Daily Gifts of Grace

Daily Gifts of Grace: Devotions For Each Day of Your Year ($17.99) is a 366 day devotional book with selections written by Women of Faith Speakers and other well-known Christian writers. It is published by Thomas Nelson.

The book has a lovely hardbound cover with a magnetic closure and ribbon bookmark. Even the inside of the cover and the pages are lovely, making me feel happy when I open it!

Each page includes a focus Bible verse and an inspirational message by a different author. The devotional selections I have read thus far, by authors such as Sheila Walsh, Patsy Clairmont, and Marilyn Meburg, have all been gripping and applicable to my life each day, giving me encouragement and nuggets to “chew on” throughout the day. I will confess that I’m reading 2 or 3 selections each day because they are just that good! I already know that this book will be a treasure in my life throughout the next year!

The book isn’t serious Bible study—I am doing that separately, but is great for picking up for a few minutes of inspiration and prayer focus.

Thank you to Thomas Nelson for providing me with a free review copy of this book.

Our Hydraulic Arm Project

A few weeks ago, Emily put together a hydraulic arm kit made by Teacher Geek. This contraption uses water pressure to control the movement of the arm in 4 different ways.

Our hydraulic arm kit arrived as a box full of parts along with a reamer, cutter tool, and building instructions.  It took us about a week to build our hydraulic arm. We found the directions clear and easy to follow although we were a little frustrated that the dowels had to be shaved down a bit in order to fit. Emily hasn’t spent a lot of time with Legos or other construction toys or models, but she did pretty well with this. Here are some photos of the process…

 

We used Teacher Geek’s “Fluid Mechanics Lab,” which we found online at the site as a supplement so that Emily would better understand the physics behind the project. Although some of the material was rather advanced for her, this well-written lab helped deepen her understanding of the principles behind her “contraption.”

We had a lot of fun with this kit. I think more “building” projects will be in Emily’s future!

Although I received this kit free from Teacher Geek, I was not required to write a review.

Christmas 2011

We had a wonderful Christmas. On Christmas Eve, we attended our traditional candlelight service, where the young adults, including Allison and Katie, read scripture and served as candle-lighters. We visited briefly at a reception in the fellowship hall, then returned home to  read some of Bartholomew’s Passage, the book we have been reading nightly during Advent this year. We usually have extended family over for snacks and visiting on Christmas Eve, but everyone else is on a Christmas cruise this year!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On Christmas day, Emily was up first (of course!). She waited anxiously upstairs for an hour or more before everyone else was ready and she was allowed to come down. We ate  eggs and pumpkin bread for breakfast while we waited for John Michael to show up. The older kids laughed about how I used to be the last one up on Christmas morning. Now, I wait for them to drag themselves out of bed!

Santa opening his sack….No, that’s John Michael who delivered his gifts in a pillowcase instead of wrapping them!

Katie’s favorite gift. OK…she’s a little strange!

We spent the afternoon playing games. Emily’s tabletop ping pong set was a big hit! We also enjoyed Bananagrams and Electronic Banking Monopoly.

Private Selection Frozen Foods (Review)

As a member of BzzAgent, I was given 3 free product coupons to try out the new line of Private Selection frozen foods.

First, we tried the Barbeque Chicken Pizza. We enjoyed this. The crust was very crispy and the toppings were generous. The barbeque flavor was very good. I noticed that the Private Selection brand offered topping choices that most brands don’t offer. One caution, though—although the package stated that the pizza would serve 3 people (and it did serve 3 in our family who are not big eaters), most would consider this to be 2 servings—or even one serving for a big eater.

Next, we tried 2 of the desserts. The Northern Spy Apple Crisp was good—not quite as good as homemade, though. The apples were chopped into smaller chunks than I like.  The package contained 2 individually wrapped servings. The Belgian Chocolate Lava Cakes –rich chocolate cakes filled with belgian chocolate ganache--were melt-in-your mouth good! This package included 4 individually wrapped servings.

We sampled an appetizer as well—the “Mediterranean-Inspired Hors D’Oeuvres Collection,” which included 3 each of spinach pesto puff, mushroom phyllo triangle, and feta-sundried tomato phyllo roll. I had a hard time at the store choosing an appetizer because all the choices looked so good! The appetizers were flaky and delicious. Somehow, from the picture on the box, I expected them to be much bigger than they actually were, though. Each selection was just over an inch in diameter.

I enjoyed the opportunity to try out the Private Selection brand of frozen foods and will likely use them again.

As a member of BzzAgent, I received 3 free product coupons for Private Selection products and was encouraged to share my opinion with others.

Christmas Crafts!

Emily has been having fun making some ornaments….

She made these snowman ornaments with fun foam, ribbon, felt, and fabric paint.

This gingerbread man is made of felt and lightly stuffed.

Space Camp! (Kind of)

A couple weeks ago, I got an email that invited homeschoolers to be part of testing a new “mission” for Space Camp at the nearby U.S. Space and Rocket Center. We jumped at the opportunity and signed up. Emily spent 3 hours doing the “mission.” I wish I had brought a camera to get a picture of her wearing the jumpsuit when I picked her up. Oh, well…

Here is Emily’s account of the day.

