What Will the Weather Be? by Linda DeWitt

Little One and I really enjoyed What Will the Weather Be?.  It is a great way to introduce weather concepts.  There is a lot of material packed into the little book and we will need to revisit it many times to wrap our heads around it all but we loved it so much that revisiting it will not be a chore.  I'm definitely adding it to my science resource list for the next few years.

Nursery Rhymes of Newfoundland and Labrador by Robin McGrath

I picked up this book during a recent visit to our local library thinking that it might be a book I could share with my little one.  In light of that, I found this quote from the introduction interesting: "Contrary to popular belief, nursery rhymes are not written by or for children - they are generally part of the adult world and are co-opted by children who appreciate their simplicity or are merely fascinated by the enigmatic sound of the words."   While there are rhymes in Nursery Rhymes of Newfoundland and Labrador that I would share with little one there are some that I wouldn't and I'm glad I decided to read it myself before sharing it with her.

Robin McGrath did not actually write the poems in the book but she did compile and edit them.  There is a fair bit of history packed into the rhymes and I found it interesting to read.  I like the addition of the notes at the end of the book, though I would have preferred the notes actually included by the rhymes they are about. The notes make the rhymes more meaningful.

Made in Canada by Mary Graham Bonner

Came across this book while browsing the art section of our local library.  It's an old book, published in 1953, but I really enjoyed it.  There was a lot of history packed in the book.  It was very interesting to read about, and see pictures of, artwork of first nations people as well as settlers.  I have a bunch of notes made of things I want to research and learn more about.

I want to know more about  Sis-hu-lk, also known as Francis Baptiste, a member of the Okanagan First People's nation.  In the book I learned that he won a bronze star in 1936 from the Royal Drawing Society of London for his artwork titled "Canadian nativity".  From the 1940 page of the Drawing on Identity: Inkameep Dayschool and Art site I discovered that he also won a gold medal for his contribution to Canadian culture and that in 1940 he started signing his work with his Indian name.  You can see pictures of him and some of his other work sprinkled throughout An Inkameep Photo Album.

I'd also like to know more about Francois Baillairge, who Mary Bonner says is Canada's foremost woodcarver and sculptor.  I found an online gallery displaying some of Francois Baillairge's work.

And that's just some of the things I want to learn more about.  I am very glad that I picked up this book.  I'd love to own it.

Using Talents as Intended

Today I got to listen to the beautiful sounds of my talented daughter playing her guitar and singing hymns and choruses in preparation for leading the worship time at the our church's adult prayer meeting tonight.  She was a little shocked when her youth pastor called this morning and asked her to do it and when she told me about it she said she felt sick to her stomach thinking about it, but she overcame that and set to work preparing.  I thoroughly enjoyed listening to her prepare.  Unfortunately her dad and I had other commitments tonight and didn't get to go to hear first hand how she did but when we went to pick her up a lady made the point of tapping on our window and telling us that we have a very talented daughter.  I love that she is using her talents to bring glory to God.  I pray she always does.

A couple of days early but inspired by

Young Authors Day at Pokeweed Public School by John Bianchi

This is great book to use as part of a special week of reading and writing. The book tells about just such a week at Poke Weed Public School, where the teacher, Ms Mudwortz shows the importance of reading with FRED (Free Reading Every Day).  I used to do the same thing with my older children when they were younger but I never thought to give it a cool name.  Little One got a kick out of the illustration showing all the students of Pokeweed Public school enjoying their FRED time.  Ms. Mudwortz also has a Young Author's Week where the first day is writing day.  The students have to start with an idea, come up with a beginning, a problem, and a solution).  The second day is picture day when the students turn words into pictures and do illustrations for their book.  The third day is Book Day when they create a title and cover for their book and then bind it all together.  The fourth day is RAT (Read Aloud Time), because as Ms. Mudwortz says, "A book is just a bunch of paper stuck together until someone reads it".And the last day is  Young Authors Day when they have a visit from an author and are surprised to find he is so different from how they imagined.

Inspired by 

He forgives... and erases... when we confess

It's a truth that has always amazed me.  Forgiveness is freely available.  Completely free.  Completely freeing.  All we have to do is confess.  That's sometimes the toughest part - the confessing.  And the letting go, really letting go and letting it be erased as He wants it to be.  Sometimes that's hard too.

In her post When a Family Needs a Fresh Start: Making a Place of Repentance, Ann explains a way to make it so real and vivid.  It makes me wish again that we had a prayer bench in our house to set up such a thing.

Six Words Saturday

Fun at WinterFest with Little One!

Clowns, balloon creations, magician, face painting, Teddy Bear Picnic!

What a great day!

Tinkering with my blog layout a little

I wanted to add a record of my progress in the different reading challenges to my blog somewhere but couldn't decide how to do it.  I finally decided to do it by adding link list gadgets for each challenge in the sidebar.  I decided to go with link list gadgets rather than just list gadgets because I wanted to link to my posts about the books. I would really like the different challenge gadgets to be in alphabetical order but I am having real trouble moving them around.  I had to give up because I was getting so frustrated. I may try again another time. I've added some books to the gadgets already but I still have more to record yet.  Once I get caught up I will continue to update each gadget as I read books for the different challenges.

I also changed the way my archives and labels are displayed.  The reason for this is so that they would take up less room.  The archives are now available through a drop down menu rather than a list.  I decided to not display some labels and to change the display to a cloud rather than list.

I'm done playing for tonight.  What do you think about the changes?

Not even on the shelves, and already on my to-be-read list

According to Trudy Morgan-Cole's post Titles: What's In a Name?, Lydia: A Story of Philippi  is expected to hit the shelves late March.  She ought to know.  She is the author.

I definitely want to get my hands on a copy ASAP.  I've only read one of her books so far, Esther: A Story of Courage, and I thoroughly enjoyed it.  I'm thinking this newest book will be just as pleasant an experience.  I'll let you know for sure when I read it.

In her blog post, Trudy gives a glimpse of how a book gets it's name.  Very interesting.

One is Canada by Maxine Trottier

I just finished reading One is Canada to Little One.  I did not particularly enjoying reading the book but Little One was quite smitten by the illustrations.

The book was illustrated by Bill Slavin and we were part way in the book when Little One exclaimed "He is a good drawer!  Who drew the pictures?"  She is 4, remember, and I was a bit shocked with this exclamation.  I hadn't noticed the pictures at all.  I turned to the front of the book and told her the illustrators name and continued reading the book, but I kept getting interrupted with her exclamations about how great the pictures were.  At one point she exclaimed, "I have to tell him he's a good drawer."  :)  I think I'm going to have to look for more books illustrated by Bill Slavin.

Maxine Trottier, though not born a Canadian, became a Canadian citizen in 1974.  She lives in my home province, Newfoundland and Labrador.  I skimmed a list of her books and I will be making a point of checking out more of them.

