And it's back cold..

Today was a pretty nice day.  My friend Marla and her daughter Emmy (one of Samantha's BFF's) joined us for church this morning! Having never been to church before, she was full of questions.  Melissa and I, along with our pastor, stayed after and tried to answer her questions.  She is a straight black and white type person and just really had tons of questions.  We will talk with her some more.  Right now, she is in my prayers. 

Her and I took the girls to Zaxby's for lunch and then we were back to church for the girls to practice.  This Sunday is Girl Scout Sunday and they are also singing I am Free by the Newsboys with sign language for the chorus.  They had so much fun practicing!! I am excited to see how they do on Sunday!

Dinner was at Chelle's ~ she made spaghetti!  Mom wasn't feeling well, Rog was at the station so it was me, Chelle, dad and Billy - we played Nutsy until time to go home.

I had another pretty good day - feeling pretty ok! Hope it stays that way!!

Beautiful Saturday!!!

Today, the weather was awesome outside!!  The temperature got almost to 60*!!  It's been a while since it has been that nice out~ and we were due for some pretty weather!!

We slept in a it this morning, then had a yummy pancake breakfast.  Samantha had a friend come over to go with her to the District Derby Race.  Since Riley found his car, they were able to get it ready to run...it still needs a little work on the decoration, but it moves!!  He ran it against 26 others in the area and placed 11th-tied.

He is wanting it to look like his granpa's police car. Right now, it is just black with a blue light bar...more details to come and better pictures once it is complete.   Gramma and Chunky showed up to watch the race and Riley ended up leaving with him.  We all went for lunch, then stopped to see the Fallen Firefighter Memorial that was on display at the Maumelle Fire Station. The kiddos and I were at the parade that brought it in, but Roger had never seen it.

On the way home, the girls mentioned that we were close to the Big Dam Bridge, so we headed down there.  Roger and the girls went over it, I stayed at the bottom waiting...

Once home, the girls (of course) decided that they needed to stay the night together...they ended up here!  Dinner was tater tot casserole and candied carrots.  Since it was just the two girls, they played nicely in Samantha's room.  Roger, Billy and I watched Evan Almighty, then moved on to Wii Sports.  I am not feeling that great, so I left them to battle it out on the Wii Baseball field and I am headed to bed...

Finally Friday!!

The kiddos got school work done pretty quick this morning.  Roger was home from work early and we did a little around the house. 
After I picked Samantha up from speech, we headed straight to Gadwall's for our 2nd cookie booth.  The girls did great with it again!  70 boxes!!  Leaves us with only 78 to sell!!  I think we will have to get a few more though, seeing as how we are low on the good stuff!!

Once cookie booth was finished, we headed home for dinner with some friends!  Open faced Roast Beef Sandwiches and mashed taters!!  Yum!!  The kiddos played the Wii and we played a fun game of poker...we surely would have gotten kicked out of a real game...but we had fun and that's what counts!

Prayers for my health please...

Kiddos got a semi-break from school today.  They took the Black Stallion book over to mom's and read their next chapter and did the questions over there.  They also had some free education computer time.  They had to go to mom's because after my appointment last week with my Rheumetologist, he wanted me to have a Pulmonary Function test done.  I don't care for those...seeing as how I can't breathe anyways... they are just hard for me.

The tech who was working the machines was wonderful!  She was very caring and we talked a lot about my issues.  She said that my levels were pretty bad and she hoped that my doctor would get with me soon about what to do.   Her personality helped ease the test a little ~ still wasn't able to do all that was required...

Once home, the kiddos and I read the chapter in History.  We are reading Story of the World Vol. IV and today's chapter was Argentinian President and his wife.  It was important that we get that read today so we could do the 'project' tomorrow!  They needed to know what was going on for first thing in the morning...will share more on this tomorrow!

Samantha had speech.  Her therapist says she is doing pretty well.  She has homework after each session (duh..couldn't correct things in an hour a week).  Samantha seems to enjoy speech, however, she has mentioned to me a couple of times that she does not care anything about going to school there.  We ran into Granpa picking up Chunky so he took Riley with him so he wouldn't have to go to Girl Scouts with us.

Samantha and I watched Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian.  I am going to have to watch that one again... she spent so much time talking to me, I missed most of it!

Dinner was chicken patty sandwiches on homemade garlic bread and smashed taters, then off to Girl Scouts!

The girls are working toward their Bronze award and one finished up her Leadership section by teaching the others how to make topiary plants.  They all went home with a needlepoint ivy plant that was starting to work it's way up some wires that were in various shapes.  They are working hard on their Bronze Award project and I am so proud that it appears that they are all going to accomplish it!!  We have a few more meetings to cover things and a make-up day coming up soon!  Keep watching for details of the project and what they do to help better the community!

Grapevine Update ~

Do you remember back in August when I reviewed Grapevine Studies?  Well, I have a couple of updates that I would like to share!! First, we are moving right along with our Old Testament Overview.  This week, we have been learning about King Solomon and all of his writings.  I also thought that the time was right with us learing about Solomon- first of the month is Monday - we are going to start reading a Proverb a day.  Not sure if that all ties together, but I am going to make it somehow!!  We will finish up the Old Testament at the end of this school year and be able to start next fall on the New Testament!!

That is one update I have!  The other ~ check out Grapevine Studies! They have a BRAND NEW WEBSITE!!  There are also part of the social networkings as well!  Here are 3 more places you can find Grapevine Studies and Dianne! Facebook - Group: Grapevine Bible Studies ~ Facebook - My Page: Dianna Summers Wiebe ~Twitter: GrapevineStudy

We have honestly really enjoyed Grapevine Studies this year.  It is the first Bible Curriculum that we have stuck with!

Only Wednesday...

Not many errands to run today!  The kiddos had music lessons and then we had to grab some groceries.  They did have a little school work today and then they did a lot of helping me at the grocery store with my coupons and the sales.  Before we headed out today, we planned the next week's menu and I decided to give them each a day to plan and help cook their meal for that day.  Samantha chose individual pizza's and Riley chose spaghetti.  This was the first time I have ever had them do this, so they went easy. I am going to try to encourage them to help me by have one day that they are responsible for the meal.  I am going to encourage them to flip through the *many* cookbooks that I have and find something and follow a recipe.  I think they will enjoy that!

