tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-64925856294404060302024-03-05T03:36:46.402-05:00 Fir and Cypress"For the nation or kingdom that will not serve you will perish; it will be utterly ruined. The glory of Lebanon will come to you, the juniper, the fir and the cypress together, to adorn my sanctuary;and I will glorify the place for my feet." -Isaiah 63:12-13
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16984443185895566485noreply@blogger.comBlogger128125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6492585629440406030.post-68568300834505952212015-05-01T09:42:00.000-04:002015-05-01T09:42:08.172-04:00LaLaLogic Review<div style="text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: large;"> I was recently given the opportunity to review the <a href="http://lalalogic.com/">La La Logic</a> <a href="http://lalalogic.com/">Preschool Curriculum</a></span> <span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: large;">with my 4 year old daughter. You could start using the program as early as 3 years old, and the program is geared for children from ages 3-6. La La Logic is $29 for a lifetime subscription, and it has a free trial you can try out for one month as well. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS; font-size: large;"> La La Logic is based on IQ tests and encourages critical thinking skills and problem solving for your children. As my daughter is only 4 and I haven't done a lot of formal school work with her yet I was amazed at how well she did and how quickly she picked up new skills! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS; font-size: large;"> When you sign in on La La Logic's website you'll be taken to the parent's center which will give you and overview of the 100 week course of study. Each week has both online activities and extra printable and enrichment activities. It's meant to be used at least 3 times a week. For older or more advanced students, it's suggested that you can do extra lessons each day until they reach and area of the program that is more challenging, but it should still be done in order as many activities build on the ones that came before it. There is also an area called "Continuous Brain Challenge Mode" which is great for kids who want to keep going or older children who want to try out the program. (Every homeschool mom knows that as soon as the younger one is seen trying out a new fun computer game, everyone wants a turn!) </span></div>
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<a href="http://schoolhousereviewcrew.com/la-la-logic-review/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt="La La Logic Review" border="0" src="http://i1202.photobucket.com/albums/bb374/TOSCrew2011/-2015%20CREW/LaLaLogic4_zpsdgu0midx.jpg" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://schoolhousereviewcrew.com/la-la-logic-review/" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt="La La Logic Review" border="0" src="http://i1202.photobucket.com/albums/bb374/TOSCrew2011/-2015%20CREW/LaLaLogic1_zpsrpycrqvq.jpg" /></a><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS; font-size: large;"> We started out by doing several weeks at a time, since the first lesson were quite simple for my daughter. You can use the activities on a computer or touch-screen type device. We chose to use my laptop as I wanted my daughter to get some practice with the mouse pad (she's quite adept at using the tablet already!) She enjoyed the funny characters on the screen and called her baby brother over to watch them dance. Most of the activities were pretty self explanatory and she was able to figure out what she was being asked to do with adult assistance (I did sit with her and helped her when she got mixed up). The enrichment activities we did later in the day and she enjoyed having "real schoolwork" like her big brothers. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS; font-size: large;">Overall, we really have been enjoying La La Logic's preschool curriculum. I think its an excellent value for what you get and it will be of a lot of use to us as we still have another children who will grow into it soon! I would encourage you to take advantage of there free trial offer as well, you won't be disappointed.</span> <a href="http://lalalogic.com/"></a></div>
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<strong><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: large;">Find La La Logic on Facebook:</span></strong></center>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: large;">Come read what other Crew members had to say! </span></center>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16984443185895566485noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6492585629440406030.post-37569504374537595002015-04-22T11:10:00.001-04:002015-04-22T11:10:15.787-04:00ARTistic Pursuits Review<center>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: large;"> Art is something that is very important to me. I am a creative person and I always have some (read 20) crafty projects going on in my house. So as a homeschool mom I love teaching art to my children. My eldest son in particular (he's 9) loves to draw and has and entire drawer filled with "how to draw" books. A while back I decided to look online and find a curriculum that might help me introduce different artistic mediums and more knowledge of Visual arts to my children and I ran across the <a href="http://artisticpursuits.com/">ARTistic pursuits</a> website. I fell in love with their art curriculum, but it wasn't at a time where I could add anything to the course of study we were already doing. Imagine how excited I was when I got the opportunity to review their first book
<a href="http://www.artisticpursuits.com/2112bk_k31.html">Early Elementary K-3 Book one: An Introduction to the Visual Arts</a> as part of the Review crew!
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS; font-size: large;"><a href="http://schoolhousereviewcrew.com/visual-learning-systems-review/" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt="ARTistic Pursuits Review" border="0" src="http://i1202.photobucket.com/albums/bb374/TOSCrew2011/2014TOSCREW/ARTistic%20Pursuits/covK-31002_zps1e7c8380.jpg" /></a> ARTistic Pursuits' book one is broken up into three sections: What Artists Do, What Artists See, and Where We Find Art. There are a total of 36 lessons separated into these three sections, so easily enough to last you through a school year. Each lesson has a section to read and learn about artist and art and then a project for you to do with your children. There is list a supplies to have on hand at the beginning of the book and then what you'll need for each project at the beginning of each lesson. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: large;"> The lessons give your children a chance to think like an artist, and then translate those thoughts into their own artwork. There is also many full color prints of famous artwork through out the book that gives your children the opportunity to study artwork and see what emotions, subjects and mediums different arts have used in the past.</span><br />