This book caught my eye during our recent library visit because it is a Canadian book and it is a book about numbers.  I've been making a conscious effort to expose Little One to numbers and math concepts lately because it's something I haven't really put much effort into so far.  As I said earlier, however, I did not enjoying reading the book.  After reading it I read on the inside flap of the dust cover on the book that it is "a rhythmical read-aloud".  It may just be me, but I didn't find it rhythmical at all. Having said that, however, I do think I will go back to this book again.  There is a lot of history and geography wrapped up in this picture book.  It would make a great jumping off point for further learning.

This book counts towards the following reading challenges:  Canadian Authors Challenge, Newfoundland Authors, and Young Readers Challenge

Starting to Read

Little one read her very first sentence totally on her own today!  She is 4 years old and I haven't really worried much about teaching her anything yet.  I take advantage of opportunities that come up in the day but I have not been following any kind of structured plan.  She has always loved books and being read to and pretending to read herself but today she actually read a sentence all by herself.

A while back a friend introduced me to the Learn to Read with phonics Starfall.com site and little one has been having fun with it for quite some time now.  She's spent hours on the ABC alphabet Phonemic Awareness page. She often asked me to let her play on it and I'd set her up to play on my laptop at the kitchen table while I was busy doing kitchen chores.  When I'd finish my chores I'd have to drive her away from the site because she wanted to stay on it.  She really loved it, and I knew she was learning so I loved it too.

Today I decided to give the next level a try and introduced her to the Learn to Read section of the site.  Instead of setting her up to go to it on her own I stayed by her to guide her a bit.  She played the "an" and "at" parts in section 1.  She loved it and did really well!  I got her to read the words herself after she had completed it and she printed of the sheets that went with it and did those too.  Then we decided to give the Zac the Rat book a try.  I love how it is set up!  Each page has a short sentence and you can click on each word to have it sounded out and then read.  I guided her to ensure that she did them in the right order and after hearing each word read I got her to read it herself.  After doing this for the first few pages she was noticing that some of the words were the same and she was starting to just read the words instead of clicking on them to hear them sounded out and read first!  First it was just with a word or two but then she finally came to a page where she didn't bother to click on any of the words at all but just simply read the whole sentence!  Of course we had to have a little high five celebration at that.  I was so proud of her, and she was pretty proud of herself.  She wanted to keep going on the site and try out some more but I didn't want to overload her so I just let her play on it on her own for a bit before finally talking her into leaving it for the day. We did print the Zac the Rat book and she wanted to read it tonight before bed.  She couldn't remember a lot of it but that's okay.  We'll probably play on the site again this week to refresh her memory.  I will be following her lead and using this site as she shows an interest in it.  I am certain it won't be long before she'll be zipping right along in her reading.

Eyewitness Weather by Brian Cosgrove

This is the first book I've read to count towards the Science Book Challenge.  Eyewitness Weather is a Dorling Kindersley book.  I definitely want to use this book later as part of little one's science learning.  On the Amazon site the School Library Journal suggests it is a great resource for grades 5-8.  I love all the pictures and explanations of the different weather instruments used throughout the years.  It's history and science all wrapped up together.  A great resource!

Help me to love as I ought

Prayer based on 1 Corinthians 13:4-7

Lord, help me to be patient, help me to be kind. Help me not to envy, not to boast, not to be proud.  Help me not to be rude, not to be self-seeking, not to be easily angered, not to keep a record of wrongs.  Help me not to delight in evil but to rejoice in the truth.  Help me to always protect, always trust, always hope, always persevere.

Doctoring Blog Post Times This Week

That's what I've been doing, I confess!  :)  I've set a goal for myself to post a least once a day but this week it's been after midnight each night when I finally get around to posting so I'm been taking advantage of the Post Options feature on blogger and setting the date and time of my posts back an hour or so earlier than what it actually is when I post them.  I figure it's not really wrong to do because it is still the same day for me in that I post before I go to bed.  Am I just fooling myself?  :)

So my Six Words for this Saturday is the blog title: Doctoring Blog Post Times This Week

I'm hoping to get on a better schedule and not have to do that next week.  We'll see what happens.

The Olympic Opening Ceremonies

It's the one part of the Olympics that I look forward to and enjoy.  I love it!

Journey North Mystery Class 2010

The Journey North Mystery Class program for 2010 started last week, but it's not to late to join in the fun.  It is a great way to add some fun to science, social studies, and math learning.  Every week, from February to April, you are given clues to help you figure out the location of 10 mystery classes from around the world.

We've tried participating a few years but we never follow through on it because of the timing.  We start out good but then we hit the Easter holidays and it gets forgotten.  This year my only official student wasn't interested in doing it again and the other is too young to really do much with it but I've decided to still go ahead and do it on my own.  I'm hoping to suck the un-interested one into it as I share with her how much fun I'm having.  :)

I've made myself some different data recording sheets this year, using the data sheets they provide as models but making some minor changes.  I'm doing a master data sheet for each week with the information for all 10 mystery classes, plus our home town, on the one sheet, instead of doing individual sheets for each class.  I'm also doing a master sheet for all the classes showing the photoperiods during the whole program, instead of doing a graph.  Not sure how that's going to work out in the end but that's how I'm doing it right now.

I love sizing up the clues and trying to figure out where the classes might be.  I think I might strap on some latitude shoes and take a walk around the world in the next few days to see what I can learn.

I'd love to hear from you if you are taking on the challenge.

January Reading Round Up

I managed to read a fair number of books last month.  Clicking on the links will bring you to blog posts I wrote about the books:

From my Shelves:

The Dangerous Voyage by Gilbert Morris

Returning to Holiness by Dr. Gregory Frizzel 

The Preacher's Kid by Elmer W. Vaters

From the Library:

Fish 'n' Ships: A brief twisted history of Newfoundland...sort of -
Hooked Mats of Newfoundland and Labrador: Beauty of Necessity
Sarah's Song by Karen Kingsbury
Unashamed by Francine Rivers

E-Book
The Story Girl by Lucy Maud Montgomery


Besides those I also read 100 books to Anna last month.  I didn't write about these books but here is the list:

From our Shelves:

1. Let's Make a Snowman
2. Miss Nelson Is Back by Allard, Harry
3. Cuddles The Cow USA Soft Back Edition (Pal Animal Soft Strap Books)
4. Show and Tell by Munsch, Robert N.
5. Wheels on the Bus (Pudgy Board Book) by Smith, Jerry
6. My Dog's the Best! (Hello Reader Level 1) by Calmenson, Stephanie
7. A Bad, Bad Day (My First Hello Reader) by Hall, Kirsten
8. THE LUCKY GLASSES by Carruth, Jane
9. Dora Loves Boots by Inches, Alison
10. Just for You  by Mayer, Mercer
11. The Counting Book by Peter, John
12. Dr. Seuss's ABC: An Amazing Alphabet Book! by Seuss, Dr.
13. Turn and Learn Christmas Numbers by Lamut, Sonja
14. The Wonder Book of Counting Rhymes by Pierce, June
15. Soccer Game! by MacCarone, Grace
16. Nubby Bunny by McMullan, Kate
17. Say "Ahhh!": Dora Goes to the Doctor by Beinstein, Phoebe
18. A day with my Dad (A First little Golden book) by Hiskey, Iris
19. Go Diego Go Drive to the Rescue Steering Wheel Book by Lou, Weber
20. There Were Ten Bears in a Bed by Atkins, Alison
21. The Three Billy Goats Gruff (Hardcover) by Rudin, Ellen
22. God Gives Us Sunlight by Hinds, Ruth McNaughton
23. Walt Disney Alphabet A-Z (Volume 1)
24. The Tale of the Flopsy Bunnies by Potter, Beatrix
25. My Mother Is the Most Beautiful Woman in the World: A Russian Folk Tale by Reyher, Becky
26. Sammy the Seal (I Can Read Book 1)by Hoff, Syd
27. I Love You by Baxter, Timothy
28. Small Pig (I Can Read Book 2) by Lobel, Arnold
29. Morris Goes to School (I Can Read Book 1) by Wiseman, Bernard
30. I'm Glad I'm Your Mother by Horlacher, Billy
31. My Favorite Animal Places At the Zoo (Board book) by Byrnes, Trish
32. Slappy the Duck by Church, Elsie
33. When I Grow Up by Bethell, Jean
34. Max and Ruby: Ruby Riding Hood by Endrulat, Harry
35. One Little Teddy Bear by Burgess, Mark
36. The Truck Book (A Golden Super Shape Book) by Gere, Bill
37. Happy & Sad/Grouchy & Glad (Little Golden Book) by Allen, Constance
38. Peter Mouse in the Snow
39. Little Gray Mouse and the Train by Asheron, Sara
40. Old Macdonald Had a Farm by Lee, Tricia
41. Raggedy Ann and Andy: The Little Gray Kitten (A Little Golden Book) by Curren, Polly
42. Let's Count All the Animals by Kulas
43. Sticker Fun with Numbers
44. Where are my shoes? by Dudko, Mary Ann
45. My Easter Basket: And the True Story of Easter by Simon, Mary Manz
46. Skeletons! Skeletons! All about Bones by Hall, Katy
47. Clifford's Halloween by Bridwell, Norman
48. The Magic School Bus Gets Eaten: Book About Food Chains by Cole, Joanna
49. Opposites (Board book)
50. Big Bird's Red Book (Little Golden Book) by Cerf, Roseanne
51. Prayers for Mealtime (Board book)
52. Snoopy Come Home by Schulz, Charles M.
53. Big Bird and Little Bird's Book of Big and Little by Kingsley, Emily Perl
54. Feelings From A to Z by Visser, Pat
55. Dumbo (Little Golden Book)
56. Chicka Chicka Boom Boom by Jr., Bill Martin
57. Chocolate Chippo Hippo by Andriani, Vincent
58. My Alphabet by Davis, E. K.
59. Easter Bunny's Lost Egg by Gordon, Sharon
60. Old McDonald Had a Farm by Lee, Tricia
61. How Puppies Grow by Selsam, Millicent E.
62. Little Fish That Got Away by Cook, Bernadine
63. Sleeping Beauty by Andreas, Evelyn
64. Dora's Book of Manners by Ricci, Christine
65. The substitooth fairy by Snyder, Margaret
66. The Foot Book by Seuss, Dr.
67. God Made Puppies (Happy Day Books Level 1, Happy Day Books Level 1) by Bennett, Marian
68. The huffin puff express by Harrison, David L
69. Four Little Kittens (Little Little Golden Book) by Daly, Kathleen N.
70. Casper the Friendly Ghost and Wendy the Good Little Witch Adventures by Studios, Harvey Cartoon
71. The Animal's Christmas Eve by Wiersum, Gale
72. Guido's Gondola by Riva, Renee
73. Walt Disney's Cinderella, a Little Golden Book by Lorencz, Bill
74. Tell the Truth, Tyler! by McConnaughhay, Jodee
75. What Time Is It? (Giant First-Start Reader) Grey, Judith
76. The Pet That I Want (My First Hello Reader!) by Packard, Mary
77. God Gives Us Gifts by Bartlett, Margaret
79. It's Valentine's Day by Prelutsky, Jack
79. Walt Disney Pictures Presents The Rescuers Down Under by Teitelbaum, Michael
80. My Big Little Golden Book About God (Big Little Golden Book) by Watson, Jane Werner

From the Library
1. Hop! Plop! by Schwartz, Corey Rosen
2. Roll Over!: A Counting Song by Peek, Merle
3. A Frog in the Bog by Wilson, Karma
4. Lemons Are Not Red by Seeger, Laura Vaccaro
5. Big Sarah's Little Boots by Bourgeois, Paulette
6. Pudding and Pie by Williams, Sarah
7. Something Might Happen by Lester, Helen
8. Golden Goose by Reid, Barbara
9. Emma's Magic Winter (I Can Read Book 3) by Little, Jean
10. When the Wind Changed by Park, Ruth
11. The Carnival Caper (Lu & Clancy) by Mason, Adrienne
12. Are we there yet? by Crystal, Nancy
13. The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Carle, Eric
14. I'm Terrific by Sharmat, Marjorie Weinman
15. Ebb & Flow & the New Friend by Simmons, Jane
16. Clifford's First Halloween (Clifford the Small Red Puppy) by Bridwell, Norman
17. Jillian Jiggs by Gilman, Phoebe
18. Atlantic Puffin by Domm, Kristin
19. Jack of all Trades: Jobs on the Farm by Guillemette, Deborah
20. Clifford's First Christmas (Clifford) by Bridwell, Norman

The Miracle of Life

Today I got to bring some siblings in to see their new baby sister, and what a privilege that was.  A friend of mine had her 5th child yesterday and she needed someone with a big vehicle to bring her children to the hospital to visit their new sibling.  I jumped at the chance.  There is nothing like watching the wonder on the faces of little children as they see a new born baby.  What a blessing!

Even a Princess Can be Unhappy

From The Gypsy Princess by Phoebe Gilman

"Oh," Cinnamon sighed, "if only I could live in a palace like Princess Cyprina."

"Even a princess can be unhappy," her old auntie replied.

Inspired by 

Bible Reading Report

I've been writing posts about my reading but I realized today that I haven't written a post about the most important reading that I do - my Bible Reading.