As I got home from the store, I found out there was an issue with a medical test that I needed to do on Thursday, so I spent some time on the phone trying to get that straight - Rog and the kiddos got all of the groceries unloaded and put away for me!

One of our scouts came by to pick up some cookies and Samantha invited her to church.  Riley opted out of church tonight since he found his Pinewood Derby car, he wanted to work on it for the race this weekend, so I took the girls.  Love it that Samantha and her scout friends are such good friends!  Love it that I know the girls she is friends with and I know their parents.  Three of my scouts go to our church, then we invited E tonight.  So, one of my scouts is wanting to sing I Am Free by the Newsboys on Scout Sunday and she has asked that the other girls (scouts and a couple that are not) learn the chorus in sign and sing it with her!  They are pretty excited about it..they only have a few days to learn it, but we want it to be fun!!

CFBA: the big 5-Oh! by Sandra D. Bricker

This week, the


Christian Fiction Blog Alliance


is introducing


The Big 5-Oh!Abingdon Press (February 2010)


by


Sandra D. Bricker





ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

For more than a decade, Author Sandra D. Bricker lived in Los Angeles. While writing in every spare moment, she worked as a personal assistant

and publicist to some of daytime television's hottest stars. When her mother became ill in Florida, she walked away from that segment of her life and moved across the country to take on a new role: Caregiver.



One of Sandie's passions revolves around the rights of animals. She's been involved in fundraising for Lost Angels Animal Rescue for several years now; in fact, a portion of the proceeds of Love Finds You in Holiday, Florida will go to help the non-profit group with their expenses. And Lost Angels paid her back in a big way: They brought a free-spirited Collie named Sophie into her life after the loss of her 15-year companion Caleb.



It was her 8th novel that opened the door to finding her way as a writer.



In Sandie's words: "I guess most people would see my career as a publicist as a sort of dream job. But giving it up turned out to be the best thing that could have happened to me!" she declares. "Not only was I given the gift of getting to know my mother as an adult woman before she passed away, but I was also afforded the blessing of being able to focus completely on my dream of a writing career. I'm a Christian woman, first and foremost, so it was a bit of a dream-come-true when Summerside Press chose me as one of two authors to launch their new Love Finds You line."





ABOUT THE BOOK

Olivia Wallace has a birthday curse . . . or so she thinks. It was a broken heart on her 16th, a car accident on her 21st, pneumonia on her 30th, and a fall down a flight of stairs on her 35th. There were Ohio blizzards on her 38th, 39th, and 40th; and six days before her 45th, she lost the love of her life to a heart attack. Numbing grief stole that birthday and a couple more to follow and, on the morning of her 48th birthday, she received the call she’d dreaded ever since losing her mom so many years ago…she was diagnosed with stage-3 ovarian cancer. The doctors didn’t hold out a lot of hope, but Liv survived and maintained her faith. Months of surgeries and chemotherapy and radiation treatments followed.



But now, as her 50th birthday creeps up the icy Ohio path toward her, her hair has grown back, her energy level is up, and she is officially cancer free. It makes her nervous. After everything she’s gone through, Liv hates the idea of driving on icy roads and returning to work as an O.R. nurse in a local Cincinnati hospital.



Her best friend Hallie knows just the thing to break Liv out of the winter doldrums, while providing a safe haven of warmth, sunshine, and a time to regroup: a holiday in the Florida sunshine!



If you'd like to read the first chapter of The Big 5-Oh!, go HERE



Watch the trailer:





WHAT I HAVE TO SAY:  This was a cute, fun story! I have a friend that looks for *beach books* ~ this is one that would qualify for that!  Nothing serious, just a quick read with cute and fun characters!

Wow ~ that was a cRaZy day!!

School went great today!  The kiddos were very cooperative and did what needed to be done with out any fuss!  We had a good day!  Samantha was supposed to have Speech, but it was canceled.  However, we still had to go grab Chunky from school and I told Riley that his friend J could come over and play.  So, I head to the school with 2 kiddos, return to the house with 4!  In the mean time, Miss Melissa, my Co-Leader has gone and picked up extra cookies for our troop and she also grabbed her two kiddos and she came over to drop those off.  So, it was a bit harried around here for that hour or so with 6 kiddos running in and out...not to mention various adults coming and going!

To add to the craziness - Riley had *practice* at 6pm (thankfully the fields were wet and it was too cold) and we just had a quick meeting, met the coach and picked up our practice schedule for the next couple of months. AND we had Cub Scouts at 6:30.  It was importatnt that we make this meeting as well, since it was the Blue and Gold Banquet and Rog and I as well as Riley are recognized as part of the meeting.

Boy, am I glad to be home and I am ready to hit the bed!

Homeschool Crew: All About Spelling ~ Beehive Reader

We received a really cute book in the mail!  It is from All About Spelling. A really sweet hardback book called Beehive Reader 1.

The kiddos jumped on this one and read through it quite quickly.  It is a Kindergarten/1st grade level reading book and we plan to pass it on to my nephew as he is approaching that age quickly. 

I thought this was a really good book. It was fun to read and had great pictures.  The kiddos commented on how fun it was to read as well.

**Disclaimer: This product was provided to me FREE in exchange for my review.  For more reviews and opinions of this product, please visit the Crew, linked above.

So now what?

So, since I do reviews and such on my blog, I thought I would look into ways to get some more traffic on here.  I signd up on Alexa and with Technorati...now what?

Not sure how the numbers thing works...I guess the numbers would go up if the blog was worth reading...but still would like to know how these things work....

Any input?

Blogging

Just a test post for something, please disregard.

TFQXF3AAF2ZK

Thanks,
Christa

A new week!!

And I was ready to go!  I had all the lesson plans penciled in, pages copied and ready to go and I even made out to-do list for me and the kiddos!  They woke up in great moods today and were ready to get started on the day.  They made muffins and while they were baking, they read thier chapter in Black Stallion.  After breakfast, they pulled out thier folders and LOW AND BEHOLD! Riley's PINEWOOD DERBY CAR was hidden in his trapper-keeper folder that we use for school!! (See link above about derby car) Funny thing, we got to talking about it and the week before the post linked we woke up to snow on Monday morning and we took 3 days that week as snowdays, so we didn't really do any formal schooling all week - just real relaxed reading and such.  THEN, this past week, well, it was crazy also - Cookie Drop on Monday, doctor's on Tuesday, extra music lessons for make-up on Wednesday; so once again we had a crazy week and not really any formal schooling.  SO, when it came time to pull out the binders and get back on track WahLah!  there it was!!  He was SO EXCITED!!!  So, we are racing in a race this week!!

