouns, adverbs etc.) and you use the passage to work on that theme. You also start out narrating the passage and then work on refining it throughout the week. You write a rough draft the first day, fix it up over the week and use misspelled words as spelling words. There is also copy work at the beginning of the week. Andrew isn't quite able to narrate AND think specifically on what a lesson might be. He can get thoughts on paper but we are probably 6 months away from getting them CORRECTLY on paper with proper punctuation, spelling and what have you. This is, of course, the reason for the rough draft at the beginning of the week but it is just a tad to much for him. Right now I am having him verbally narrate the passage and do a small amount of the writing.

There are worksheets throughout the week and games that are in the appendix. If you have been reading my blog you know I am a hands on teacher. This program is more 'hands on' than 'hands off' but it can be adapted. Andrew had read ahead (gasp) and read the next passage. When he told me this, I just asked him to give me a narration. He did so well. So you could just give your students the material to do on their own and grade it later. Because we are doing some oral narration I am more involved than you would have to be- but then again I enjoy that part of homeschooling- ESPECIALLY because Andrew really likes this as well. And that is say a LOT when it comes to school stuff. I don't think he has complained when we do language arts. (Ok, maybe on the handwriting a little but he continued without major prodding.) Oh if all subjects could just come so easily!

Level one is for 3rd and 4th grade. The student text sells for $19.95 and the teacher manual is $24.95. I have found the teacher manual to be useful. It is somewhat redundant but still helpful. Level two is for 4th and 5th grade. We are not there yet but I am loving this approach and will continue to work thru it week by week. Level two student and teacher texts are $24.95 and $32.95 respectively.

One thing I just figured out while writing the review is that the teacher's manual is in two parts. The beginning has lesson plans and the end is the answer key. I note that because it wasn't intuitive to me. I love that there are two copies of the text to be read; one in the student and one in the teacher book. That way we can both be looking at it separately and it is also useful when working on an item that refers back to that text.

I "heart" Writing Tales. Please click on the banner below to see what others thought of it.

I received this in exchange for my honest review.

Would you like 17 bags of fries with that?

2011-04-25T06:16:00.000-07:00

Today's title could also be..Monday Funny. or... Small Family Logistics. or... Enter To Win.

I was on the phone with a friend who has six kids. She is the oldest of 19. You can read her story as she blogs her current journeys on HERE.

So anyway- I was driving through McDonalds while I was on the phone with her. I said, "hang on. I need to place my order.....I'd like a medium fry please."

She started laughing....and said..

"You can do that? You can order just one fry?"

She had been at McDonalds that week with her six kids and they have to make a list and check it twice. (I'm still hoping for at least five more kids by the way.)

Maybe it was funnier in person. But it made us both laugh.

By the way, Becky is having a contest... so go to her blog to enter! There aren't many entries so you have a pretty good chance of winning!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!! HE IS RISEN!!!

2011-04-24T01:29:00.000-07:00

I was having some quiet time this past week and God brought it to me that Easter is like a clean slate, a new year. Of course I am so thankful that ANY and EVERY day can be a new day with Jesus but "Happy New Year" is symbolic. So.... break out the hats and sound makers and yell HAPPY NEW YEAR..HE IS RISEN!!!!!!!

Thanks to Trish for hosting the blog. It has been such a blessing for me to read and write during these 40 days.

It's Friday...But Sunday is Coming

2011-04-22T07:04:00.000-07:00

See the Light- a TOS Review

2011-04-22T01:31:00.000-07:00

I had the opportunity to review the See The Light art class. This is a program that allows anyone to teach art at home...even those (me) who might not be so artistically inclined. It is very beginner and I love the way she takes people through step by step. We were given the first four lessons to try out and you can see the first three by going here. Bonus!

Each lesson also ties in the Bible in some way. In one of the initial lessons, you shade in an apple. She then goes on to talk about Adam and Eve. It is a nice way to tie the two together. There are not a ton of materials needed to do this curriculum. Did you know that Michaels and JoAnns now have teacher programs for savings?