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We have really been enjoying working on this curriculum together. Because it is geared for Kindergarten through Third grade (it says ages 5 and up) my 9, 7, and 4 year old all were eager to participate (so was the baby, but we mostly just let him color with crayons in the highchair as we talked). My 7 and 9 year olds were most fully able to understand all the subject matter, while the 4 year old enjoyed more participating in the art project portion of the lesson. For our family, art is never a subject that is boring or difficult to get my children to participate in, they were all eager for every new lesson and several times wished they could do another art project rather than work on reading, math or spelling. </div>
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ARTistic Pursuits Early Elementary K-3 Book one: An Introduction to the Visual Arts is $47.95. I hope we'll be able to purchase the other books in the curriculum as well, I think ARTistic Pursuits will give your children a well-rounded study of art throughout their homeschool career. Click on the link below if you want to hear what other Crew members had to say about some of the other curriculum levels that ARTistic pursuits offers.</div>
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<strong><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: large;">Find ARTistic Pursuits on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/ArtisticPursuitsInc?notif_t=page_user_activity">Facebook</a></span></strong></center>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16984443185895566485noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6492585629440406030.post-21333682131911717672015-04-16T08:55:00.002-04:002015-04-16T08:55:52.750-04:00Memoria Press Review<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">I have recently had the opportunity to review a cursive writing curriculum from </span><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;"><a href="http://www.memoriapress.com/">Memoria Press</a> called </span></span><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS; font-size: large;"><a href="http://www.memoriapress.com/curriculum/penmanship/new-american-cursive">New American Cursive</a>:Penmanship Program Workbook 1. Cursive writing is not often taught in our school systems today and I was eager to teach my own homeschooled children. Though Memoria Press includes this soft-covered, spiral-bound workbook with their first grade classical curriculum, I decided it would be the best fit for my third grader. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS; font-size: large;"><a href="http://s16.photobucket.com/user/Dakota122503/media/Memoria%20Press%20Pin.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo Memoria Press Pin.jpg" border="0" src="http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b22/Dakota122503/Memoria%20Press%20Pin.jpg" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS; font-size: large;"> New American Cursive is a workbook with fun interactive lessons that are engaging to young children. Some of the letters are somewhat simplified from classic cursive writing, making them easier to write. As they learn each new upper and lower case cursive letter, there is a space for their own unique artwork. My son used this are to draw pictures of the cursive letters going on extraordinary adventures. It worked out to be a great way to capture his interest and provided him with extra practice on his letters! </span><br />
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<a href="http://schoolhousereviewcrew.com/memoria-press-review-2/" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt="Memoria Press Review" border="0" src="http://i1202.photobucket.com/albums/bb374/TOSCrew2011/-2015%20CREW/New-American-Cursive_0%201_zpsomx7h4hg.png" /></a><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS; font-size: large;"> I think this workbook will be a great introduction to cursive for any young child K-3 depending on the child. My third grader has some fine-motor delays/ dyslexic-tendencies and handwriting has always been an area of struggle for him. I know that often children who do struggle with printing can improve when taught cursive. I hope this is the case for him, he did really enjoy using the workbook and mommy enjoyed that it was simple for him to understand what was required of him so he could do the work independently. I also really like the format of this book. the spiral binding is at the top of the book making it equally effective for left and right handed children. This is an aspect often overlooked by publishers and so I really appreciate the forethought that went into New American Cursive. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS; font-size: large;"> There is a teaching guide at the beginning of the book which gives several suggestions on how to make this program successful for your children. It also talks about why cursive is important for your children. I didn't know that cursive can improve the neural pathways between the left and right side of the brain! I'll be eager to see how this benefit my strongly left-brained child. The work samples of some of the 6 and 7 year olds that did this program are very impressive, however I know that not all children will be capable of such excellent penmanship so early on and I am happy with the age we are starting at as I feel it's perfect for our situation. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS; font-size: large;"> New American Cursive is $22.95, there are several pages you can look at and try out on their website if you would like to see the format they use. There are also additional levels that Memoria Press offers for more advanced cursive practice. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS; font-size: large;"> If you would like more information, please go check out Memoria Press' website and the other reviews by Review Crew members (click the link below). Memoria Press also offers lots of other classical curriculum materials on their website, so be sure to check them out as well. </span><br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16984443185895566485noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6492585629440406030.post-19908805432441174592015-03-11T08:49:00.002-04:002015-03-11T08:49:45.592-04:00Egglo Entertainment Review<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: large;"> Easter is on it's way! My kids are always excited about celebrating Easter with an egg hunt, and we got to have one early this year as we tried out some fun Christ-centered products from </span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="http://www.eggloentertainment.com/">Egglo Entertainment</a>.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: large;">Egglo Entertainment sent us several Easter products to try out in our home including a set of their <a href="http://www.eggloentertainment.com/product/egglo-glow-in-the-dark-easter-eggs/">glow-in-the-dark eggs</a>, <a href="http://www.eggloentertainment.com/product/adventure-book/">The Egg-cellent Easter Adventure book</a>, <a href="http://www.eggloentertainment.com/product/egglo-treasures-scripture-scrolls/">Egglo Treasures Scripture Scrolls</a>, and their <a href="http://www.eggloentertainment.com/product/curriculum/">downloadable event curriculum</a>. Here's our family's impression of each of these items:</span><br />