Rog was at the station, so we had pigs in a blanket for dinner and then set out to deliver some Girl Scout cookies!!!

Destination Disney: Favorite RIDE at Magic Kingdom

Visit my friend Heidi at Reviews & Reflections for more Destination Disney!

I think that I mentioned this somewhere before that I am a BIG ROLLER COASTER FAN!  I will ride any coaster at least once...so, I guess it goes without saying that my favorite ride at Magic Kingdon would be the Big Thunder Mountain Railroad!!

CFBA: Cowgirl at Heart by Christine Lynxwiler

This week, the



Christian Fiction Blog Alliance



is introducing



Cowgirl at Heart



Barbour Books (February 1, 2010)



by



Christine Lynxwiler





ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Best-selling author Christine Lynxwiler lives with her husband and two precious daughters in the foothills of the beautiful Ozark Mountains. Christine has been writing toward publication since 1997. She sold her first story in 2001 to Barbour Publishing. Since then she's written and sold fourteen Christian romance novels and novellas including the four novels that were included in the best-selling book Arkansas, which has sold over 150,000 copies worldwide. Her novel, Forever Christmas, ranked number 12 on the Christian Bookseller's Association Bestseller List in January, 2009.



A four-time winner of the prestigious American Christian Romance Writers/American Christian Fiction Writers' Book of the Year Award, Christine recently signed a new six-book contract with Barbour Publishing bringing her total of contracted books to twenty. Besides, Along Came a Cowboy, her latest novels include Promise Me Always and Forever Christmas. She also writes mysteries with two of her sisters, Sandy Gaskin and Jan Reynolds. Their book, Alibis in Arkansas, is currently available nationwide, as well as in many bookstores. The first book in Christine's new McCord Sisters series, The Reluctant Cowgirl released in April, 2009 and was a TOP PICK in Romantic Times Magazine.



When Christine isn't at her computer, you'll often find her, with her husband, co-coaching their daughters' softball team, kayaking down beautiful Spring River with her family, or getting together with friends from church.





ABOUT THE BOOK

Elyse McCord always plays it safe─a fact she blames on being the biological daughter of a modern-day Bonnie and Clyde. Even in the security of her adoptive family the McCords, the timid dog whisperer keeps her guard up with strangers. But when she discovers a dog being horribly mistreated, shy Elyse transforms into a mighty warrior and charges into a perilous situation, not only risking her life but also her heart



Reporter Andrew Stone has been fearless since the day his wife was shot and killed three years ago. He has one mission─use hid Texas Ranger upbringing to find her murderer and clear his own name of any involvement. When he sees a beautiful brunette in the hands of a pistol-welding maniac, he’s forced to abandon his covert surveillance and go to the rescue. The danger surrounding Andrew doesn’t scare him at all, but the awakening of his dormant heart terrifies him.



When painful pasts collide, the explosion is deafening. Can Andrew and Elyse pick up the pieces and go forward together? Or will they forever live with haunting memories, unable to forgive, unable to love?



If you would like to read the first chapter of Cowgirl at Heart , go HERE.

WHAT I HAVE TO SAY: This was another cte story that I picked up and couldn't put down.  Really good curl up on the couch and read on a cloudy rainy day!

Just the weekend...

Saturday was a nice day.  The kiddos were spread out at their various gramma's houses and Rog had some things to do, so I was left alone in a nice quiet house.  After the past two weeks being absolutely crazy, I curled up on the couch with my planner, a pencil with a good eraser and my teacher's manuals.  I spent the day working on getting the rest of the year planned out. We went to Rog's parents for dinner ~ home made chicken pot pie!!  A couple of friends came over for games and that was how we wrapped up our Saturday!

Sunday morning we all went to church...Rog, the kiddos and I, along with my parents and his mom.  Great service this morning on Love and the vows you make.  Rog had a friend over this afternoon to work on some EMT/FF stuff ~ D is going to Fire Academy and working on his EMT certification right now.  Dinner was at mom and dad's ~ Rog and the kiddos went on over there while mom, dad and I went to our once a month Sunday Special at church ~ young kid trying to raise money to go to the Philliphines this summer as a missionary.  He told his story and sang a few songs for us.  Everyone was to tired/sick for games tonight, so we came home.  About to turn on Undercover Boss, then get to bed!

Homeschool Crew: Math Mammoth

Last year, about this time, we wre all getting to a *burnout* point with math.  We were learning multiplication tables, it was long, boring, repetitive and monotonous...we were all almost at the point of tears! It was at this time that I decided to put our current math on hold and give something else a try.  Enter Math Mammoth!  We used the Clock book and spent about 3 weeks on just learning to tell time.  WOW!  What a lesson!  Riley is the timekeeper around here, detailed to the minute, and I credit it completely to the book from Math Mammoth.  When we recevied word that we were going to get to review one of their products, I knew that taking a break for division would be a good thing for us, since it was so great last year and we were able to go back to multiplication feeling refreshed.

This year, the kiddos and I poured over the site, trying to decide what we wanted to do extra this year.  They agreed on Measuring 1.  We are just finishing up this lesson and they have had lots of fun with it.  I feel that they have learned more than I could ever teach them on the side about measuring. 

We have also added Multiplication into our year, as a review.  The multiplication books seems to be a good supplement to what we already learned, and is working great as a reminder and reinfocement.

I am currently looking at Math Mammoth's full curriculum sets.  I am not 100%, but there is a really good possiblity that we will be switching away from our current math program and moving to this for the next couple of years.

**Disclaimer: We were given this product FREE of charge in exchange for my honest review.  For more reviews and opinions of this product, please visit the Crew linked above.

Full Day Friday!!

