God Loves Me More Than That (Book Review)

 

God Loves Me More Than That by Dandi Daley Mackall, Illustrated by David Hohn

This is a sweet book about God’s love and its greatness being explained to a child. A question about the expanse of God’s love is asked and then answered with comparisons that a child may be able to grasp. Wider than a prairie, heavier than an elephant, higher than the moon, etc. This is a short book with only one sentence per page, but the pages are full of colorful pictures. I read this with my 4 1/2 year old son and he enjoyed it, especially the ‘wider than a semitruck from side to side’ page, because he likes all things truck related! After reading this, he talked a lot about us loving each other and God loving us, in the same form as the book (ie. larger than, higher than…). A cute book for children and good to discuss Gods great love for them.

I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review, but my opinion is completely my own.

Then Sings My Soul (Book Review)

This is a collection of 150 hymns and the stories behind the songs. The left hand page has the sheet music and the right hand page has the history of the song and/or author. Broken down into Christmas, Easter and All time favorites, this is a beautiful book with the edge of the pages rough like in an old hymnal. The stories are uplifting, informative and encouraging. It’s always so inspiring to read about what some people went through and to see how they never lost faith and were still able to praise God in everything to the point of writing a wonderful song that is still sung today. The inspiration that lead to some of our favorite hymns is interesting and being able to read the words and the stories behind them give them a whole new meaning. I know that when I hear some of these songs again I will be thinking about the situations that the author was in when he/she penned these powerful words and the song will have more impact.

This would make a wonderful gift to a pastor, choir member or hymn lover.

This book was provided to me by Booksneeze in exchange for a review. The opinions are completely my own.

God Gave Us So Much (Book Review)

God Gave Us So Much by Lisa Tawn Bergren art by Laura J. Bryant

This is a three book treasury, including God Gave Us the World, God Gave Us Love and God Gave Us Heaven.  This book has delightful illustrations that fill the pages and compliment the story. Little Cub is told about God and the world He created, His love for us and heaven in a way that is easy for a child to understand. I read this to my 4 1/2 year old son and he enjoyed it and seemed to understand the concepts that are being portrayed. It was a great way to introduce these ideas and open up further discussions about them. Little Cub asks many of the questions I’ve already heard from my son and the story explains and answers them very well. I think this would be a great fit for a child around the age of four on up. It would even work well for an older child who may not have been told about God and His love for us. The writing, while understandable for a young child, is not childlike that an older child might object too. A great book to read and discuss with children. Very sweet, yet honest, relatable, and so important.

I received this book from WaterBrook Multnomah in exchange for a review. The opinion expressed was in no way influenced by the publisher.

Playing with the Cat

The Nativity Collection- Robert J. Morgan (Book Review)

The Nativity Collection is a small gift book of six Christmas themed stories. Now, I have to admit, I’ve never understood the ‘gift book’. Maybe that's because I’ve received a few and never read them. Which would be my fault and not the fault of the book.

I enjoyed each of the stories. Some funny, some sweet, some brought tears to my eyes. I especially enjoyed ‘Over My Dead Body’, with its humorous ending. There are lots of pictures throughout the book, with a Christmas theme, however I had trouble getting over the ‘stock photo’ look of them. I would have loved to see pictures that went along with the stories. 

I think this would be a good selection for someone who enjoys short stories or gift books. It certainly could sit on a coffee table during the holidays and be a quick read for any guest.

 

This book was provided for me from Booksneeze.com free of charge in exchange for a review.

Pineapple Zucchini Bread

 

I have to pass on this great recipe. I love this quick bread (and it covers the fruit and veggie group, right)? I skip the egg substitute, because its not something I ever would have in the house. I also use less sugar, maybe 1 1/2 cups instead.