Back at the beginning of January I wrote a post that included my thoughts on the importance of Bible reading and some Bible reading plans I was considering following.  I mentioned that I had started using the default reading plan at Bible Read Through but wasn't really feeling settled in to it.  Well, after 38 days of consistently using it I think I can safely say that I am now settled in to it.  :)

I wondered how I would enjoy reading passages from three different books of the Bible everyday but I have really been enjoying it.  I think the fact that I am doing it online and all the passages are together on one page for the day makes it more enjoyable than if I had to manually look up the three different passages each day.

Having said that, however, I am missing actually holding the Bible in my hand and turning the pages.  I'm also finding that I am merely reading and not doing any actual studying.  I miss that.  I may have to do something about that soon.

I need a new Bible because my old one is falling apart so I may ask for one for my birthday.  I was also thinking tonight that I'd like to end my day with Bible reading.  I usually start my day with the Bible reading I mentioned above but I may add a night reading of some sort in the near future, maybe when I have a new Bible to page through without having to worry about the pages falling out.  :)

How about you?  Is Bible reading important to you?  Do you have a plan that you have settled in to?

Sometimes you just need to cry

Ever have one of those days? You don't understand why you feel like you do, but you just need to cry. That pretty well sums up my day today. So my Six Words for this Saturday - Sometimes you just need to cry.

Fresh Bread on Friday

I seem to be on a streak of success in bread making lately.  It hasn't always been that way.  Homemade bread has been a rarity in my house over the years because I just couldn't seem to get it right, so I gave up.  Recently, I've been inspired to try again and I've been pleased with the results.

DH has been even more pleased.  We had fresh home made rolls with stew tonight and he devoured 7 rolls!  I have to admit that they were quite good.  I'm kind of wishing I had made more rolls because I only made a dozen and all but three of them are gone already.

After supper DH phoned friends and invited them to drop in, informing them that I had just taken fresh bread from the oven.  There's a tradition in our province to enjoy a slice of fresh bread spread with molasses and canned cream.  Our friends arrived with a tin of cream in hand and we promptly sat down and devoured a full loaf of bread!  I personally am not a fan of the fresh cream but I do like bread spread with molasses.  I only had a slice and a half, and that was more than I should have had.   After all, we had just finished supper!

It is such a joy to me to have people actually enjoy my homemade bread!  I sure hope this streak of success continues.

Life As Mom's Booking It in 2010

Read about this on Carla's blog a couple of times but her post today about the books she read in January made me finally decide to join the Booking it In 2010 at Life as Mom.  I like the idea of giving a summary post of my reading for each month, and that's what they ask you to do.  I will still continue with my individual book reviews but will also do monthly summary posts.

The first thing Life as Mom asks you to do is to think about reading goals for the year.  In Life As Mom's How To Find a Good Read post they say it's never to late to join and they suggest a number of different sources for ideas for good reads and ask that people share how they go about choosing good books.

I decided before the new year began that I wanted to concentrate on reading more this year and I joined a number of different reading challenges to use as inspiration to keep reading throughout the year.  My main goal for the year is just to read more and to read a variety of types of books and topics.  Another thing I want to do is to take a closer look at my book shelves and probably reread some books that are there.  I will also be making good use of the library.  I will be perusing the shelves and making a point of checking out all the different shelves so that I cover books on different topics, as well as looking specifically for books that others suggest both online and in person.  I love to take advantage of the interlibrary loan program which means I'm not restricted to just reading the books in our local library.

If you haven't done so yet, check out the Booking It in 2010 feature.  I think it's going to be a great place to share and find good reads.

My Favorite Reading Cuddle

Inspired by Wordless Wednesday

Sarah's Song by Karen Kingsbury

I've read, and enjoyed, books by Karen Kingsbury before so I wasn't surprised that I enjoyed Sarah's Song by Karen Kingsbury.  I picked the book from the shelves of our local library because it was a nice, small, thin book.  :)

I didn't know it, but Sarah's Song is a part of Kingsbury's Red Gloves collection and is actually a Christmas themed story.  I love the idea of this series and will be reading more of them.  I'm not sure if I'm going to wait to read them during the Christmas season or not.  Kingsbury suggests that they make great read alouds during the 12 days of Christmas, and I really like that thought, but I'm not sure I can wait until then before I read another.  :)

This book counts for the Support Your Local Library and the 2nd Reading challenges.

Fish 'n' Ships by Ed Smith

Ed Smith is a local author that has written a number of books, but I had never read any of his books.  I had, however, read his column.  He writes a weekly column that is published in our local newspaper, as well as a number of other newspapers in our province.  I enjoy the humor and style of writing in his column so I thought it was about time I tried one of his books.

Fish 'n' Ships is the book I chose to try first and I really, really enjoyed it. The sub title for the book is "A brief twisted history of Newfoundland...sort of" and that's just what it is.  I learned a lot about the history of our province through the book, but I also laughed a lot.

This book counts towards the Support Your Local Authors, Newfoundland Authors, Canadian Authors, and Support Your Local Library challenges.

Books Read to Anna in January

I took on the 100 Books a Month Challenge and have been keeping a record, at GoodReads, of all the books that I read to Anna this month.  I didn't record all the rereads, which were many.  Most of the books were from our book shelves this month, but there were a few library books mixed in there too.  We hit the 100 mark no trouble at all.

If you want to see what we read you can check out my Read to Anna shelf at Good Reads .  I was hoping that I could easily copy and paste a list of them into a post but it appears it's not going to be as easy as I thought so I will work on getting a list of the books included in this post over the next few days.

I really enjoyed this challenge and we will be starting a list for February tomorrow.

Great time with family and friends!

That sums up my day today.  Lazer take with kids this afternoon and movie with girlfriend's tonight.  My six words for today - Great time with family and friends!

Post inspired by:

The Story Girl by Lucy Maud Montgomery

Inspired by three reading challenges.   - a Lucy Maud Montgomery Reading Challenge, a Canadian Authors Challenge and an E-Book Reading Challenge - I decided to read The Story Girl by Lucy Maud Montgomery through the ReadPrint site. 

I thoroughly enjoyed the book.  I just love Montgomery's writing.  I had read her Anne stories as a teen and also read them to my children, but I hadn't read anything else by her.  When I came across the Lucy Maud Montgomery Reading challenge I decided to see what other books she had written and was thrilled to find a number of her books available through the ReadPrint site.  I did, however, wonder how much I would enjoy reading it online.  I needn't have worried.  I wasn't far into the first chapter before I was captivated by Montgomery's writing yet again.  I really should have taken note of some of the great sayings in the book, because there are many, but I didn't want to take the time out of my reading to record them.  I was too lost in the world Montgomery created in her writing. 

I would say I will be reading more books from the ReadPrint site.  The Reading Mode available on the site makes reading on line a real pleasure, at least for me, and there are so many great classics available on the site.

The Preacher's Kid by Elmer W. Vaters

This book caught my attention when I was perusing the shelves of a used book store recently and I had to buy it.  After I had read it I mentioned it to my dad and wondered if he had read it.  Turns out he has a copy of the book that was given to him by the author.