The kiddos got up and moving quite early this morning...well, earlier than normal!  They got started on the chores without any fussing.  We wrapped up the little bit of school work we had planned for this week just in time for some lunch! After lunch, we headed out for this:

Yes, Samantha got her hair cut again. She barely had enough to donate!!  It was right at 8 inches!! She is loving it!  And it looks super cute on her! (The pic was taken right after she got it done). After her haircut, she headed to speech for Friday fun!  She came home with some homework, which is always hard over the weekend, seeing as how she is usually with grandparents or friends!   Our afternoon consisted of hanging out in front of a local restuarant Gadwall's ~ to sell Girl Scout Cookies!!!  I am sSOo proud of my girls! They sold 75!BOXES!!  We didn't sell that many in 3 booths last year!  We still have 2 more booths to go this year!! They were pretty excited about so many boxes.  Pray we do just as good or better the next two!  Riley had gone with  Gramma and Chunky and when we left, we called and he wanted to stay.  Samantha asked if she could call her Nene and ask if she could stay with her.  So, one kiddos at one gramma's, one kiddo at a Nene's house, and a girl scout mom who's daughter had to go to her dad's after the booth sale and with Roger at the station...I had an impromtu girls night out!  Marla and I headed to PigNChick for dinner...she had never eaten there! Once we got ran out of there, we headed over to Barnes and Nobles to hang out...it was nice to hang out with a friend and chat and get to know her better! Now that I am home, and comfy and caught up on my emails...I am off to dreamland!

World Math Day!

WORLD MATH DAY, MARCH 3rd, 2010 - SET TO BREAK A GUINNESS WORLD RECORD.

 

World Math Day is free and lots of FUN!

Join us in a celebration of numbers as students from around the globe unite in their quest to set a world record in answering mental arithmetic questions. Be a part of this great education event involving more than 2 million students from over 200 countries.

 

It's Free and Fun!
Brand NEW format.
World Math Day is the education event for the world!
Your students will love it! Be part of setting a world record!
 It will create an amazing buzz around Math
 Designed for all ages and ability levels. Simple to register and participate. All you need is internet access.
 Great prizes
 And it’s absolutely free!!

HURRY, registration closes March 2nd 2010

http://www.worldmathday.com/

 

Destination Dinsey: Your favorite place to shop

Heidi's question this week for Destination Disney is WHERE ARE YOUR FAVORITE PLACES TO SHOP IN “THE WORLD”?

The one place we do not miss when we go to Disney is the Magic Kingdom Fire Department.  It is a small store, but we love to go in there...I know you all were surprised, right?

We like the Lego store at Downtown Disney and once they started collecting pins, there is a pin kiosk type store at DD that we spent time searching in.

CFBA: The Pastor's Wife by Jennifer AiLee

This week, the


Christian Fiction Blog Alliance


is introducing


The Pastor's Wife Abingdon Press (February 2010)by


Jennifer AlLee

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Jennifer AlLee was born in Hollywood, California and for the first 10 years of her life lived over a mortuary one block from Hollywood and Vine. An avid reader and writer, she completed her first novel in high school. That manuscript is now safely tucked away, never again to see the light of day. Her first inspirational romance, The Love of His Brother, was released in November 2007 by Five Star Publisher.



Besides being a writer, she is a wife and mom. Living in Las Vegas, Nevada, her husband and teenage son have learned how to enjoy the fabulous buffets there without severely impacting their waistlines. God is good!





ABOUT THE BOOK

Maura Sullivan never intended to set foot in Granger, Ohio, again. But when circumstances force her to return, she must face all the disappointments she tried so hard to leave behind: a husband who ignored her, a congregation she couldn't please, and a God who took away everything she ever loved.



Nick Shepherd thought he had put the past behind him, until the day his estranged wife walked back into town. Intending only to help Maura through her crisis of faith, Nick finds his feelings for her never died. Now, he must admit the mistakes he made, how he hurt his wife, and find a way to give and receive forgiveness.



As God works in both of their lives, Nick and Maura start to believe they can repair their broken relationship and reunite as man and wife. But Maura has one more secret to tell Nick before they can move forward. It's what ultimately drove her to leave him three years earlier, and the one thing that can destroy the fragile trust they've built.



If you would like to read the first Chapter of The Pastor's Wife , go HERE

WHAT I HAVE TO SAY:  I am not quite finished with this one yet.  I haven't been feeling great, so I have spent a lot of my extra time that I normally read sleeping.  It is a cute story so far and I will finish it!  I do recommend this one for a quick Sunday afternoon read!

Homeschool Crew: Zeezok Publishing ~ Foster/McDowell Set

We started this when we started back with schooling after the holidays.  One of the other new ones that I started really stressed reading to the kiddos every day.  Since we had these books from Zeezok Publishing to review, I thought we might as well start with them.  We were given the Foster/McDowell Special Offer.

We started with Stephen Foster.  I read it aloud to the kiddos and I have to say, I wasn't really impressed with this selection.  The chapters were very long and they were not very well organized.  There were no breaks, or stopping points during the chapters.  Even when it switched days/times/subject it just went to a next paragraph.  So, when I was reading, it was hard to stop and take a breathe to realize we were moving to the next topic. We finally made it through Stephen Foster, and after I looked over the other, noticing it was the same way, I opted not to read it outloud.  I put it on the shelf for them to read on their own if they were ever interested.

I will say, I did like the CD that came along with it.  We listened to it along with the book in the beginning, then from there they asked about it a time or two and we have had it playing in the background during some of our school time.

**Disclaimer: We were given this product FREE in exchange for our review.  For more reviews and opinions on this product, please visit the Crew link above.

Finally a day home...

After this week, I was so glad to be able to stay home today.  We didn't really do much of anything.  A little school work that I had planned for them, and watched our math DVD that we are trying to finish up.  I am still not feeling great so I let them pick a movie to watch and I semi-napped on the couch while they watched.

I did talk to Riley's ball coach and he says that they are waiting on the city to release the ball fields (they arenasty, wet, muddy) and they will spend this weekend working on practice schedule and then there will be a team meeting and we will go from there!  Riley was pretty excited!  I actually was too, his coach is a guy I went to school with, so I feel good already knowing the coach!
Dinner was loaded baked potatoes and they weren't finished baking by the time we needed to leave for Girl Scouts, so dinner was also LATE!

Girl Scouts ran over, but we are working towards our Bronze Award and we had a parent meeting and the girls got a lot done as well.  They have done more than I thought towards it and they are all willing and eager, so I think we will be able to pull it off!!

Back at home, we had our late dinner and watched Survivor and now I am headed to bed!

Getting worse?