 

Ingredients

• 3  cups  sifted all-purpose flour (about 13 1/2 ounces)
• 1  teaspoon  salt
• 1  teaspoon  baking soda
• 1/2  teaspoon  baking powder
• 1 1/2  teaspoons  ground cinnamon
• 2  large eggs
• 2  cups sugar
• 2  cups  grated zucchini (about 1 1/2 medium zucchini)
• 2/3  cup  canola oil
• 1/2  cup  egg substitute
• 2  teaspoons  vanilla extract
• 2  (8-ounce) cans crushed pineapple in juice, drained
• Baking spray with flour

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 325°.

2. Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups, and level with a knife. Combine flour, salt, and next 3 ingredients (through ground cinnamon) in a large bowl, stirring well with a whisk.

3. Beat eggs with a mixer at medium speed until foamy. Add sugar, zucchini, oil, egg substitute, and vanilla, beating until well blended. Add zucchini mixture to flour mixture, stirring just until moist. Fold in pineapple. Spoon batter into 2 (9 x 5–inch) loaf pans coated with baking spray. Bake at 325° for 1 hour or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes in pans on a wire rack; remove from pans. Cool completely on wire rack.

 

I usually double the recipe and put some in the freezer. I also save the pineapple juice for my kids to drink. Cooking Light is the source of this, if you want to check it out.

Our Sponsored Children Binder

I read a post this morning from 1+1+1+=1 on making a special craft for your sponsored children. It was a great idea and she also mentioned that she keeps correspondence and things needed to write to their sponsored children in a notebook. I thought this was a wonderful idea, since all our letters and drawings are in a box taking up space in the closet and never getting looked at. I set to work right away on a binder for our sponsored children.

We sponsor 3 children who live in the Dominican Republic. Two girls through World Vision and 1 boy through Dominican Advance. The couple that started Dominican Advance are friends of ours and before we moved we were able to be their home office in the states and got to help with all the paper work involved with child sponsorships and support. We got to meet the little boy we sponsor two years ago and were able to meet his mom and sisters at their home. I know they are doing great things and we are so blessed to be able to be a small part of what they are doing.

Since all of our children live in the same country, I made the binder reflect that with the flag and map on the cover. Inside I have a tab for each child, and one for the information on where to send letters. I also like the idea of keeping supplies needed to write to them, such as the right sized envelopes, in here.

I just found this blog, where she is making a craft to send and is going to post a few times a month on projects to make and is challenging all us lame sponsors to get writing to our sponsored children. I love the idea and will be posting in the future about what we are doing for our kids!

Fossil Dig

 

Today we joined a few other families and went on a fossil dig at our local environmental center. Caleb enjoyed climbing on the big pile of rocks and sliding down.

 

He did find a large rock with a fossilized leaf. (I thought wearing the Can You Dig It? Shirt went well with the fossil dig theme of the day.) 

Asa found this rock and it had two pieces of a plant in it, (although I forgot what kind of plant it is!)

 

This is the one I found. It is a shell, kind of hard to see it.

  

Caleb still refers to the fossils we found as dinosaur bones, but we are working on that!

Out Live Your Life-Max Lucado (Book Review)

This is an amazing and powerful book. A great mix of stories, statistics and history that comes together for an easy and thought-provoking read about how we can each make a difference and were designed to do just that.  Whether it’s the orphan in a far away country or the neighbor down the road he challenges us to see everyone as Jesus did; someone important and in need of Him.

The need is everywhere and he shows us that we have the ability to do something about it. I liked that the focus wasn’t just foreign missions and things that seem so far away and hard to comprehend and relate too, but that he included ways to make a difference in your own community.

I thoroughly enjoyed the way Lucado told Bible stories as if he was there and how he imagines them having taken place. This really helped me remember that these people were just like us, with the same problems and issues that we still face today. It’s amazing to think what an incredible impact could be made if everyone made the decision to make a positive impact in one persons life.

I also love that all of the author’s royalties from the book and associated products will go to World Vision and other ministries.

Children and Markers

So, this is what happens when you go to answer the phone and your children push a chair over to the bookcase and are able to reach the small craft box.
Asa was using the markers as lipstick.