As for how we liked it.. I really did! And I learned much. Andrew is much more artistically inclined and also wants to do things 'his own way.' I liked the step by step approach and can see this working for us later on but for him right now, it just isn't a good fit. It is possible that I could do the lesson and then transfer the information to Andrew but we have other fish to fry at the moment. And... it is not captioned. So on that basis alone, even though I like it, I can't purchase it for Andrew. On some review items I really don't care because I don't love the product but in this case it lends itself to 'guided participation.' I really do wish it were captioned. I asked them about future for captioning... and their response is below. They seemed receptive to the idea. So please contact them by going HERE if you would like to see captions. Here is an excerpt of their response:

As of this moment in time, the videos are not captioned for the hearing impaired. However, if there seems to be sufficient interest , we certainly will want to extend our ministry into this area.

There are different ways to purchase this program and you can see that here. The year curriculum sells for $99.99. I was considering how I write my reviews in general. I may have even said this earlier in the year, but when I write a review, I tend not to write the specifics of the program as you can find that out easily on the website. Rather, I give more general information and then how we use it. There is a ton of detail for this program on the website and in the other reviews which you can get to by clicking on the banner below.

I received this program in exchange for my honest review.

Great Narration!

2011-04-21T13:05:00.000-07:00

We have been doing Resurrection Eggs over the last month. This morning Andrew decided he wanted to re-intact it all from A to Z. I pulled up the last chapters of the Gospel according to Mark and he did so well! I wanted to video tape it but he asked me not to. He basically was narrating these last chapters. My favorite line was when Judas came to betray Jesus. Andrew had Peter say, "Holy Cow! What are you doing Judas?!" Andrew is wonderful about putting himself in the character's role and trying to figure out what they would say and feel. And in this instance I think it fit. Can you imagine? You are at a Passover dinner with 12 of your closest buds. Then the head guy wants to go pray in the woods. You fall asleep. Soldiers come with one of your buds with accusations. What a night. Most of us can put ourselves in Peter's place of denying Christ but he was the boldest of them all so that does make it surprising. But at the point of Judas' betrayal that was unbelievable to him. He never thought he would.....

Stay tuned tomorrow for a great video.

His Love Endures Forever

2011-04-20T19:40:00.000-07:00

A few days ago I wrote out Psalm 136 where the response is, "His love endures forever." As I was reading a few of the comments I started thinking about that line...His love endures forever. Which word do you put the emphasis on when you read it? I always put it on love. But each word is important.

His... Whose love? God's love. We can't always count on others but God's love endures forever.

Love.... What endures? Love. Not stuff. Not relationships here on earth. LOVE (His LOVE) endures forever.

Endures... What does His love do? It endures. It stands the test of time. We can count on it. It endures hardships, troubles and joy. It sustains, it supports, it lasts....

Forever... How long does His love endure? Forever. Not until tomorrow.. not until the second Tuesday of next week. Forever.

Nutrition 101 - a TOS Review

2011-04-20T01:18:00.000-07:00

I had the opportunity to review Nutrition 101 from Growing Healthy Homes. This is a very comprehensive book that educates on all parts of the body. I was given the PDF version of this book available via CD ROM. When I signed up to review the book I didn't realize that I already owned the actual paper copy which I had purchased used. So while this review is for the PDF/CD ROM version, I have the advantage of having a printed copy in front of me.

First, with the exception on the information regarding the hearing impaired (which I will get to later), I like the information presented in this book. It is about living well..eating well..growing healthy homes! It is right up my alley in terms of how I 'think.' The various body systems are covered in detail and how we are to keep them healthy. The graphics are wonderful. Each section has information, activities and even Q&A if you want to do testing at the end of the chapter.