UGH!  I am still not feeling all that great...just tired and sore and just feel blah! Rog came home from the station, he had been up all night on a call and he went straight to bed.  The kiddos and I finished sorting Samantha's cookie orders and got them loaded in the car so we can start delivering. I did manage to get a list of errands, menu, groceries together so we could knock out some things that I needed to take care of.  We went and ran some errands, then to music lessons but that was all I could handle.  We came home without grocery shopping...ugh!  Rog was up and going by the time I got home and he and the kiddos played Rock Band and I took a nap.  I didn't mean to fall asleep, but he woke me up after 3 hours to tell me he was taking the kiddos to church that I needed to get up and eat some dinner before Bible Study.  I wanted to roll over and go back to sleep, but I didn't.  I had leftover sloppy joes and then headed to church myself.  I am glad I did!  He is wrapping up our lessons on being a contagious Christian and this week's lesson was to Love EVERYONE like Jesus loves us. I love lessons when I take tons of notes ~ love being able to go back and read those and add them to my Bible!

There was a message from Riley's new coach when we got home, but it was hard to understand. I am going to try to give him a call tomorrow and see what's up!

CFBA: Love Finds You in Bridal Veil, Oregon by Miralee Ferrell

This week, the


Christian Fiction Blog Alliance


is introducing


Love Finds You in Bridal Veil, Oregon


Summerside Press (January 1, 2010)by


Miralee Ferrell





ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

In October 2007 Kregel Publications published The Other Daughter with excellent reviews. The Romantic Times Review magazine gave it Four out of Four and a half stars, with a very strong review. Two different major motion picture studios are currently considering the book as a possible family movie, and my second book in the series (Past Shadows) is on my publishers desk being reviewed for a possible contract offer now.



In February of 2009, Love Finds You in Last Chance, California was published by Summerside Press



And Finding Jeena will release in April 2010 from Kregel Publications.



Miralee Ferrell lives in Washington with Allen, her husband of more than 37 years, ans has two grown children. She serves on staff at her local church ans is actively involved in ministry to women.



ABOUT THE BOOK

Against a backdrop of thievery and murder in Bridal Veil Falls, Oregon, a historic logging community, a schoolteacher is torn between the memories of a distant love and the man who could be her future.



Sixteen-year-old Margaret Garvey had given her heart to Nathaniel Cooper the night he disappeared from town. Four years later, just as she's giving love a second chance with Andrew, a handsome logger, Nathaniel suddenly returns. He steams back into Bridal Veil on a riverboat to work at the nearby sawmill to town with a devastating secret.



While grappling with the betrayal of those she trusted most, Margaret risks her reputation and position by harboring two troubled runaways who might be involved in the murder of a local man.



When disaster strikes the town and threatens the welfare of its citizens, Margaret will be faced with the most important choice of her life.



If you would like to read the first chapter of Love Finds You in Bridal Veil, Oregon, go HERE

WHAT I HAVE TO SAY:  This was a cute story...I enjoyed reading it and would like to find the rest of the Lov Finds You... books...so far, so good!!

Revell: Anything But Normal by Melody Carlson

Revell, a part of Baker Publsihing Group sent me the book Anything But Normal by Melody Carlson to read and review. 

This was a good young adult book!  It says teen fiction on it, but I really felt it needs to be saved for when they are older teens.

Anything But Normal was a cute story about Sophie and her life as a pregnant teen during her senior year of High School. The story was written in a way that you get close to Sophie and share her feelings during the her 9 months!

Homeschool Crew: Apologia

What do you think of when you hear Apologia?

 Me, I automatically think SCIENCE!! So, when I heard we were getting a package from Apologia, I was thinking...Cool! Science for next year will be covered!  Imagine my surprise when I opened my package and it was The Ultimate Guide To Homeschooling!!  How COOL!!!

We have been homeschooling for almost 5 full years.  One may think that once you are a veteran homeschooler (not that I consider myself veteran) that you no longer need a guide to homeschooling.  Well, let me tell you...I don't care how long you have been a homeschool mom...you will take something away from this book!  This is an easy read, nothing that you need to really get deep into and concentrate on.  I also want to add, this is one that you will not want to read with out at least a pen, pencil and highlighter close at hand.  This is truly an ULTIMATE guide to homeschooling and I feel that it will remain on my nightstand for many years to come.

**Disclaimer: I was given this book FREE of charge in exchange for this review.  For more reviews and opinions on this product, please visit the Crew link aove.

Doctors ALL day...

Got the kiddos up and going and took them to Granpa's for the day.  I had an 11:00 doctor appointment (was in and out of there quickly)!  I went to Hobby Lobby to pick up some GS stuff and then I went and had lunch with my mom, well, sort of...she had just finished up when I got there with my lunch, but I ate and chatted with her.

I had an appointment with my rheumy this afternoon.  I had to wait for almost 2 hours before I was called back, then the nurse was snippy with me...I was thinking- not my fault you are 2 hours off! Doc says he thinks I am in the middle of a major flare, after hearing how I have been feeling and seeing some evidence of my flare.  After a shot, a steroid pack and some pain meds...I left to go get the kiddos. We had enough time to squeeze in a bite to eat before Cub Scouts. 

We got some semi-good news at scouts...since Riley's partially finished pinewood derby car is still AWOL, it was nice to hear the race that was scheduled for this Saturday had been postponed until next month.  Gives us time to continue the search...

Once home, the kiddos went straight to bed...I am right behind them...

Baker's Publishing Group: A Mom's Ultimate Book of Lists by Michelle La Rowe

I recieved the book A Mom's Ultimate Book of Lists from Baker's House Publishing for review.  Being a generally organized person, I was pretty excited about it.  I do have to say, I am not quite as happy with it as I thought I would be.  The first half (literally) was pregnancy, babies, toddlers and preschool.  Well, since my kiddos are pushing the double digits...half of the book meant nothing to me.  The last half, however, is pretty cool! It has several first aid/CPR type lists, places to go, traditions to start, hints about what to keep extra in the car.  Some really good lists in there.

I plan on reading over the last half of the book and taking notes and then passing this book off to a new mom! I am sure it would have been great to have when my kiddos were babies!

“Available January 2010 at your favorite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group.”

STOP! It's Cookie Time!