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<a href="http://s16.photobucket.com/user/Dakota122503/media/Egglo%202.jpg.html" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo Egglo 2.jpg" border="0" src="http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b22/Dakota122503/Egglo%202.jpg" height="320" width="248" /></a><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS; font-size: large;"><a href="http://www.eggloentertainment.com/product/egglo-glow-in-the-dark-easter-eggs/">Egglo Glow in the Dark Easter Eggs</a> : These eggs are a stronger, more durable version of what you'd typically find in the stores. Plus, if you charge them well (instructions come in the box) they have a very strong glow!! We had an indoor night time egg hunt since it's been very warm here and there are LOTS of creepy crawlies outside at night. =)The eggs were easy to spot in the dark, even for our 2 year old. It was really fun to have a different kind of egg hunt at night, the kids had a lot of fun with it. There are some pre-made scavenger hunts on the Egglo website if you would like to make your egg hunt into a scavenger hunt. </span></div>
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<a href="http://s16.photobucket.com/user/Dakota122503/media/Egglo4.jpg.html" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo Egglo4.jpg" border="0" src="http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b22/Dakota122503/Egglo4.jpg" height="307" width="400" /></a><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS; font-size: large;"><a href="http://www.eggloentertainment.com/product/egglo-treasures-scripture-scrolls/">Egglo Treasures Scripture Scrolls</a>: Each Scripture Scroll had a shortened version of a Bible verse written on it, many with the theme of Jesus being the Light of the World to tie into the theme of a glow in the darkness. The inventive little scroll design made these different and fun for the kids. The paper is a thicker on these, which makes them more durable for rolling and unrolling. I do wish these had the full Scriptures written on them as they would make a wonderful Bible memorization tool if they did. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="http://www.eggloentertainment.com/product/bible-verse-scroll-stickers/">Bible Verse Scroll Stickers</a> These are a sticker version of the Scripture Scrolls. You can use them for decorating your eggs, for Easter cards for friends, or even inside the eggs as a little treasure to discover. These are quality stickers that are thick enough to not rip easily as you remove them from the backing. </span></div>
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<a href="http://schoolhousereviewcrew.com/egglo-entertainment-review/" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt="Egglo Entertainment Review" border="0" src="http://i1202.photobucket.com/albums/bb374/TOSCrew2011/-2015%20CREW/dc1fe05e-ef93-4b5d-967b-9a769701b91c_zpsxookrjmy.jpg" height="400" width="274" /></a><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="http://www.eggloentertainment.com/product/adventure-book/">The Egg-cellent Easter Adventure Book</a>- This is a paperback story book about a magical adventure that 3 kids and their dog go on together. They follow magical glowing eggs that send them around the world in search of a treasure. Each child learns a lesson through Scripture references about how to put others first, trust in God and listen to others. The illustrations in the book are excellent and vividly colorful. I would have preferred if this story had been a little more realistic personally. I think it's difficult for children to understand the Truth of Scripture when it's written into an imaginary adventure filled with things that couldn't really happen. But the story itself was fascinating to my children and they enjoyed the bright pictures and I found them flipping through the pages again and again. It also sparked a great discussion for us about how we could use the lessons learned in the included Scriptures in real-life situations. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a class="bbc_link" href="http://www.eggloentertainment.com/product/curriculum/" target="_blank">The Egglo Glow in the Dark Egg Hunt Event Curriculum</a>: This downloadable curriculum is a great resource for churches, schools or other big Easter events. It comes with several versions of invitation, wall decorations, and lots of ideas. There are crafts and Easter themed snacks to make. We enjoyed the coloring pages that were included. There's also some egg hunt discussion questions, additional game ideas and questions to discuss the book as well.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: large;"> My kids had a great time with these products from Egglo Entertainment. And I know that the glow in the dark eggs will be a perennial favorite with them even after Easter is over. They have already been incorporating them into some of their other toys (they make great "dragon eggs" in a dark nest). Egglo actually has a whole <a href="https://www.pinterest.com/eggloeggs/egglo-gets-crafty-creativity-with-a-message/">pinterest page</a> set up to come up with more ideas for using your glow in the dark eggs. </span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16984443185895566485noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6492585629440406030.post-14603331671919768722015-02-03T11:31:00.000-05:002015-02-03T11:31:47.731-05:00Contentment in the Midst of Chaos<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: #b6d7a8;"><span class="text Phil-4-11" id="en-NIV-29454" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; text-align: start;"><span class="versenum" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;">" ...</span> I have learned to be content <span class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-NIV-29454A" data-link="(<a href="#cen-NIV-29454A" title="See cross-reference A">A</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 0.625em; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></span>whatever the circumstances.</span><span class="text Phil-4-12" id="en-NIV-29455" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; text-align: start;"><span class="versenum" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"> </span>I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry,<span class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-NIV-29455B" data-link="(<a href="#cen-NIV-29455B" title="See cross-reference B">B</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 0.625em; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></span> whether living in plenty or in want. </span><span class="text Phil-4-13" id="en-NIV-29456" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; text-align: start;"><span class="versenum" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"> </span>I can do all this through him who gives me strength." ~Philippians 4:11-13</span></span></div>