The Preacher's Kid is an autobiography by Elmer W. Vaters, the son of one of the "founding fathers" of the Pentecostal denomination in Newfoundland and Labrador.  I was drawn to the book because I am a Newfoundlander and I was looking for books written by Newfoundlanders, but also because I was born and raised Pentecostal and I was interested in reading more about the history of the Pentecostal leaders in Newfoundland and Labrador.

My dad and Elmer Vaters had something in common - they were both preacher's kids.  From my reading of the book that seems to be about where the similarities end.  Well, let me rethink that.  I think they probably also have similar feelings about the disassembling of the denominational school boards a few years back.

I have mixed feelings about the book.  I don't think it is particularly well written and it was not at all what I expected.  I expected to read more about how his life was affected by the fact that he was a preacher's kid, and there is some of that there, but not as much as I expected.  I enjoyed the book for the glimpse of history in the book, especially about Joey Smallwood and about the school systems in Newfoundland and Labrador. It has sparked an interest in me to read more books that will give me first hand glimpses of our history.  It really is so much more interesting to read about history in books such as this rather than in text books.

Hooked Mats of Newfoundland and Labrador: Beauty Born of Necessity

This is the my first book for the Art History Reading Challenge.  Hooked Mats of Newfoundland and Labrador: Beauty Born of Necessity was compiled by The Rug Hooking Guild of Newfoundland and Labrador.  The book gives a bit of the history of mat hooking in Newfoundland and Labrador, but the bulk of the book is pictures of hooked mats, along with the stories behind the mats.  Some of the mats are quite beautiful and the book has stirred an interest in me to learn more about the craft.

Unashamed by Francine Rivers

"Rahab.  A woman with a past to whom God gave a future."  Taken from the back cover, this is what the book is about.  The front cover says it is a novella, and as such it is a quick read, but it is a packed read.  It is well worth the time it will take you to read it.  It gives a very clear picture of the mercy of God and gives a whole new appreciation of the story of the fall of Jericho.

Unashamed fits in the 2nd Reading Challenge, because Francine River is an author I really loved in the past and I wanted to read more by her.  It also fits the Biblical Fiction Challenge as it tells the story of Rahab from Joshua 2-6.

Breakfast - Egg in a Nest

A favorite at our house. Little one loves to help me make it.

Step 1:  Use a glass to cut a hole in a slice of bread.

Step 2: Put the breads slices and circles in a frying pan and break an egg into the middle of the hole.

Step3:  When the egg is almost cooked, flip the bread and egg over, and also the circles.

Step 4: Place a slice of cheese on top

Step 5: Place the circle on top of the cheese.

Step 6: When the underside is toasted it's ready to take out of the pan

Step 7: Place it on a plate and enjoy!

post inspired by this week's breakfast theme at

What can you do for Haiti?

It's funny how much more real it all becomes when you have a personal connection. Like everyone else, I've been taking in the news of the devastation in Haiti since the earthquake but it didn't really hit me with the same magnitude until I was pointed to this video and made aware that the speaker in the video was a former student of mine.




Reading personal reports from Vaden Earle's facebook page gives a whole different view of Haiti. Vaden is CEO and Co-founder of Absolute.org, a not-for-profit organization that was working in Haiti even before the earthquake. He urges his facebook friends that we have a responsibility to do something - something more than just sit and watch all the news reports. Vaden is in Haiti offering hands on help while his organization is collecting funds and making arrangements for more help - both immediate and future. Please take the time to watch the video and check out the website to see how you can help. If you are on facebook you can join Absolute.org's facebook page.

Thank-you Vaden, for being willing to do whatever you can. May we all follow your example.

Home Made bread turned out good!

I haven't made home made bread for quite a while.  My past attempts have not been that successful.  Today, however, was an exception.  I was making home made baked beans for supper and home made baked beans is just not the same without fresh home made bread, so I decided to give it a try.  It turned out great!  I made two loaves of bread and 24 rolls.  I didn't actually make it from scratch, however.  I used bread and roll mix. But still, I'm pretty proud of myself.  Sooo, my six words for today are:
Home Made bread turned out good!

post inspired by

My Amazing Talented Daughter

My oldest daughter, still in her teens, has amazing talent. She has a beautiful voice and she's taught her self to play guitar. I love it when the sounds of her singing and playing come drifting out of her room. She also is a very gifted writer. She has written the lyrics and music for a few songs, and they are really good. Just yesterday she showed me the first draft of an amazing poem she wrote the night before. She also has a great eye for photography and is working on developing that talent. Just this past week she finally made a facebook page to share some of her photography.

She's been going through some struggles lately wondering what the future holds for her. She's at that stage in life where everyone is asking her about her plans for the future. I have great confidence that if she will keep on the path she has been on and develop the skills God has given her, He will direct her paths as she keeps giving it all to Him. One day at a time the future will unfold. I'm excited to watch it happen.

A day late but inspired by

which I discovered it from CanadaGirl 

The joys of technology!

I am having computer issues yet again!  It is so frustrating!  My laptop, which is only just barely, not even quite, one year old is acting up again!  I have had so much trouble with it every since I had it that it makes me question whether I will ever buy another Toshiba again.  I'm trying to fix it, again, so we'll see how that goes.  Oh how I wish I knew all the ins and outs of computers and could find out what the trouble is and fix it once and for all.  This is driving me crazy!

Anyway, just wanted to pop in and post so as not to miss today, though it's not much of a post.  I had so many ideas for posts today, but they are wrapped up in a laptop that is not working at the moment.  I am using my children's desktop to write this post.  Hopefully I will manage to get the laptop running again quickly.

Oh the joys of technology!

I want to have more time in a day

I can't seem to find enough time in the day to do all that I need/want to do.  Mind you, if I were perfectly truthful, I'd have to admit that I waste a lot of my time and if I actually stuck to doing what I should be doing I'd have no trouble fitting it all in.  Sooooo, while I think I would like to have more time in a day I'd probably just end up wasting it away again.  Truth is I really need to prioritize and not get side tracked.  With that thought in mine I'll answer this week's question for the "I Want Wednesday meme".


"What do you want to change about yourself?"

I want to get my priorities straight.  I want to stop getting sidetracked and stick to the really important things.  I want to get back on track in my sleeping/waking schedule.  I have been totally messed up in that regard for quite a while and it's wearing me out.  I want to feel energetic and revived again.  I want to get back on track with exercising again.  I know that will help with the energy and probably even the sleeping.  I want to change.  Now, how do I make that happen?

post inspired by the January 20th - 

Sneaking in Under the Wire

So many times today I thought about the post for today, but that's as far as it got.  I really need to do a book review, but I just couldn't wrap my head around it, so here I sit trying to sneak a post in before midnight, just to say that I posted today.  How sad is that!  Hopefully tomorrow will be a better day.