Had to get up and moving today...took the kiddos to gramma's to hang out for a while so we could go to the Girl Scout Cookie drop...the truck was almost an hour late, which cut into our time seein as how we had to be out of there at a certain time.  I am blessed by my parents!  I had 6 of my 9 parents show up to help and take theirs on with them.  I took the rest of them home, sorted the other 3 and got them outta here and headed to Ladies Bible Group.  Our current study is The Prayer of Jabez.  We are only about 3 or 4 lessons into it (since we meet every other week, it is taking us a bit longer) but I think I am going to enjoy it.  Our lesson this week was Who Else in the Bible was Abundantly Blessed and there was discussion and questions about Abraham, Jacob and David.  We have a small close group, so there is quite a bit of talk and discussion and tonight, we were stumped on Jacob wrestling with the angel, so one of the ladies called the preacher and asked him to explain it to us. So, on speaker phone he answered the questions that we had and I am sure he enjoyed a great laugh when he hung up!

Still not feeling great, so I am headed to bed.

Homeschool Crew: Dollar Homeschool

Dollar Homeschool...hmmm...not sure what to say about this product.  As part of the Crew, we were given FREE downloads for the entire Eclectic Education Series.  This download included Ray's Arithmetic, History, Science, McGuffey's Readers, The Grammar Series and Teacher's books.  If you have read my blog, especially any of my recent reviews, you know I am not a big fan of eBooks.  I know that you can save a few bucks ordering things that way, but in the long run, I would rather spend the money upfront and just purchase the items...I feel that they do not get as lost by doing that.

Now, for Dollar Homeschool, I like the idea, the concept of having all of these books together in a package deal.  I think that *IF* we were going this route with our homeschooling, this would be the way to go.  This was taken directly from their site, and while I like the concept of earlier times schooling, it just doesn't work here

The Eclectic Education Series (EES) is a set of textbooks which from roughly 1865 to 1915 WAS education in the United States, almost exclusively. They were the standard textbooks in many states and were chosen independently by over 10,000 school boards as their standard textbooks.

We did, and will continue to pull from these books as a fill in for our current curriculum, but we will not be using it exclusively.  I do think that if the above statement is how you feel about schooling, then this is the site for you! I think it is a great supplement to our current days and it will be put to use.

One downside we noticed, some of the pictures included in the books were poor quality.  Normally, that wouldn't be a big deal, but when the problem says how many birds are flying? and you can't tell what is birds and what is tree leaves, that causes a problem for me.

**Disclaimer: We were given these downloads from Dollar Homeschool strictly for the purpose of this review.  Please visit the Crew link above for more reviews and opinions of this product.

Blessed Sunday!

Everyone was ready to go to church this morning!  My parents came forward last week during invitaiton to join the church.  Mom is moving her letter from her previous church and my dad is going to be baptized - TODAY!! We had quite a few visit with us to see dad.  It was a great blessing this morning to see!  I do have a funny to share...my precious, silly nephew (6 years old) stood on the pew beside me to watch 'Poppi' (not his grampa, but he is my kiddos granpa and they all call him that).  He was wide-eyed the entire process watching intently.  Once my dad stood up to walk back out of the baptismal, Chunky turns to me and quite loudly says- real water, huh? It was tooo cute!!

Back home after lunch, we all went on a mad search for a pinewood derby car.  My crazy son has misplaced his partially complete pinewood derby car AND the sanding block.  We searched EVERYWHERE..we tore his room up, emptyed every bag that any of us have ever carried, cleaned out both cars, lifted up furniture in the den...EVERYWHERE..and nothing...I hate it, but if we don't find it, and finish it, he will not be able to race in the derby on Saturday...he has NO IDEA where he last had it.  Funny thing is..we didn't find either piece of wood...where ever they are...they are together - hiding!

The kiddos went over to Nene's house for the afternoon and since dinner was here this week, Chelle and Em came over early, along with Billy (Rog's friend) and we all played Rock Band all afternoon.  Dinner was sloppy joes, then we went back to playing Rock Band...kiddos were playing nicely...mom and dad just watched..,we tried several times to get them to join in and play with us...but nah....

Great day, wore me out, not feeling great, so headed to bed!

Play ball....

Well, not reall play, but try out for ball!!

This morning, three kiddos and I  met the 4H group at a nursing home and handed out Valentines to the residents.  The kiddos really enjoyed it, and thier new 'friends' enjoyed having them visit as well.  It was a sweet time with them this morning.

Samantha left from there with her friend Emmy, not sure what all kinds of trouble they went and got into...Riley and I headed to ball try-outs. That was crazy chaos...seeing as how there was still 4 inches of ice on the ground!!  Thankfully Riley was about #15 in line and once he was done, we were able to get out of there.  He went with gramma and Chunky.  Rog is at the station, so Chelle and I are going to go play Bunco with some friends. We had fun and may plan on going back!  Sometime this evening Emmy and her mom returned Samantha to gramma's house as well.  They are supposed to meet us at church in the morning!

Finally Friday

This week was dreadfully lazy.  I know I was lacking in my post, so let me update you on what we did all week..
Monday: woke up to snow - took a true snow day and the kiddos played outside most all day, I stayed curled in my chair in front of a fire and read.  Kiddos ended up at gramma's for the evening/night.
Tuesday: still 6inches of snow on ground.  Gramma brought me 3 kiddos about 10am, they went outside to play and I curled up in my chair in front of the fire and read.
Wednesday: world still shut down around here...kiddos played outside and ....well, you see how our week was...
We took 3 snow days this week, something we never get the chance to do so we truly enjoyed it!

Tonight, we had some friends over to play Rock Band...called in a pizza, kiddos played great, had a blessed time with great friends!!

I've Moved..

I am in the process of moving my blog.  Please visit me at the new address

www.christadarr.blogspot.com

 

Thanks,

CFBA: Walking on Broken Glass by Christa Allan

This week, the


Christian Fiction Blog Alliance


is introducing


Walking on Broken Glass


Abingdon Press (February 2010)


by


Christa Allan





ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Christa Allan, a true Southern woman who knows any cook worth her gumbo always starts with a roux and who never wears white after Labor Day, weaves stories of unscripted grace with threads of hope, humor, and heart.



The mother of five and grandmother of three, Christa teaches high school English. She and her husband, Ken live in Abita Springs, Louisiana where they play golf, dodge hurricanes, and anticipate retirement.







ABOUT THE BOOK

Leah Thornton's life, like her Southern Living home, has great curb appeal. But already sloshed from one-too-many drinks at a faculty party, Leah cruises the supermarket aisles in search of something tasty to enhance her Starbucks—Kahlua and a paralyzing encounter with a can of frozen apple juice shatters the facade, forcing her to admit that all is not as it appears.