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<span class="text Phil-4-13" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; text-align: start;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: #b6d7a8; line-height: 24px;"> </span><span style="background-color: #b6d7a8; line-height: 24px;">We've all been there. Chaos. Too many demands and not enough time to meet them. Too much stuff and not enough place to put it. Too much emotion and not enough time to sort through them. How do you deal with chaos in your life? Do you run from it? Do you ignore it? Do you stand strong in your own strength? </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;"> Sometimes we can look at our situation and we can remove certain unessential things and make our lives less hectic, and sometimes, it's just not possible. Life is hard. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;"> Sometimes, what we need to do is get out of our own head. Seeing someone else's perspective can help us put our own in it's proper place. And often the best way to gain some perspective is not from your friend who looks at everything the same way as you do. Look at a different country or a different time, or get to know someone in different circumstances than you. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjG7BDMl2bPnAeee_5noCFu4WuAnxlC1UWlhHHc5_riN1w0JWFQARnHVyRaMzuud3SOIDU4_jvz3vDiEnlWyXhOOsLAfDr1uLOaAZ7ABbqvj5aA7jRja0nHGPFls8uMkJzx0j6HTA6RfOk/s1600/Mexico+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: x-large; line-height: 24px; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjG7BDMl2bPnAeee_5noCFu4WuAnxlC1UWlhHHc5_riN1w0JWFQARnHVyRaMzuud3SOIDU4_jvz3vDiEnlWyXhOOsLAfDr1uLOaAZ7ABbqvj5aA7jRja0nHGPFls8uMkJzx0j6HTA6RfOk/s1600/Mexico+1.jpg" height="468" width="640" /></a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihhg4Eicn2O_iR9dmhBzVQX1Ch3dpCX5sebq7qmajkR0Tr-Nc96U74ieESdgEDrw4S1ntrTchFLzNQsdASjkH0G-kOGRJdLy-0wYEiYhdXG7i9D46HgukgZrGNlvkVncEH9AxUiI6vKJs/s1600/Mexico+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="background-color: white; clear: right; float: right; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: x-large; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihhg4Eicn2O_iR9dmhBzVQX1Ch3dpCX5sebq7qmajkR0Tr-Nc96U74ieESdgEDrw4S1ntrTchFLzNQsdASjkH0G-kOGRJdLy-0wYEiYhdXG7i9D46HgukgZrGNlvkVncEH9AxUiI6vKJs/s1600/Mexico+2.jpg" height="400" width="197" /></a><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;"> When I was in college I went on a missions trip to the Mexican slums. We were helping people who lived in the trash heaps of Mexico to build permanent homes, instead of the homes built out of trash that they were living in. During a break in our work, a few of us decided to get in a wrestling match to push each other into a mud puddle. We all ended up more covered in dirt than we were before, but we didn't care, we had fun and we went back to work with smiles on our faces.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;"> At the end of the day we did a VBS class for the local children. Those of us that had been muddied up left our shoes and socks by the front door of the church and went in barefoot. At the end of our class, we went to go put our shoes back on. A woman who we had been helping build an outhouse came over to me. Everyday I had been there, she had worn the same dress. Her house where she lived with her large family, was about the size of my bathroom back home. She had just received a small bag of donated clothes from the mission and she came over to me to offer me a pair of clean socks because mine were covered in mud. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;"> This woman lived in a situation that was "chaotic" by our US standards. She had very little, no running water, dirt floors, lots of people in a small space. But she chose, out of her poverty to be kind and share. With me, who had a drawer full of so many socks back home that I could barely close it. I thanked her kindly but let her know to the best of my ability in my limited Spanish that I would be okay, I had more socks. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;"> I tell this story because I think its a great example of the perspective I am talking about. What would your attitude be in her situation? Would you have enough compassion left to be giving to others? Or would you be so overwhelmed by your own miserable situation to feel that you had nothing to give, nothing to offer someone else because your own concerns overwhelmed you? </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;"> I don't speak from a place of contentment. I struggle with wishing for more. I can get stuck in focusing on the negatives of my life that I wish I could change. There's a dangerous idea in our culture that has even infected the church. The idea that if our life isn't how we want it we can just change it by a conscious effort. That anything that is hard or not how we want it, we shouldn't have to deal with. Tell that to the person who will spend the rest of their life in a wheel chair, or who has lost their child, or who has terminal cancer. Sometimes, things aren't fixable. But our attitude IS. We can always fix our perspective, our compassion for others, our gratefulness for what we DO have rather than our negativity for what we don't. </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: #b6d7a8; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">"I can do all this through him who gives me strength." </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #b6d7a8; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">~Philippians 4:11-13</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #b6d7a8; line-height: 24px;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;"> It's God's strength and not our own who can carry us through whatever difficulty we face. It's God's perspective that will bring us contentment. Knowing that he has placed us EXACTLY where we are for a purpose and a reason.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #b6d7a8;"><span style="line-height: 24px;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;"> </span></span><span class="versenum" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"> "</span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">And we know that for those who love God all things work together </span><span class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-ESV-28129E" data-link="(<a href="#cen-ESV-28129E" title="See cross-reference E">E</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 0.625em; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">for good,</span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;"> for </span><span class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-ESV-28129F" data-link="(<a href="#cen-ESV-28129F" title="See cross-reference F">F</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 0.625em; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">those who are called according to his purpose."</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #b6d7a8; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">~Romans 8:28</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #b6d7a8;"><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;"> </span><span style="line-height: 24px;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Whatever you face right now, there is hope. No matter how hard it seems and how much you would rather give up. DO GIVE UP! Give up yourself and take on God's strength. Give up your hurt and take on God's peace. Give up your negativity and take on God's hope that your life has meaning and purpose. Be content, not because everything is FINALLY perfect but because there is a job you have right here and now. Do YOUR best and be content, because that IS enough. </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16984443185895566485noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6492585629440406030.post-81206914218966962402015-01-25T19:04:00.000-05:002015-02-18T19:06:18.029-05:00Scripture and a Snapshot<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16984443185895566485noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6492585629440406030.post-47579684738857474322015-01-18T19:46:00.000-05:002015-01-27T19:46:48.006-05:00Scripture and a Snapshot<div style="text-align: center;">