Stress fades with Praise!

71. calmly reacting to computer troubles and being able to find solutions 

72. having like minded friends traveling the homeschooling road together 

73. oldest daughters creativity and confidence in making alterations to pieces of clothing

74. reading and discussing the Word with oldest daughter

75. oldest daughter's obvious attempts to try to be more helpful and obedient

76. being able to tidy room again after long time of having it too full to be tidied

77. wonderful break

78. time with daughter, son's girlfriend, and another friend

79. good music and good fun

80. knowing little one is well cared for and content while I'm away

81. husband making arrangements for trip

82. being able to turn to praying friends when trouble comes

83. being able to lay troubles at Jesus' feet and rest

84. safe travels for all

85. my wonderful dad 

I am amazed at how this simple act of remembering and listing things to be thankful for floods my heart with such peace!  It certainly has not been a perfect week.  There was a time of great distress this week, but it fades into the background as I give praise for the good this week.  What a blessing!

Ann explains The Thousand Gifts challenge - to start listing the gifts in the everyday and watch as your list grows...first to 1000...and then beyond...until it becomes an Endless Gifts Lists. Ann says that she tries to "add to the endless list of gifts every Monday... to begin the week with a heart spilling with gratitude!" I am following her example.

70 Years Old

How is it possible that my dad is 70 years old?!  I'm finding that hard to take in.  To me he never ages.

As I've posted here before, my dad is my hero - always has been and always will be.

He is not a tall man in stature, but to me he's heads above everyone else.  Mom likes to tell a story about when I was quite young and we lived in an apartment that had a lower roof than most places.  Dad used to make a big deal out of the fact that he could touch the ceiling and apparently one time when we were out somewhere I was bragging about how my dad could touch the ceiling and I told him to show the people.  It was rather a humbling moment for him.  :)

He is not a perfect man, but in my mind he's as close as you can come.  I've watched him struggle with things about himself that he didn't like, but with God's help he conquered them.

I've said it before and I say it again, I think the most important thing Dad did was to provide me with an earthly example of my Heavenly Father - a Father who's love is unending, but that also has standards to be reached for.

I thank my Heavenly Father for the earthly father he provided me with and I thank Him for the 70 years He's blessed my Dad with.  I'm praying He blesses Him with many more.

No internet, but great overnight trip

Yesterday I missed posting for the first day since 2010.  I went on a road trip with the girls - my oldest daughter, my oldest son's girlfriend, and another girl that is a friend of both girls.  We had a great time!  The only bummer was that the hotel we stayed at didn't have internet available for guests and I couldn't find a connection to use. I was bummed about that, but what a great time we had!  We thoroughly enjoyed the concert we went to see and my daughter got some great pictures.  I love spending time with the girls.  I was planning to so a six word post about the good times and the concert but the plan changed slightly when I couldn't post.  I'm a day late in posting but my six words for yesterday are "No internet, but great overnight trip!"  :)

A Great Cooking Blog

My friend Carla is a wonderful cook - actually I think she's wonder woman because she's a great scrapbooker, cake decorator, teacher, mother, wife, friend, etc. too.  :)

Carla started a cooking blog a couple of years ago but last year the blog kind of fell by the way side.  She revived it this year, however, and has a couple of neat features already that I thought I'd share.

She's started a 52 weeks of cakes theme for 2010 .  Every week she's going to try to remember to post cakes that she has decorated for people that week.  You can also check out some of her decorated cakes from past years.  I'm telling ya, she's good.  She even has a daughter that is following in her mother's footsteps.

She's also starting a Make It Monday Blog Carnival.  Each Monday she's going to post a recipe theme and include a MckLinky in the post for everyone to share their recipes that fit the theme.  The first carnival is coming up this Monday so be sure to check in and participate.

8 Things that Caught My Eye Online This Week

1. The Daily Meme has Photo challenges - I'm trying to get my daughter motivated to take up some of them.  Haven't had any luck so far.  Teenagers!  :)

2. I took great encouragement from Ann's post The Real Secret to Happy Homemaking .  Here are the snippets from it that spoke to me, but please go read the whole thing - "Homemaking is about making a home --- and a home is a safe place, a refuge, a place to be real and alive and truest true...Homemaking is not about making perfection...A perfect home may not at all be a neat as a pin home." -

3. US President's Reading Project - I found out about this through Robin's Book Week Two post and I thought it was a great idea, however, as I am Canadian, I am considering posing my own Canadian Prime Ministers Reading Project. You may see something about that soon.  Please let me know if you'd be interested in such a thing

4. Loved this Sunday's Get Real With God post at Totally Tots.  Here's a quote: "children are the best mirrors. It never fails. If they are going through some behavior issue or attitude problem it doesn’t take long to realize that I am the ultimate cause of this."  Ouch.  I have found that to be so true.

5. 12 Tips for New Bloggers - Though written specifically for book bloggers there are some good tips for all bloggers - Get into a rhythm of regular posting; Read and comment on other blogs;  Ask questions in your posts; and answer questions posed by your readers in the comments; Always link to blog posts that you mention; If you get nasty comments or spam comments, ignore/delete. Do not respond; Enjoy blogging.  I discovered the 12 Tips from Phylis's new book blog, Windy Ridge Books.

6. I'm considering adding the Library Loot to my list of memes to participate in.  I like the idea of sharing great finds from the library and learning about what others have discovered in their local libraries.

7. 6 Steps To Effective Self Learning  Love this post!  My favorite point is point #4 Anytime is learning time.  If we could only get that into our heads!  And a favorite quote: "Let constant learning be a major part of your life-style".  Found out about the 6 steps through a Self Learning post at An Unschooling Life.

8. Booking Through Thursday - another meme that I will likely use as fodder for my blogging.  Every week a question having to do with reading is posed.  Today's question is: Do you read the inside flaps that describe a book before or while reading it?  My answer is most definitely yes! I read everything - the front and back covers, the inside flaps, the forewards and introductions, the reviews, the appendixes - everything!  I know, I'm sick  :)

post inspired by

How do you Shape Your Brand (Witness/Testimony)

Last weekend while participating in the Bloggiesta I read something that I haven't been able to get out of my mind. It was all about the importance of your Brand in the blogging world, but I couldn't get over how much of it also related to the importance of your Christian witness in the world.

As part of her bloggiesta Mini-Challenge about favicons and gravatars, Trish quoted from a ProBlogger post about How to Shape Your Blogs Brand and I had to go check out the whole post.  I hope ProBlogger doesn't mind but I've written my own adaption to the post to show where my mind has been.  I do encourage you to go check out the original post.  Most of these words are from that post, but I've edited them slightly.