Today was the most fun space day of all time! I went to the Space and Rocket Center today for free! First we got assigned parts and then went to practice all of them. I left at 7:15am in the morning and stayed until 11:30pm. After we practiced what to say and do we went into a cool room with all of these cool controllers and headgear. We had a snack break and then did the real thing. We went up into a room that held space suits and smelled like sauerkraut, then we got them on and our group went to our assigned room. Then we said our lines and told the people in the space shuttle what to do. After about thirty minutes we went to the space shuttle and fixed some problems there. The problems we had to fix were a broken window, the engine, and the fuel accelerator. We used these cool looking head phones to talk and tell people how to fix different problems. We used a piece of glass for the broken window and water for the fuel, we also used different wires for the broken engine and got it fixed (luckily).

I really enjoyed this trip and hope to go explore space again soon.

To infinity and beyond! - Buzz light year

Christmas Meditations

Several years ago, I was going through a tough time at Christmas. Chris chose to stay in Korea for Christmas instead of coming home to be with us. It was a very lonely time for me. A practice I started that year was to sit in the living room each night with the lights all out except for the twinkling lights of the Christmas tree. The kids were all in bed and the house was quiet, making it a perfect time to be alone with God and my thoughts. That became a special ritual for me that I have continued each year.

Five years later, I still find myself alone in the evenings. And I still miss having a complete family for Christmas. After a busy day, I still cherish those moments of peace and quiet each evening to pray, to ponder my day, and to mediate on God’s gift of His Son.

World’s Greatest Stories (TOS Review)

Emily loves audio books and radio dramas. We have quite a large collection that are listened to frequently. When I saw the opportunity to review The World’s Greatest Stories, I knew it would be a hit—but I didn’t realize how much so!

World’s Greatest Stories are a bit different from most children’s Bible stories because they are actually word-for-word Bible passages. So the listener is actually hearing the Word of God—nothing left out, nothing added. The way the stories are narrated is absolutely amazing. The characters all have different voices and the stories are accompanied by sound effects. The effect is more of a radio drama than a book-on-tape. The storyteller, George W. Sarris, is an accomplished actor, narrator, and spokesman. He is also the narrator for the 2011 revision of The Holy Bible, New International Version by Zondervan Publishing House.

We received Volume One-The Prophets, which includes:

• The Blazing Furnace-Daniel 3
• The Handwriting on the Wall – Daniel 5
• Daniel in the Lion’s Den- Daniel 6
• Elijah and the Prophets of Baal-Kings 17-18
• The Prophecy of Jonah

From the moment I popped this cd into our car stereo, it was a hit. Every time we go anywhere in the car, Emily asks, “Mom, can we listen to Bible Stories?” There’s not much better praise than that!

There are 6 Volumes of The World’s Greatest Stories, each selling for $7.95 and appropriate for any age listener.

5/5 Stars!

To read more reviews of this and other of The World’s Greatest Stories recordings, please visit the Crew Blog.

As a member of the TOS Crew, I received a free volume of The World’s Greatest Stories in order to write this review.

Fractazmic (TOS Review)

Fractazmic, by Pyramath, is a card game for 2-4 players used to practice the addition of Fractions. It is played like Rummy, but sets consist of  any number of cards of a suit (color) whose values add up to one. Because the cards have different denominators, the players must convert the fractions in their heads in order to add them. The pictures on the cards help the player “see” the value of each fraction and are helpful for visual learners when adding the values.

We enjoyed this game. I had to look at Emily’s cards occasionally the first few times we played to offer suggestions, but after that, she was able to play independently. We thought this was a fun way to practice with fractions and I could see Emily’s skills improving immediately.

Emily says, “You learn a lot and it helps you with your math. It’s a cool and fun game. I like it because it’s competitive. It helps me concentrate more because it’s a game.”

The Fractazmic game sells for 6.95 for a 60 card deck and is appropriate for 2-4 players (upper elementary and up). “I See Cards” also sells several other educational card games, including “Pyramath,” “Prime Bomb,”, and “I See Cards.”

I received a free deck of Fractazmic cards as a reviewer for the TOS Crew. All opinions are my own.

To read more reviews of Fractazmic, please visit the TOS Crew Blog.

The Christmas Singing

I just finished reading The Christmas Singing, by bestselling author, Cindy Woodsmall. I enjoy reading  Amish fiction and have read a few of Cindy Woodsmall’s other books.

The plot dealt with an Amish woman who had been jilted by the man she loved. Several years later, after moving away, finding a new relationship, and opening a business, her old boyfriend came back into her life and she began to discover that  the past was not what she had believed it to be.

I found the first couple of chapters a bit slow in this book—there were a lot of  characters to keep up with. But once I got a bit into the book, the story really pulled me in. I stayed up late to finish the book because I didn’t want to put it down! This is a great story for Christmas or any time.

Here is the first chapter….

and here is a promo about the book:

Would you like 30% off and free shipping on The Christmas Singing (and any other title)? Use promo code CHRISTMAS11 at checkout on WaterBrookMultnomah.com. The coupon code expires on December 20th, 2011.

Thank you to WaterbrookMultnomah  for providing me with a free e-book for this review.