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16984443185895566485noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6492585629440406030.post-32825074662221453332015-01-11T19:35:00.000-05:002015-01-27T19:35:41.276-05:00Scripture and a Snapshot <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16984443185895566485noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6492585629440406030.post-85030228897324625902015-01-04T10:14:00.000-05:002015-01-13T10:18:28.219-05:00Scripture and a Snapshot<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;"> This picture is from about a week ago. I felt I need to add that disclaimer because if I still lived up North I would be sure this was a fall picture. But this far south we only have a few trees that change color and it's much later in the year than in other parts of the country. Hope you had a Happy New Year wherever you hail from! </span><br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16984443185895566485noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6492585629440406030.post-89188254198615860312014-12-28T09:53:00.000-05:002015-01-13T09:54:26.650-05:00Scripture and a Snapshot<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16984443185895566485noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6492585629440406030.post-35074266940732403562014-12-21T15:36:00.000-05:002015-01-03T15:46:30.584-05:00Scripture and a Snapshot<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Have you had hard time using alternative flours to make baked goods? Whether you are doing the Trim Healthy Mama plan, low-carb, paleo or gluten-free it can be difficult to get the "right" texture. These coconut flour cupcakes are one of the closest facsimiles to a store-bought cupcakes that I have tried! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">This recipe is based on one I saw on <a href="http://elanaspantry.com/paleo-vanilla-cupcakes/">Elana's Pantry</a> but I switched a few ingredients to make it THM friendly and low-glycemic, so I thought I would share my adaptations with you! These cupcakes will be slightly denser than you may be used to but the result was still everything I was craving in a cupcake! I have tried several different brands of coconut flour and I wasn't impressed at first, most were very dry and not very tasty. These were made with <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00INGZX1Y/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B00INGZX1Y&linkCode=as2&tag=firandcyp09-20&linkId=QSAO3HODYSHHKCAB" rel="nofollow">Nutiva's coconut flour</a> and I have to say that this is, by far, my favorite coconut flour. It has a moist-ness that the others were lacking and also has a real coconut smell! It stores really well in the freezer.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLU8OW_FcfW3CSXfHwqhVfjIaKP-D5aEb7Klr2mfx9g9pIa8MuC9d59paHZJ8vLg-7v84_sjD4OwuW-Y4yZpYFio6fRNofuw9CYIT7ZdcZf5ka1XybvVvapcOwecYEiXo__AnpCyZRfEU/s1600/cupcake+5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLU8OW_FcfW3CSXfHwqhVfjIaKP-D5aEb7Klr2mfx9g9pIa8MuC9d59paHZJ8vLg-7v84_sjD4OwuW-Y4yZpYFio6fRNofuw9CYIT7ZdcZf5ka1XybvVvapcOwecYEiXo__AnpCyZRfEU/s1600/cupcake+5.jpg" height="400" width="263" /></a><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Have you noticed these gorgeous teacup silicone cupcake liners I'm using? They are by Ramini and I received a free set of 4 for the purpose of review. They are so adorable and my 4 year old daughter is absolutely smitten with them! You can buy your own set <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00L6MENSQ/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B00L6MENSQ&linkCode=as2&tag=firandcyp09-20&linkId=IW57E57FMBXA7365" rel="nofollow">here</a>. They even come with little plastic plates to set each cupcake on. (The plates are only decorative and NOT for putting in the oven!)</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8sKTDkZu1dVL4auEktuegwU7FKiqOx15glTITNeuvvgDzWmvm2R28DcuPC61rs9C3gCP3FJcnQQvQfTvRYgt8wMfhn1UEDuf6RMI3yWw3PVR5mB2QNKcfaHSYNNQQObjwC-rrL09E_RQ/s1600/cupcake+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8sKTDkZu1dVL4auEktuegwU7FKiqOx15glTITNeuvvgDzWmvm2R28DcuPC61rs9C3gCP3FJcnQQvQfTvRYgt8wMfhn1UEDuf6RMI3yWw3PVR5mB2QNKcfaHSYNNQQObjwC-rrL09E_RQ/s1600/cupcake+2.jpg" height="218" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><u>Vanilla Coconut Flour Cupcakes</u></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">(based on this <a href="http://elanaspantry.com/paleo-vanilla-cupcakes/">Elana's Pantry recipe</a>)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">~makes 6 cupcakes~</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">3 eggs </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">1/4 cup coconut oil (melted)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">1 Tbs vanilla extract</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">6 tsps Truvia </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">(if you like things less sweet you could use 4 tsp)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">1/4 tsp unrefined sea salt</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">1/4 tsp baking soda</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">1/4 cup coconut flour</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">This recipe works best in a food processor, especially if your coconut flour is coming out of the freezer as it has a tendency to clump up a bit. If you happen to have non-clumped coconut flour, feel free to mix it in a bowl. Preheat oven to 350. </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: large;">In a food processor, add the coconut flour, Truvia, sea salt, and baking soda. Add eggs and vanilla, while processor is running on low, add melted coconut oil. Line a cupcake tin with paper liners or use silicone cupcake liners. If you are in love with these silicone teacup liners like I am you can order them <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00L6MENSQ/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B00L6MENSQ&linkCode=as2&tag=firandcyp09-20&linkId=IW57E57FMBXA7365" rel="nofollow">here</a>.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhp_PiYoYW4FdjP6UojgJ4m9xG73WgBqKmisDqsZ8cXmt1zYwBIqWOlfuYci50jniGvvw5MqZd0S9QYKf4T_rJm1BWQKMGTrhX8nI8rbDHCKPenXqfoJVijBWx65CP86tgZdorOtODyt40/s1600/cupcake+6.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhp_PiYoYW4FdjP6UojgJ4m9xG73WgBqKmisDqsZ8cXmt1zYwBIqWOlfuYci50jniGvvw5MqZd0S9QYKf4T_rJm1BWQKMGTrhX8nI8rbDHCKPenXqfoJVijBWx65CP86tgZdorOtODyt40/s1600/cupcake+6.png" height="400" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><u><b>Chocolate Frosting</b></u></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">based on <a href="http://elanaspantry.com/paleo-chocolate-frosting/">this recipe</a> from Elana's pantry</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">4 oz. unsweetened baker's chocolate</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">1/4 cup coconut oil</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">4-5 tsp Truvia, or stevia to taste</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">2 tsp pure vanilla extract</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">1/4 cup heavy cream </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">(you can eliminate this for dairy-free, the chocolate will be darker)</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhV3oxHnRh6NLOPtrGXIx9n26oDUpnAL-6wQFPpV2avcwVZ3s_I7C3z-2kT7WT-M7XeE77rPpTfHQY2_d_h4FsYCIFOUbKt1yCXcvs7LnEvmm4a_QCD54WSF6mWTVMWNDATVuu45gOD1W0/s1600/cupcake+6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhV3oxHnRh6NLOPtrGXIx9n26oDUpnAL-6wQFPpV2avcwVZ3s_I7C3z-2kT7WT-M7XeE77rPpTfHQY2_d_h4FsYCIFOUbKt1yCXcvs7LnEvmm4a_QCD54WSF6mWTVMWNDATVuu45gOD1W0/s1600/cupcake+6.jpg" height="400" width="291" /></a><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">In a double-boiler, melt the chocolate and coconut oil. Remove from heat and add Truvia, vanilla extract. Stir until well combined. Place in the refrigerator until solidifying partially but not fully. Whip heavy cream until it's a whip cream consistency, set aside. Remove mixture from the refrigerator and whip until frosting like consistency (if it hasn't thickened enough this won't work- so put it back in the fridge and let it cool a little more). Once it's whipped, fold in heavy cream until its fully combined. Frost your cupcakes when they are fully cool.