1. A Brand (Witness/Testimony) will emerge whether you want it to or not

People begin to develop perceptions about you and what you stand for as they listen to what you say, as they look at what you wear, as they see what's important to you, as they observe how you interact with them and others – all of this contributes to how they perceive and describe you – your brand (witness/testimony).

2. You Can Shape Your Brand (Witness/Testimony)

People will form their own ideas about who you are and what you stand for – but you do have some ability to help them come to these conclusions.

How do you Shape Your Brand (Witness/Testimony)

1. Identify what You want to be Known For

2. Be what you want to be known for…… Consistently

Every time you do anything keep the witness you’re attempting to grow in mind. Everything you write, everything you say, everything you do either has the potential to build and shape your witness or conversely to hurt it.

Build relationships with people and influence their perceptions.  It is very easy to rush into conversations about you with guns blazing to ‘defend’ yourself and ‘fix’ peoples erroneous views about you – however this kind of attitude can actually do more harm than good.  Listen and reflect on what people are saying before you respond.  You’ll not only gain the respect of others but hopefully learn a thing or two about yourself and your witness that will help you improve it.  Don’t get sucked into letting what others say about you determine how you view you or determine your self worth.  Learn to know when to take it on board and learn to know when to let it go and move on.

Such wise, wise words.  Thank-you, ProBlogger.  I know you were talking about something totally different than what I ended up thinking about, but I learned much from your post, for both the blogging world and my Christian witness.

The Dangerous Voyage by Gilbert Morris

The Dangerous Voyage, by Gilbert Morris, is book #1 in The Time Navigators fiction series, written especially for preteens (ages 11-14). In the series Danny and Dixie travel back in time and experience "unforgettable moments in history". In The Dangerous Voyage they are transported back to 1620 in England and they explore the Mayflower.

I found this book on my book shelf last week and decided to re-read it because it fit the requirements for a couple of reading challenges I am participating in - the First in a Series Challenge and also the Young Readers Challenge

I remember buying the book for my children to read after I had read many of the books in Morris' House of Winslow series.  I really enjoyed Winslow's writing and was thrilled to check out his writing for children. Also, as a homeschooling mother, I was always looking to squeeze all the learning I could out of a book and the fact that these books had an historical element to them made them more appealing.

If you are interested in seeing the books in each series you can check out Gilbert Morris' page on Fantastic Fiction. I think that both of these series can be used as additional reading for pleasure in an American history learning unit, the Time Navigator series for younger readers and the House of Winslow series for older readers. Children could be encouraged to record mentions of historical events and people and use this as jump of points for further study. While reading the book this time around I was wondering how it compared to the first book in the House of Winslow series and I wished I had it on my shelves to do the comparing.

I am not a fan of the whole sci-fiction travel in time concept, but I do see how it can be fun for children and it can help them to see things from a different perspective.

I already quoted one passage for the book in my Admit You Need Him post and I'd like to end with another one:

"Are you sure you want the truth?" Dixie asked. "Or do you just want to prove what you already have decided to believe?"

Recalling some, but missing much

61.  friends to share a meal with62.  safe travels for family63.  quick healing of oldest daughter's knuckle64.  books to encourage65.  learning new things66.  oldest daughter keeping youngest occupied so I could rest and recover from illness67.  challenging messages from God's word68.  little one adjusting to her own room69.  enjoying the results of little one's imagination70.  memories packed with decorations
I am going on memory at the moment because I spent most of last week recovering from a bug and then I had computer troubles.  I missed making my daily jots as they occurred.  I know there were many more blessings than what I have recorded and though I didn't get to record them all, I did treasure them more because I was more aware of them than I would have been before taking up the challenge.
Ann explains The Thousand Gifts challenge - to start listing the gifts in the everyday and watch as your list grows...first to 1000...and then beyond...until it becomes an Endless Gifts Lists. Ann says that she tries to "add to the endless list of gifts every Monday... to begin the week with a heart spilling with gratitude!" I am following her example.

Admit You Need Him

"...how can we ask God for anything? We certainly haven't been on good terms with Him."

"Well, I don't know much about God, but I don't think it works quite like that. He doesn't hold out on us until we're good. He just wants us to admit that He's the only one who can help us. Then if we pray..."

A quote from a conversation between Dixie and Danny in The Dangerous Voyage by Gilbert Morris

Learning lots at the bloggiesta festivities!

Here's my six words for today:
Learning lots at the bloggiesta festivities!

Now to expand on those six words  :)


I decided to skim the mini challenges - old and new - and I got sucked in!

Here are the Old Challenges that caught my eye:
Clean Up Your Feedreader - got rid of feeds that hadn't been updated for over a year, got rid of some that I never really read anymore, got rid of some tags - down to 110 subscriptions, 13 tags.  I know that still sounds like a lot and I may do more cleaning yet, we'll see.

Google Alert Challenge - Never heard of Google Alert before and didn't find the link provided with the challenge all that helpful so went searching for info.   I found a good explanation and instructions on how to Set Up Google Alert Yourself and set one up for my blog address and my blog title.

Elevator Pitch - didn't know what an elevator pitch was but up on reading what it was and trying to work on one I realized that I already have a really short one, at 29 words, in my banner.

Favicons and Gravatars - I had heard bout a favicon before but didn't know how to make one or install it on my blog so I decided to give it a try.  I had much trouble but also had much help from Trish and Jill.  I finally figured out how to do it from How to Add a Favicon in Blogger.  In case you don't know what a favicon is, check out the little icon in the URL box by my blog URL.  Notice that it's no longer the bright orange blogger favicon.  I created my own little J's favicon.  Isn't it cool!?  I didn't do the Gravatar part of the challenge

Anchors Aweigh -  I learned about the importance of using more descriptive anchor words for links.  I'm trying to do better at that. 

Grade Your Blog  - I did a website grader and only scored 57%!  Boy, do I need to do some work.  One of the things I need to do is include ALT text for images.  I never do that.  Another is to add meta tags.  I tried, and tried to do that yesterday but never did succeed.  I kept getting an error message when trying to save it.  Sure wish I knew what was wrong

And the new challenges that appealed to me:

Cheat Sheet - I was sort of already doing this with sticky notes on my igoogle page for daily blog posting ideas, but I like the idea of making a master cheat sheet for blogging codes.

Footers and Copyright - I did not have a footer or copyright on my blog at all but this challenge had me searching to find out how to add it.  I found a website that finally helped me figure out how to add a copyright notice to my blog.  You have to scroll down to the bottom to actually see the copyright notice.  
 
Labels and tags - I had actually already started trying to be more consistent in adding labels to my posts.  I still forget sometimes but I'm trying to stay on top of fixing it when I forget.
 
Backing Up Your Blog - I had never thought about doing it before but it's done now, thanks to this challenge.  I can't believe it was so easy to do!
 