Now, I realize this could have been much worse. That is why the large craft box, the one with paint and glitter, is on the top shelf, in the closet, in the bathroom.
Asa used Christmas stampers on his face. Getting ready for the holiday season a little early…

And since the friend, (that needs a cool blog nickname in case you have any suggestions) that called was commenting that I hadn't posted recently, I thought this would be a fitting post. 

Loving the Sandwich Maker!

A while back, as I was trying to come up with something for lunch to feed my kids, I remembered a sandwich maker that I had when I was probably in middle school. Luck was on my side when I was able to find it in my parents basement. I immediately brought it home and put it to work. We used it everyday. All the time. And then it stopped.

And I had to go back to making grilled cheese sandwiches on the stove. I can't blame the machine it was probably 20 years old. My kids, especially the little one (18 months old) missed it terribly. He would go over to the cabinet that it had been in, point and give a sad little grunt.

Then I was in the grocery store and saw one, and it was on clearance! (I actually paid more than this one at Amazon, which is the same model as mine.) We are back to sandwich heaven! In case you don't know what you can do with one, let me tell you what we do. We haven't gotten to creative yet, but I can feel the creative cooking juices starting to flow. Grilled cheese is the obvious choice and is delicious. Pizza pockets, with a little pizza sauce and mozzarella between the bread is another favorite. I like melting deli turkey and cheese and even a melted peanut butter sandwich is tasty. For dessert, use pie filling. I had always used crescent rolls which work well, pie crust I found doesn't cook enough, but today with a friend we tried using bread and it came out great! The bread compacts and toasts nicely. For breakfast you can pour in scrambled eggs.  I am going to try pancake batter soon.

One of the great things I find with these is that my toddler can eat them with out the sandwich falling apart. If I just gave him a cold sandwich it ends up in pieces, usually on the floor. With the sandwich maker, it stays together! It is so fast and easy, and I love not having to turn on the stove and heat up the house to make lunch. I'm getting hungry just thinking about it. I may need to go make a nice, hot raspberry pocket... Want one?

Timeline

Worked on our new wall timeline today. I will post pictures once I get it hung up. All I can say is Measure twice, Sharpie once.

I want the Math movie!

Yes, that is what my 4 year old asks for. The Math Movie. All the time.

This DVD from Sonlight is a great introduction to lots of math concepts that he will be learning about soon. It is engaging and entertaining. He is learning from it and asks questions about the things he sees on the movie. My only word of caution, if your child is anything like mine, be sure to have round crackers on hand to make cracker sandwiches (pairs) like in the movie. I only had square crackers and was told I was doing it wrong.

All Have Sinned…

We started Kindergarten yesterday! We are using Core K from Sonlight Curriculum. It includes a Your words and a Sing the Word CD with the Bible Memory Verses set to song. The boys are both really enjoying it. I am really enjoying the irony of listening to my 4 year old sing ‘All have sinned’ while he is doing something that I just asked him not to do.

Sight and Sound Theatres~Joseph

 

This weekend my husband and I went to Lancaster, PA and saw the production of Joseph at the Sight and Sound Theatre. It was incredible! This is a musical of the Biblical story of Joseph, complete with camels, horses, sheep, ox, and other animals. It was phenomenal! I can’t say how powerful this show was. Everyone should see it!

It is interesting to think how different our culture and world would be if everyone had the moral compass and mental and physical restraint as Joseph. Or even if half of the population did. Maybe if our culture was exposed to such an attitude, a belief and a faith, they would strive to be more like Joseph. At every turn in life, every crossroad, every conversation, to first stop and think is this the right attitude to have? Is this what God would want me to do? Is this what I want to be known for? Even if no one finds out, if this right? Forgive, as you have been forgiven. Love, as you are loved. And believe that you are here for a reason and that you have a purpose. He has a plan for you…

Sight and Sound Theatres