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbY8BZ8Atla_TYFXKmaueaFk1oayqa9HEiZV9JnBml8vBYqnCAGdpTqyDd5lYr4kkqmG-lmPn445BML-J87fVku-9X7Se8SRWtmZpb-ZBJb-jnl-DGwLEJG1KYinmtYncUyV_MwoTOom0/s1600/cupcake+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbY8BZ8Atla_TYFXKmaueaFk1oayqa9HEiZV9JnBml8vBYqnCAGdpTqyDd5lYr4kkqmG-lmPn445BML-J87fVku-9X7Se8SRWtmZpb-ZBJb-jnl-DGwLEJG1KYinmtYncUyV_MwoTOom0/s1600/cupcake+3.jpg" height="283" width="320" /></a> <span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">If you store these in the fridge, the frosting will harden somewhat, so be sure to take them out and let them come to room temperature before eating them (unless you like hard frosting- or just can't wait!) ;) I think these taste best if you frost them and have them right away, so you can try to plan accordingly. I hope you enjoy these like we do! Please leave a comment if you try them and let me know what you think! </span><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgz94qndWB7U3qs3FlhXYN1ZAZRB-g28Eb0bEaNp2QN_3ne1zrFdR2lHDkb3pPY7M1KdTT_Ffs73IdDwlpm6U_1vAw33OZRmRYrtiAOy3KUUpqfkpegztwbX32DWU2OUYG4OD2991DgYn4/s1600/cupcake.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; display: inline !important; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgz94qndWB7U3qs3FlhXYN1ZAZRB-g28Eb0bEaNp2QN_3ne1zrFdR2lHDkb3pPY7M1KdTT_Ffs73IdDwlpm6U_1vAw33OZRmRYrtiAOy3KUUpqfkpegztwbX32DWU2OUYG4OD2991DgYn4/s1600/cupcake.jpg" height="400" width="307" /></a><br />
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I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using <a href="http://www.tomoson.com/?code=BOTTOM4413aecf933fef1af4955ab0c161f79f" rel="nofollow">Tomoson.com</a>. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16984443185895566485noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6492585629440406030.post-787858454093871212014-11-26T07:31:00.001-05:002014-11-26T07:31:34.462-05:00Matcha Green Tea Cookies<a href="http://www.tomoson.com/?code=TOP105c31ff2081a9f94503256fa65c380c" rel="nofollow"><img src="http://www.tomoson.com/images/front/pixel.png" style="display: none;" /></a>
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<i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Some of the links in this post are "affiliate links" which means that if you click through one and purchase something, I will receive a small compensation, Thank You! This is disclosed on ther top of every post to comply with FTC regulations for bloggers.</span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Green Tea has a lot of health benefits that we have all heard about! It's been in the news a lot, how powerful and antioxidant it is, and how it , may help prevent certain types of cancers. It's enough to make anyone want to add more green tea to their diet! But not everyone likes to drink green tea, and even if you do, sometimes its fun to change things up a bit!</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_jvxXQ7_ir6-GqiXEsWd29vEj9eZqyJE372xMt9CwC8FhPJM3cL9sIH-ctyQ7emplZnEOHf7DjE_l4sByQJLgPu79C4zcEXOFm-d6kzJvINqX6lcJDhcIw0TPHklDGtj_nwiFlI7mmQ8/s1600/Matcha+Cookies+Pin.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_jvxXQ7_ir6-GqiXEsWd29vEj9eZqyJE372xMt9CwC8FhPJM3cL9sIH-ctyQ7emplZnEOHf7DjE_l4sByQJLgPu79C4zcEXOFm-d6kzJvINqX6lcJDhcIw0TPHklDGtj_nwiFlI7mmQ8/s1600/Matcha+Cookies+Pin.jpg" height="640" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUwAGBuSvYMc6LrxOoC5nhX_W-qbyC3Lajk_7dl1pWk-AE9ebICj-ZSZWlZxjzkJbClmqGaxHKh15ZMtNxLevkkpmJDzjNmU4qZBaCGsz9gsuACXK0rwe9VZ0GpD8eD2NKTeAOmK-_dh8/s1600/548fa851f92c6d1f334103f438bd25c63686f3dd.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUwAGBuSvYMc6LrxOoC5nhX_W-qbyC3Lajk_7dl1pWk-AE9ebICj-ZSZWlZxjzkJbClmqGaxHKh15ZMtNxLevkkpmJDzjNmU4qZBaCGsz9gsuACXK0rwe9VZ0GpD8eD2NKTeAOmK-_dh8/s1600/548fa851f92c6d1f334103f438bd25c63686f3dd.jpg" height="200" width="200" /></a> <span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I have tried matcha tea in the past and <a href="http://firandcypress.blogspot.com/2013/10/trim-healthy-tuesday-matcha-pudding-two.html">incorporated it into some of my recipes</a>, but here's a new one that maybe </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: large;">your haven't heard of before Green Tea Cookies! I was inspired when I tried <a href="http://amzn.to/1vMYGTU" rel="nofollow">Matcha from Kiss me Organics </a>and received their free matcha recipe e-book. It has over 50 recipes using Matcha so there's a lot to try out and enjoy! Drinks, muffins, cookies, even pizza dough! I love a matcha latte with cream. It's one of the only caffeinated drinks that doesn't leave me feeling jittery afterwards.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZQLTdb3pDR8qE-PEYOnaNyVcb3pxo_LKV0DCK4ZPmwE1AcjvLixD9wzshg8Hb5re5m9WVsovKpjCtivjpmHawjiDqLcgEyjRVNCOZ7fNsegh9VCO9YGsw9iKVR2ZCN8EvjFdiKMdSQu8/s1600/6f1ea2794efed361e7528e912245b0c7e3dddb78.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZQLTdb3pDR8qE-PEYOnaNyVcb3pxo_LKV0DCK4ZPmwE1AcjvLixD9wzshg8Hb5re5m9WVsovKpjCtivjpmHawjiDqLcgEyjRVNCOZ7fNsegh9VCO9YGsw9iKVR2ZCN8EvjFdiKMdSQu8/s1600/6f1ea2794efed361e7528e912245b0c7e3dddb78.png" height="200" width="158" /></a><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;"> These cookies have a green tea flavor that goes really nicely with a sugar cookie, its like having your tea and cookies all in one! There's a sugar cookie recipe in the book, however I switched it up a bit to suit my own ideas about how to make it as healthy as possible! My kids love these cookies but I didn't let them have more than 1 because they are young and I am very careful with how much caffeine they can consume. This recipe makes close to 2 dozen cookies with one tablespoon of matcha making each cookie have less than half a tsp of matcha in it. I believe this is a safe amount for a child to have but I won't make a judgement call on that for your children =) This would be a great recipe for taking with you if you are going to get a lot of sun. Antioxidants help to decrease damage from free radicals and green tea is LOADED with antioxidants! </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizCx9wagX2cwP80AyL-lR8kN8d-DalzbjL5bM57jAt63qx3ijq_Mdv3D9Ny87wfqtDkYNyh8sIbFltUWgm4DpXAiDOUbg43pSrCky6halwD9Je2Qvw7k7o7Bbm6Sz_kcNLgtW0J1MQrpE/s1600/Matcha+Cookies+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizCx9wagX2cwP80AyL-lR8kN8d-DalzbjL5bM57jAt63qx3ijq_Mdv3D9Ny87wfqtDkYNyh8sIbFltUWgm4DpXAiDOUbg43pSrCky6halwD9Je2Qvw7k7o7Bbm6Sz_kcNLgtW0J1MQrpE/s1600/Matcha+Cookies+2.jpg" height="307" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><u>Matcha