Dead Links - I hate dead links, but they are kind of inevitable. I do, however, think it is important to fix them when you become aware of them.  I tried testing my blog for dead links but got really frustrated with trying to read the results.  I may try again later.  I'd love it if people would leave a comment when they found a dead link, because then I would find out about it and fix it.

Care to join the "Bloggiesta" this weekend?

What's a Bloggiesta, you ask?

Natasha says "In short, it’s a blogging marathon.  An opportunity to cross those nagging items off of your to-do list and improve your blog while in the good company of other awesome bloggers doing the same thing." She is hosting a bloggiesta this weekend, starting today. Find out all the details here about what it is, how to play, who can play, prizes, etc.  


I heard about this on Robin's 52 Weeks Blog.  I am definitely going to be checking out the info and mini challenges, which you can read about here.  It sounds like a great way to pick up some blogging tips and help improve your blog, no matter what type of blog it is.


Let me know if you decide to join the celebrations, and what you thought about it after the fact, if you decide to join in the fun.  

8 Things Online that Caught My Eye

1. 2010 Mathematics Game - found this from Let's Play Math.   Not sure if we'll actually do anything with it or not but we might try.  It's a challenge to use the digits in the year 2010 and the operations +, -, x, ÷, ^ (raised to a power), sqrt (square root), and ! (factorial), along with grouping symbols, to write expressions for the counting numbers 1 through 100.  Check out the site for more details.

2. Money making saving goals for 2010 - While I don't see myself doing a lot of the things that she does, I like the idea of setting money making/saving goals for the year.  Not sure if I'll actually do it or not, but I like the idea.  :)

3. Online Game of Sudoku Playing Board - Love this!  My dad has been hooked by Sudoku for a while now and I had tried it but couldn't quite get in to it.  Love playing it through this online playing board, however.  I'm still only at the easy level of play but I've played many games since finding this site last week.

4. 52 Self Portraits a Year - I found this by googling after reading Alex's 52 Fridays of Self Portraits post.  I love the idea and have challenged my oldest daughter to give it a try. I think I'll do it for my little one too.  Through my googling I also discovered the 52 Weeks group which has the same basic idea but is a little more creative.

5. Handmade Ornaments for Christmas 2010 - Found out about this flicker group through Alex's Handmade Ornaments for Christmas 2010 post.  The idea is to pledge to make one ornament a month.  I love the idea.  Not sure if I'll actually do it but I will be watching to see what everyone else is creating.

6. Project 365: How to Take a Picture a Day and See Your Life a Whole New Way - found this page from Molytail 365 .  I actually took up the challenge to take a picture a day in late April last year.  I missed a few days but didn't do too bad. I'm in the process of putting my 2009 Project 365 pictures into a set on Flickr so that I can make a slide show of them. I'm doing the 365 Project again this year and have a 2010 album started at Picasa for it.  I actually have a gadget showing the 2010 album in the sidebar of my blog.  I've already missed one day but that's okay.  I found a Project365 group on flickr.  I may end up switching my album to Flickr - we'll see.

7. GoodReads - found this site when I went looking for an online place to record books I'm reading with my little one.  You can create your own bookshelves to record whatever books you want.  I have a shelf to record books I've read to my little one and also some shelves to record books I read for challenges I've joined.  I have a gadget on my blog showing the books I've read to my little one and I'm thinking about adding gadgets for the other challenges too.

8. The Daily Meme - Need inspiration for blogs posts?  Check out the Daily Meme.  It give links to all kinds of ideas

post inspired by

Returning to Holiness by Dr. Gregory Frizzel

Finished my first book for 2010.  Well, I've actually read 23 different books to my 4 year old so far this year but this is the first book that I read just to me. If you want to see the books I've read to my little one check out my "read to Anna" bookshelf gadget from GoodReads at the bottom of the right hand column of my blog.

This book, Returning to Holiness by Dr. Gregory Frizzel, counts as my first read for the 52 Books in 52 Weeks Challenge and also for the Christian Non-Fiction Challenge.  I've been fighting a bug and haven't made it out to the library yet so I've been raiding my own shelves.  I picked this book up a while back and didn't get around to reading it until now.

Dr. Frizzel stresses the importance of living a holy life and provides guidelines to encourage the reader to begin a journey towards holiness.  He suggests 7 different types of sin - Sins of Thought, Sins of Attitude, Sins of Speech, Sins of Relationships, Sins of Commission, Sins of Omission, and Sins of Self-Rule and Self-Reliance -  that must be looked at to take this journey.  He gives scripture verses that address many different aspects of each type of sin.

I have mixed feeling about the book.  It is a good topic and it has some good stuff in it.  I found parts of it very challenging and I will be revisiting it.  Having said that, however, I do not feel it is well written or well presented.  I found many typos, especially in the last part of the book.  I was also frustrated by the margins and spacing of the type - in other words it wasn't eye appealing.  I do, however, like all the scriptures that are quoted in the book and will be working on committing many of them to memory so that I can better live the holy life God calls me to live.

Finding treasures on my bookshelf

I haven't managed to make it to the library yet, I'm fighting a bug of some sort, so I've been revisiting my own bookshelves and finding some treasures.  One such book is The Counting Book by John Peter.

This is an interactive book that introduces children to the concept of addition.  It was published in 1957 and has a very unique design.  The inside front cover tells you to cut each page into three strips.  The children then turn the strips to match the pictures and form addition equations.  My four year old loves playing with this.

Though I'm a day late this post was inspired by 

So much to be thankful for!

...adding to the list is so easy and really does brighten the darkest of days
31. short visit with uncle and family32. eldest son arriving safe and sound33. a fun contest34. watching youngest and oldest love one another35. sister and husband arriving safe and sound36. listening to oldest make sounds of enjoyment first at the smells and than at the taste of my cooking37. listening to son and daughter play guitars and sing and praise the Lord together38. hearing the laughter and chatter of their together time39. watching son's friend become more comfortable with the family40. mother, father, and "brother of the heart" arriving41. fun times with family42. bringing the New Year in together43. cooking for family44. dishwasher working!45. son getting safely back to his present home46. son and friend arriving safely at her house47. good weather for everyone's travels48. having friends to share burdens49. praying father50. fun loving mother51. sister and husband getting back to their home safe and sound52. the wonders of technology that allow me to "sit in" on a church service many miles away53. table cloth that I like54. sharing books with little one55. finding out how much a cousin enjoyed her time with us56. invitations to visit over the holidays57. time with friends58. listening to a sweet voice sing her own creations59. knowing oldest daughter turns to God for comfort60. being able to lay it all at God's feet
Ann explains The Thousand Gifts challenge - to start listing the gifts in the everyday and watch as your list grows...first to 1000...and then beyond...until it becomes an Endless Gifts Lists.  Ann says that she tries to "add to the endless list of gifts every Monday... to begin the week with a heart spilling with gratitude!" I am following her example.