Dec. 16, 2009 - Primal by Mark Batterson Review
Primal by Mark Batterson, published by Multnomah, is a call to Christians to be a part of a reformation movement. To get back to the basics of our Christianity. Primal has four parts: The Heart of Christianity, The Soul of Christianity, The Mind of Christianity, and the Strength of Christianity.
Two things really touched me in this book. One was "There are miracles all around us all the time, but we lack the perceptual capacity to perceive them." How true this is. I think we are so hurried that we don't slow down to see what all God has done with His creation, all the miracles He performs daily. This reminds me of my youngest child who, while skipping down the street, passed a rose bush, came back to it and told me that she had to "stop and smell the roses" before she continued on. She doesn't even know this cliche'.
The second one was "One of the common complaints people make when leaving a church is this: 'I'm not being fed.'....If you are relying on a preacher to be fed, I fear for you. Listening to a sermon is acquiring secondhand knowledge." I can relate to this passage because my husband is the pastor of a local church and I know he is only human. He makes mistakes like we all do. We all need to go to the source of all food (God and His Word) and be fed.
This book was a challenge to me. I need to do more for Christ, not because He demands it, but because I love Him and want to serve Him. It is a challenge for us all - to get back to the moment where it was just us and Jesus - and go forward with the Great Commission. Time is short, people. The time is now.
I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group in exchange for my honest review.
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Dec. 15, 2009 - Craziness :) Plus pics!
I know it's been a few days since I've blogged, but I have been a wee bit busy. Once we closed on the house, we started working. Changed the locks, started painting, and then moving in boxes. Our appliances have been delivered and set up. Today we are going to get the kids bedrooms set up. So, I am off again for a long day, but, I leave you with some sweet pictures of Natalie. She was "Fairy Princess" at our local outdoor "Santas Village" for a few days and children would come to her and tell her what they wished for. She heard all kinds of stories and some were very sad. One little girl asked for a Daddy. :*( Poor baby. Now we will pray for this little girl to get the Daddy that is best for her, and that is God Almighty and if He sees fit, to provide her with an earthly father who will love and care for her. Some of the kids came in and asked if they could live with her because she was so beautiful. Some asked if she was related to the Tooth Fairy. Kids have vivid imaginations. - Oh and you can't tell in the pictures, but it was FREEZING cold in there. She had a little space heater for her legs and the shawl for her upper body, but other than that, every time the door opened, the cold air would rush in. BRRR.
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Dec. 9, 2009 - FABULOUS NEWS!!!
We closed on our house today. It even funded, wasn't that nice. 
But, that's not the best news. The best news is that our beautiful daughter and son-in-law are making us grandparents. Yep, she's pregnant. We are so excited. 
We are very, very blessed. God is sooo good!!! I will probably go by "Grammy" and Tom wants to be called "Opa" for some strange reason. haha I don't care what the baby calls me. I'm just thrilled.
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Dec. 9, 2009 - FABULOUS NEWS!!!
We closed on our house today. It even funded, wasn't that nice. But, that's not the best news. The best news is that our beautiful daughter and son-in-law are making us grandparents. Yep, she's pregnant. We are so excited. We are very, very blessed. God is sooo good!!! I will probably go by "Grammy" and Tom wants to be called "Opa" for some strange reason. haha I don't care what the baby calls me. I'm just thrilled.
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Dec. 8, 2009 - Maestro Classics Review
I have been introduced to Maestro Classics "Stories in Music". These are audio CDs that introduce classic stories and music from a symphony orchestra. I received The Tortoise and The Hare. Stephen Simon is the composer and conductor and in my opinion, did a great job. I'm not one who can sit around and listen to a lot of classical music, but I do enjoy listening to a song or two on occasion. I very much enjoyed listening to this rendition, especially after the music was explained.
The CD that I received contains the narrated story of The Tortoise and The Hare, info about the story, a song, and info about the music (which is very educational). Mr. Simon teaches you what to listen for in the story.
You can get your copy for $16.98. Click here to learn more. To see what my crewmates had to say, click here.
I received this product for free in exchange for my honest opinion.
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Dec. 8, 2009 - Panic! Calm.... UGH!
I keep battling between the two. I know God is in control and it's all in His plan, but this house situation is crazy. :) In less than 24 hours, we will be signing papers and being homeowners once again. Thankfully we are not in a hurry to be out of this house, but are in a hurry to get into the new house, so we can move some each day and not get over burdened with it. Tomorrow will be kinda busy with house closing, Beth's therapy and Nat's school all before noon, but I know we can handle it. Just please pray for peace. :)
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Dec. 8, 2009 - Mathletics Review
Mathletics is "America's No 1 Math Website". It is an online community that claims is completely safe for your student. "There is no communication with or between students."
Mathletics is geared for grades K-8. Each grade level has different activities in different categories. Your child should use Mathletics 3-5 times per week. You can print out certificates and workbooks for your child as well. They offer step-by-step animated support.
Mathletics by 3P Learning "has a number of unique features to strongly support home schooling." Some of these features are: Intelligent adaptiveness for most concepts - with questions getting harder as a student answers correctly; immediate feedback to responses with animated step-by-step support; the ability for a student to work at their own pace through the curriculum content; and more.
Weekly reports are emailed to you so you can keep up with your children's progress.
Mathletics costs $59 per student per year. If you know the answer to the "human calculator's favorite number" you can save $9.05 as the membership cost will only be $49.95. (The answer is 9 by the way.) They also offer a 10 day money back guarantee.
Although my children have thoroughly enjoyed using this online program, we will not continue our membership due to cost. I have 4 children in 8th and under and $200 a year on math is not something I consider frugal. Now, if it were $50 per family per year, I might change my mind.
Click here to download a home school brochure. Click here to go to Mathletics website. To see what my crewmates think, click here.
I received a free 45 day membership in exchange for my honest opinion.
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Dec. 7, 2009 - Tektoma Review
Tektoma.com is an online game tutorial. My boys have thoroughly enjoyed this site. My son, Nathanael, who is 13 and pretty computer literate, created his own game thanks to this website. He said the directions were easy to follow. Even my 11 year old son, Wesley, said the tutorials were super easy to follow.
Tektoma offers video tutorials for ages 7-17 that vary in skill level and topics. You can learn at your own pace. New curriculums are available monthly. You can make racing games, arcade games, platform games or fantasy adventure games.
The monthly subscription is $14.95 or $140.00 if you choose a yearlong subscription.
You can get a free 14-day trial to see if you like it. Click here to go to their website. To see what my crewmates think, click here.
I received a free 3 month membership in exchange for my honest opinion.
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Dec. 2, 2009 - It's SNOWING!!!
In TEXAS!! I am amazed!! I don't know when the last time it has snowed this early in December in North Texas (Dallas) before. It's coming down in big flakes and lots of them. Too bad the ground is wet and it's not quite cold enough to stick. The kids would have had so much fun playing in it.
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Dec. 2, 2009 - Free Christmas Music from Amazon!!
You can get a free MP3 download each day from Amazon. It's called "25 Days of Free." Just click here. Dec. 1st was Casting Crown's "Joy to the World". Dec. 2nd is "Snow Angel" from Tori Amos. Thanks, Amazon, and thanks to Molly Green for telling me about this!!