When her best friend Molly gets in Leah's face about her refusal to deal with her life, Leah is forced to make a decision. Can this brand-conscious socialite walk away from the country club into 28 days of rehab? Leah is sitting in the office of the local rehab center facing an admissions counselor who fails to understand the most basic things, like the fact that apple juice is not a suitable cocktail mixer.



Rehab is no picnic, and being forced to experience and deal with the reality of her life isn’t Leah’s idea of fun. Can she leave what she has now to gain back what she needs? Joy, sadness, pain and a new srength converge, testing her marriage, her friendships and her faith.



But through the battle she finds a reservoir of courage she never knew she had, and the loving arms of a God she never quite believed existed.



If you would like to read the first chapter of Walking on Broken Glass, go HERE

WHAT I HAVE TO SAY: What a great book to be snowed in with! I loved being able to sit down in front of the fire and read this book without having to stop and come back to it!  It was one of those type books...that you don't want to put down!!

Homeschool Crew: Math Tutor DVD

Another box in the mail!! YAY!!  This time it was from Math Tutor DVD.  We received two DVD's from the company and the kiddos wanted to pop them in immediately!  The first one was Young Minds, Numbers and Counting. It was a really cute video!!  We watched it all the way through...the only issue I had with it...my kiddos are almost 10 and this was a VERY basic counting video.  This video didn't have an age on it, but I think it was very easily preschool or even lower.  The pictures were super, had great quality, were bright and full of color.  Just, for our house, it was very basic.  The kiddos suggested we donate it to the library, so that is what we did with it.

The other DVD that was in our box was Basic Word Problems.  It is 8 lessons and it reminds me very much of the teachers DVD with our current math program.  We have been watching and working through a lesson a week and they have really enjoyed watching it.  I feel like that they are paying attention and learning from this DVD.  I have felt that word problems is where my kiddos were lacking with their current program (not that the program doesn't have word problems..just my kiddos weren't *getting it*).  I think this DVD has helped them to understand the concept of the word problems.

**Disclaimer: As part of the Homeschool Crew, this product was provided to me FREE of charge in exchange for my honest review.  For more opinions and reviews, please visit the Crew link above.

CFBA: Hunter's Moon by Don Hoesel

This week, the


Christian Fiction Blog Alliance


is introducing


Hunter's Moon


Bethany House (February 1, 2010)


by


Don Hoesel





ABOUT THE AUTHOR:







Don Hoesel was born and raised in Buffalo, NY but calls Spring Hill, TN home. He works as a Communications Department supervisor for a Medicare carrier in Nashville, TN. He has a BA in Mass Communication from Taylor University and has published short fiction in Relief Journal.



Don and hopes to one day sell enough books to just say that he's a writer. You can help with that by buying whatever his newest novel happens to be.



He lives in Spring Hill with his wife and two children.







ABOUT THE BOOK

Every family has secrets. Few will go as far as the Baxters to keep them. Bestselling novelist CJ Baxter has made a career out of writing hard-hitting stories ripped from his own life. Still there's one story from his past he's never told. One secret that's remained buried for decades. Now, seventeen years after swearing he'd never return, CJ is headed back to Adelia, NY. His life in Tennessee has fallen to pieces, his grandfather is dying, and CJ can no longer run from the past. With Graham Baxter, CJ's brother, running for Senate, a black sheep digging up old family secrets is the last thing the family and campaign can afford. CJ soon discovers that blood may be thicker than water, but it's no match for power and money. There are wounds even time cannot heal.





If you would like to read the first chapter of Hunter's Moon, go HERE

What is this white stuff??

I know that you are not going to believe it...we woke up to snow!  In central AR!!!  Rarely happens here!!  I woke early and turned on the news and they were talking about snow...I thought they had flipped, so I checked out the window - the groud was covered!! I couldn't tell how much, so I got up and went to the backyard...looked like about 2 inches.  I texted Rog and told him to BE CAREFUL!  He was at work and had to drive home in it.

I woke the kiddos up, they were not amused and went back to sleep... when they finally got up and going and Rog got home, they went out back and built a snowman and chased the dog (she was pretty wound up about it).  They also went over to gramma's to play with Chunky ~ they ended up having snowball fights and building a snowman over there.  Rog had a couple friends join him over there she fed them all lunch and they played a bit more, then Rog came home without the kiddos.  He did bring friends though...they played Guitart Hero while I made enchiladas for dinner...

My day constisted of sitting in front of the fire and working on my blog!  To those of you who get it on reader or check it often, I am still in the process of moving my old blog (trying hard to get it done) so please bear with me until I get it moved - 5 years worth of blogging is a lot to move!

FWC: The Marriage Project by Kathi Lipp

This book was a FIRST WOLD CARD TOUR and  I am having trouble getting the post to post, so I am posting it this way and sending you to here to read more about the book!  Sorry Kathy!!  I cannot figure the html issue with this one!


WHAT I HAVE TO SAY:  I didn't realize I had signed up for this tour and had no idea why it showed up in my mailbox .   Since I wasn't sure - I put it to the bottom of my stack.  Now that I know why I have it and where it came from ~ I am in the process of reading it and will update this post when I finish it!

2010-2011 Homeschool Crew wants YOU!!!

If you have enjoyed me sharing all of the cool products that I have received as part of the Homeschool Crew this past year, then you should apply to join and take part this next year!!

You can find the information you need to apply here to be part of the THIRD year adventure! 

Do you compare?

The question of the week for the Blog Cruise is How do you know if kids are keeping up with their peers?

Honestly...I am not *that* concerned about them keeping up with their peers. I do have a bit of an advantage, as my kiddos are the same age, so I can tell when one of them may behind.  I don't know that comparing children is really that important.  I mean, kiddos are their own individuals and do we want them to be the same?  Now, I understand that you don't want them to be behind by standards, but why are there standards?  Why is it not OK for one child to excel in math, but not be that great in spelling or what about if they stink at math but are awesome at art?  Does that make sense? 

I don't want my kiddos to ever feel that they are dumb compared to their friends or feel that they are not as smart.  Even still, I don't want them to ever think or feel that they are smarter than their peers.  I want my kiddos to grow up knowing that they are a unique individuals and not feel as though they are compared or feel like they need to keep up with anyone.  I would be sad if a child who wasn't gifted in math felt as though they had to keep up with a friend who exceled in math.