When I purchased this book last year as a printed copy I noticed some items in the hearing chapter that I thought could use some updating. It mentioned that "younger people with profound hearing loss will generally learn sign language in order to communicate with the world." If you know me, you know I couldn't let it go. So shortly after purchasing the book, I wrote them and told them information about the cochlear implant, learning to listen and other FACTS. Babies born with profound hearing loss can learn to listen either with hearing aids or cochlear implants! And when intervened early, they will do VERY well. When I realized the CD-ROM that I would be reviewing was the same book I was cautiously hopeful that these changes would have been included. They were not. I did write them again they said, "Because we have four authors, we have to come to a consensus on this. We want to do what is right and, clearly, not to offend anyone. We really appreciate you bringing this to our attention. We've already started the 2011 homeschooling circuit, so we're working on a solution now." As an fyi for those that don't know, Over 90% of deaf children are born to hearing parents, and because people still believe that sign language HAS to be done for deaf children (it does not), it just is something I can not overlook. It saddens me. I do hope they make the changes at the very least for the CD version. I will be glad to re-post when they do that. To most this might not be a grievous error but it perpetuates a mis-belief that I just can't leave hanging out there without mentioning.

The book is eye catching. Andrew has read some of it and found it very interesting. We never read things from start to finish. I believe this book can be used for a curriculum or a reference. There is so much detail on all the parts of the body, the foods and nutritional components that feed into it... it is very comprehensive. It is however, pricey from my perspective. It is only $20 more dollars for a printed version and although I love ebooks, I found that format cumbersome because the book is close to 500 pages long. (That could be because I already owned the printed copy.) The CD-ROM is $79.95. There is a CD-ROM/Printed combo that sells for $129.95. You can see the table of contents as well as a sample of the book by going to here. I know that some of the Crew members were able to get the book printed off for about $10. It all depends on how much you like the e-book format. There are also options for purchasing for a co-op class. You can find all of the pricing options here. Please contact them if you are wondering how the license purchasing works.

We have also been authorized to extend a savings offer to you. If you would like to purchase this product, you can use the code TOScrew11 to receive a 15% discount which is the same as you would receive at a homeschool fair. Please note the date on this review. If you are reading it long after it has been published, this code may no longer be valid. Please click on the button below to see other reviews on this product.

I received this product in exchange for my honest review.

Psalm 136

2011-04-19T06:42:00.000-07:00

As I was researching Passover I read that part of this Psalm is read during the meal. I know I have read this Psalm before...but i 'skip' the response at least in my head. I just read it out loud, deliberately and each line. Try it! It truly gave a different feel to it.

Psalm 136
¹ Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good.
            His love endures forever.
² Give thanks to the God of gods.
            His love endures forever.
³ Give thanks to the Lord of lords:
            His love endures forever.

⁴ to him who alone does great wonders,
            His love endures forever.
⁵ who by his understanding made the heavens,
            His love endures forever.
⁶ who spread out the earth upon the waters,
            His love endures forever.
⁷ who made the great lights—
            His love endures forever.
⁸ the sun to govern the day,
            His love endures forever.
⁹ the moon and stars to govern the night;
            His love endures forever.

¹⁰ to him who struck down the firstborn of Egypt
            His love endures forever.
¹¹ and brought Israel out from among them
            His love endures forever.
¹² with a mighty hand and outstretched arm;
            His love endures forever.

¹³ to him who divided the Red Sea^[a] asunder
            His love endures forever.
¹⁴ and brought Israel through the midst of it,
            His love endures forever.
¹⁵ but swept Pharaoh and his army into the Red Sea;
            His love endures forever.

¹⁶ to him who led his people through the wilderness;
His love endures forever.

¹⁷ to him who struck down great kings,
            His love endures forever.
¹⁸ and killed mighty kings—
            His love endures forever.
¹⁹ Sihon king of the Amorites
            His love endures forever.
²⁰ and Og king of Bashan—
            His love endures forever.
²¹ and gave their land as an inheritance,
            His love endures forever.
²² an inheritance to his servant Israel.
            His love endures forever.

²³ He remembered us in our low estate
            His love endures forever.
²⁴ and freed us from our enemies.
            His love endures forever.
²⁵ He gives food to every creature.
            His love endures forever.

²⁶ Give thanks to the God of heaven.
His love endures forever.