Fibromyalgia Support Group and other great Sunday news!!

Mom and dad went to church with the kiddos and I this morning.  They have been visiting for a while.  During invitation today, they went forward to join the church!  Mom is moving her letter and dad will be baptized this next weekend!!  I am so excited and proud!!

Just by fluke, I noticed a church sign back in December, that was advertising a Fibromyalgia support group.  Mom saw it about the same time and we decided to check things out.  We went in January, and it was pretty much a first meeting type thing, where everyone introduced themselves and shared our stories.  There was one other lady there who has Lupus.  The lady in charge gave us all a folder that had a copy of the first chapter of a Bible Study that they were looking into starting. 

We went back today.  Mom and I were talking and decided that if it was going to be of benefit, neither of us wanted just a fellowship type time, but would enjoy it if it were a class or a Bible Study.  She told us that the HopeHouse (a part of the church that sponsors this) has offered to purchase the Bible Study books from Rest Ministries for us to use.  We will be doing the study When Chronic Illness Enters Your Life to start with. I have never been to the Rest Ministries site, and plan to spend some time visiting there! 

Dinner was burgers at mom's...Dad, Chelle and I watched the SuperBowl!  Wasn't too concerned one way or the other about who won, but the game was pretty good and the commercials were pretty cute!!

Homeschool Crew: Kinderbach

With the Homeschool Crew, we were given a free subscription to the Kinderbach website.  I was pretty excited about this.  Looking at Kinderbach's site, it is full of color and just looks very inviting.  The kiddos were pretty excited about it at first. 

 Samantha is going into her second year of piano lessons, so she is still pretty fresh at music, so I figured she would love this.  She didn't care for it.  I don't know if it was because she couldn't find that *place* to be.  The beginning lessons were to easy for her and when she would skip ahead, they were too hard...she had trouble finding that happy-medium.  I encouraged her to start at the beginning and work thru until she found where she was supposed to be...but she quickly lost interest in it.  I tried to interest Riley in it, but, he is stuck on his guitar and could care less about playing the piano...so he didn't last long at all on the site.  I thought by them having new laptops of their own would help, but they still really showed no interest in this.

One thing that did stand out to me, that I wasn't crazy about...they had to use my name and password to log in, they didn't have their own individual log-ins.  Riley didn't play on it enough for me to know how it kept up with their progress.  My concern would be if she was to get further along, then would it *lose* him and put him ahead. 

After the kiddos gave up on the program, I did spend some time playing on there, just to get a feel of it for this review.  It is a really cute website and I think it could be very beneficial in the music field.

**Disclaimer:  I was provided with a FREE two month supscription by Kinderbach for the purpose of this review. For more opinions and reviews of this product, please check out the Crew page, linked at the top of the page.

Thinking Day 2010

Today was our Girl Scouts Thinking Day event.  Rog and I headed to pick up some columns from the florist and grabbed some last minutes items that the girls needed for the booth.

We represented Italy.  The girls made our booth into an art museum with *their art* on our walls.  They did some great displays...they each copied a famous portrait (mostly Mona Lisa, but there were others).  They also each made a mosaic map of Italy.

In our booth, we had a mosaic art project for the other girls to do. They had a choice of the flag, the Leaning Tower and a gondola.  We only had a few girls that were intersted in the project, but it was fun.  We also served cheese and olive kabobs and grapes.  The girls learned a bit about Italy to share and all in all we had a good day.

Rog had tacos ready for us when we got home and I was so tired I just watched them play Guitar Hero... Headed to bed because church, fibro meeting and Superbowl dinner at my parents!!

CFBA: Never Say Never by Lisa Wingate

This week, the


Christian Fiction Blog Alliance


is introducing


Never Say Never


Bethany House (February 1, 2010)


by


Lisa Wingate





ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Lisa lives in central Texas were she is a popular inspriational speaker, magazine columnist, and national bestselling author of several books. Her novel, Tending Roses, received dozens of five-star reviews, sold out thirteen printings for New York publisher, Penguin Putnam, and went on to become a national bestselling book. Tending Roses was a selection of the Readers Club of America, and is currently in its fourteenth printing.



The Tending Roses series continued with Good Hope Road, the Language of Sycamores, Drenched in Light, and A Thousand Voices. In 2003, Lisa's Texas Hill Country series began with Texas Cooking, and continued with Lone Star Cafe', which was awarded a gold metal by RT Bookclub magazine and was hailed by Publisher's Weekly as "A charmingly nostalgic treat." The series concluded with Over the Moon at the Big Lizard Diner.



Lisa is now working on a new set of small-town Texas novels for Bethany House Publishers. The series debuted with Talk of the Town and continued with Word Gets Around and Never Say Never. A new series is also underway for Peguin Group NAL, beginning with A Month of Summer (July 2008), and continuing with The Summer Kitchen (July 2009) and Beyond Summer (July 2010). Lisa's works have been featured by the National Reader's Club of America, AOL Book Pics, Doubleday Book Club, the Literary Guild, American Profiles and have been chosen for the LORIES best Published Fiction Award. In 2009, A Month of Summer was nomiated for the American Christian Fiction Writers Book of the Year award.





ABOUT THE BOOK

Kai Miller floats through life like driftwood tossed by waves. She's never put down roots in any one place--and she doesn't plan to. But when a chaotic hurricane evacuation lands her in Daily, Texas, she begins to think twice about her wayfaring existence.



And when she meets hometown-boy Kemp Eldridge, she can almost picture settling down in Daily--until she discovers he may be promised to someone else. Daily has always been a place of refuge for those the winds blows in, but for Kai, it looks like it will be just another place to leave behind. Then again, Daily always has a few surprises in store--especially when Aunt Donetta has cooked up a scheme.





If you would like to read the first chapter of Never Say Never, go HERE

What I had to say: Super CUTE!!  Loved the story, loved the characters, loved the ending!!

Destinaition Disney: What is your favorite Disney souvenir?

During the Original Destination Disney last year, I answered this question here.

I would like to add, that I still have not started on our October 2008 trip (sad huh?)!  I also want to add that Samantha has taken a special liking to her Disney Doll (think American Girl) and she totes her everywhere....