Green Tea Cookies</u></span><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Ingredients:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">1 egg</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">1/2 cup butter (softened)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">1/4 cup coconut oil (softened)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">3/4 cup coconut sugar</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">1 TBS <a href="http://amzn.to/1vMYGTU" rel="nofollow">Matcha Green Tea</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">1 tsp pure vanilla extract</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">1 1/4 cups unbleached white flour</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">1/4 cup demerera sugar for sprinkling (optional)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Directions:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;"> Preheat oven to 350. Cream butter, coconut oil and coconut sugar together. Add matcha, vanilla and egg. Mix well. Add flours and mix until combined. Use a cookie scoop to place on a parchment lined cookie sheet. Flatten with a fork and sprinkle with demerara sugar. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes until edges are light brown.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">This cookie has a definite green tea flavor, so if it's not your favorite flavor then you could work up to the full tbs. over time. Our family loved them as they were. I bet it wouldn't be hard to adapt this recipe and make a killer sourdough version as well or you cold certainly used a sprouted grain flour if you chose to. Our family does try to incorporate as many traditional foods as we can into our diets, but we aren't militant about it. =)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I hope you try and love this recipe as much as we do! Please let us know if you do! </span></div>
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I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using <a href="http://www.tomoson.com/?code=BOTTOM105c31ff2081a9f94503256fa65c380c" rel="nofollow">Tomoson.com</a>. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16984443185895566485noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6492585629440406030.post-38413742847217621412014-11-18T12:39:00.001-05:002014-11-19T19:01:22.671-05:00Mommy Stress And How To Handle It<a href="http://www.tomoson.com/?code=TOP6b77a2c5a5cfc9c2393d98e71fc5adba" rel="nofollow"><img src="http://www.tomoson.com/images/front/pixel.png" style="display: none;" /></a>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;"> There's a unique set of stressors that Mommy's of young children face. Whether a working mommy or a stay-at-home mom, we all worry and have lives that can be very busy. Especially now, with so many people who are tight financially we worry about our children's future, about their next sickness, if they are learning enough, sleeping enough, eating enough even going to the bathroom enough (if you have a newborn you know what I'm talking about).</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I'm just a mom. I'm not a doctor, I can't give you professional advice if you're unique set of stressors have reach a level you can't handle. But I'm a mom whose been through a LOT with young kids. Job loss, cross-country move while pregnant, living in a small house, living on a single income too small to support a family, having our only car break down multiple times. I can't offer professional advice but BELIEVE ME, I get it. Life is hard! Here's some of my "older mom" advice to you as you face what God has in store for you.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">1. <b>Stay in the Word.</b> Don't forget where you help comes from. Find ways to stay in the Word! Will you always have time to sit still and read your Bible with young kids? NO! So listen to the Bible for free online, or download an app, read to your children. Be creative! Don't give up this essential part of your day because you can't make it look like it used to look. Some days you will be able to sit quietly with your Bible and a cup of tea, and sometimes you won't- be flexible and get it done!! God will honor even the quickest "Please be with me!" Prayer if done with a heart that truly remembers it needs Him.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">2.<b>Sing!</b> Several studies have suggested that singing is actually a great stress reducer that can <a href="http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/08/140804123313.htm"> help your baby's health</a> and <a href="http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/220738.php">lower your blood pressure</a>! Singing can take your mind off what's stressing you out, can be a fun activity to do with your kids, and if you're singing praise and worship songs, can be another way to focus your mind on God's goodness during stress. You have an awful singing voice so you say? So what! Then don't sing on stage, just sing in the privacy of your own home, sing in the shower, in the car, with the radio up loud to drowned you out. Don't let a lack of ability hinder you, just have fun with it.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">3. <b>Smile!</b> The kids are all sick and you've gotten no sleep. The house looks like a war zone and when you put the baby down for a minute he cries like you just chopped off his right leg. You would like nothing better than to go cover your head or have someone give you a "do-over" for your day. Yup, I've been there. It's time to start singing the chorus to Frozen and "Let it go" ;) Lower your expectations for that day, turn a blind eye to the mess for a little while and snuggle those babies. Find happiness in being needed and loved and smile. Attitude goes a long way in shaping your life, what kind of life do you want? We all need to vent sometimes- that's okay! But when your "venting" becomes who you are, now you've crossed the line into unhappiness. Smiling can produce <a href="http://longevity.about.com/od/lifelongbeauty/tp/smiling.htm">physically beneficial effects</a>, not only for us, but for those around us who are directly affected by our attitude.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">4. <b>Be Silly with your Kids. </b>This goes back to number 3, but kids love to be silly. Teaching your kids how to giggle during life's bumps will help them to keep a positive attitude as they grow up. Don't take yourself too seriously and even when there's times of real serious problems and stress, find a way to share a smile and a laugh with your little ones, I bet they will turn around and make you smile more in return! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>5. Talk a walk. </b>When I was going through my most serious health problems a few years ago there was one thing I could always count on to bring my anxiety level down and help me feel better and that was going outside and taking a walk! Breathing in fresh air and seeing nature in all it's seasons is a <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/03/national-walking-day-stress-relief-tips_n_2992972.html">proven stress reducer</a>. Now that we are living in the South and near a bike trial, this is a no-brainer for our family. But even when we lived up North, we had snow shoes and warm <a href="http://firandcypress.blogspot.com/2014/10/my-babywearing-journey.html">babywearing coat </a>and we would go out take a hike with our kids when we needed to just get away for a bit! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">6.<b>Find Joy in the Little Things. </b>It can be easy to get so caught up in what NEEDS to get done that you don't take time to find wonder in your world. But there are amazing things all around us, take 10 minutes and go outside with your children, discover something new, catch a lizard (or, you know, a cool rock if lizards gross you out) It doesn't take long to find something AMAZING if you look at life through your kids eyes! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">7. <b>Take a break! </b>If you have ways of taking time away and taking a break then that's great! But I know, not every parent has the ability or the desire to leave their children with someone else. Your child has a unique health concern that's hard to handle, you've recently moved, or your support-base is small. You don't need time away from your kids to take a break, send them to bed early and have a "couch date" with your hubby, or go to the playground and sit on the swings together while they play, even just letting them watch a movie while you eat in the kitchen. My husband and I have a running joke when all the kids fall asleep in the car we hold hands and say "date night!" =) Be creative and have fun. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I hope something I have shared with you has given you some good ideas on how to relax and have fun even when life is hard! And if nothing else, I hope my pictures made you smile and laugh! There are many other ways I'd like to share with you about relieving stress including essential oils and supplements that I use to help. I'd like to share with you one supplement that I have been using for a while that I really like, magnesium citrate. You can read more about the benefits of magnesium here at <a href="http://www.gwens-nest.com/magnesium-the-calming-essential-mineral/">Gwen's Nest</a>. I have been using <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00LOMBJYE/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B00LOMBJYE&linkCode=as2&tag=firandcyp09-20&linkId=LHQZDNCWTR2DMFX3" rel="nofollow">this one by Simple Health</a> that I really like. It's tasteless and not gritty at all and easy to add to juice or a puree (or a gluccie pudding for THM's!</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: large;">) and it's an excellent for calming.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: large;">Please let me know in the comments ways that you handle stress in your life, and if any of the methods I mentioned have helped you! </span></div>
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I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using <a href="http://www.tomoson.com/?code=BOTTOM6b77a2c5a5cfc9c2393d98e71fc5adba" rel="nofollow">Tomoson.com</a>. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16984443185895566485noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6492585629440406030.post-51820125559708082402014-11-13T22:43:00.001-05:002014-11-13T22:43:35.526-05:00Snake Oil Review<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNHXfNWnpyxgIMSGAUvORqxGNlcexOTFDOuwlqEW7ihuHIHBdgx-bdpTKdOOVj3vS_0Bs6bi04xkPsqr40Te61FSvZme8k4FGiXuxC5OHQVMC_vUQbRWDt4O_OF0rUvpH1iHBaeWUnN9A/s1600/pin.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNHXfNWnpyxgIMSGAUvORqxGNlcexOTFDOuwlqEW7ihuHIHBdgx-bdpTKdOOVj3vS_0Bs6bi04xkPsqr40Te61FSvZme8k4FGiXuxC5OHQVMC_vUQbRWDt4O_OF0rUvpH1iHBaeWUnN9A/s640/pin.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Have you ever come across a game that was fun, easy to play, and was educational as well? Let me tell you about <a href="http://www.otb-games.com/games/party-games/snake-oil-party-potion/">Snake Oil Party Potion</a> by <a href="http://www.otb-games.com/">Out of The Box Games</a>.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6t_ApkBPJqh94oAWUDiGLcm80sn47GgDnFYfifCXOJXgQ8eFA3G3CxZWeTFzmP50g42_b4-WsWtcIoDMClXOXxrtN_k9XJzWPpQb4BlYVd-eGPSO5yL2BvbqlVP7FMdlDCDXfVCIaFZE/s1600/snake+oil+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: left;"><img border="0" height="491" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6t_ApkBPJqh94oAWUDiGLcm80sn47GgDnFYfifCXOJXgQ8eFA3G3CxZWeTFzmP50g42_b4-WsWtcIoDMClXOXxrtN_k9XJzWPpQb4BlYVd-eGPSO5yL2BvbqlVP7FMdlDCDXfVCIaFZE/s640/snake+oil+2.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Doesn't everyone dress up like Cinderella when they sit down to play a game?!?</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;"> My kids loved this game from the moment it came out of the box. The pictures and game concept are both visually stimulating and REALLY FUN! Here's how it works: You pick one player to be the customer and they draw a customer card to see what kind of customer they will be. The rest of your players are "Snake Oil Salesman" (like the salesman of the past that were called this because of their dubious wares) You get 6 bizarre words on your cards and you have to combine two of them and try to "sell" the item you come up with to your customer. This is where the fun comes in, it's all up to the customer which one he's going to pick, so you must come up with something fun and well suited for your customer.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYYK_vm2H5ieNU5OshbAoz1RCk3RvMIisyPSoeGTNNzoIVumb5Z2KK4aHP9LVvg5YVRfSBKuLNdwGQgeehJuuExOvj-BUlWxjvjEV_bup9MGsQzseM7nWWcnnTj3jpgF8sqc__C-if4BI/s1600/Party-Potion-Box_zpsd4e2d712.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYYK_vm2H5ieNU5OshbAoz1RCk3RvMIisyPSoeGTNNzoIVumb5Z2KK4aHP9LVvg5YVRfSBKuLNdwGQgeehJuuExOvj-BUlWxjvjEV_bup9MGsQzseM7nWWcnnTj3jpgF8sqc__C-if4BI/s400/Party-Potion-Box_zpsd4e2d712.jpg" width="192" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLv0ltrugiGD0c_tpV6H2yOUFgh93YRy1IKCuNg2oA1D7T6D2dNRpwoUehCY4VKHScictuz8HSCJlcJpCJvdPjmgE5upz1staLj4A5cyskv8s9R9DiR8tOaPAHu3qAp6OQlJVVfyCWJoo/s1600/1910278_125451518496_4180238_n_zps931d8078.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLv0ltrugiGD0c_tpV6H2yOUFgh93YRy1IKCuNg2oA1D7T6D2dNRpwoUehCY4VKHScictuz8HSCJlcJpCJvdPjmgE5upz1staLj4A5cyskv8s9R9DiR8tOaPAHu3qAp6OQlJVVfyCWJoo/s1600/1910278_125451518496_4180238_n_zps931d8078.jpg" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;"> For example, say your customer draws the card for a Treasure Hunter customer. And your 6 cards are escape, spider, face, torch, puddle, and bacon. So now you need to come up with something you think a treasure hunter might like. Escape, you think, that could help! But what for the second word Escape bacon? Escape spider? Escape Puddle?!? This was the part that we enjoyed watch our children's brains work. "It's a puddle that has a secret portal to let your escape any danger!" or "This spider lets you ride out of trouble on his back!" The ideas they all came up with were incredible!. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjO06wLUygBLyt4lkobY2Pk4qQ_EgASCT3H3Jd-WEHr6AiiYZ6uPdjiKWy3wP67Uh3g2TAAF0btDXRVN10LfThTow2Czj0N_MNr52E_l2J11rl9b-bIviDFWzx2IZd4_X9Z3RHrVmr6EOM/s1600/snake+oil+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjO06wLUygBLyt4lkobY2Pk4qQ_EgASCT3H3Jd-WEHr6AiiYZ6uPdjiKWy3wP67Uh3g2TAAF0btDXRVN10LfThTow2Czj0N_MNr52E_l2J11rl9b-bIviDFWzx2IZd4_X9Z3RHrVmr6EOM/s320/snake+oil+3.jpg" width="246" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNwILKOKJJaDee2FrA3POWyCTJzqlnSVSleRQN3dz_1FbXy9RJtOXcznPntcVZ0nksKVEXXYjY4TNQN1nrnF3mhR3LbdaK5cpbT5J3IsTBcfHokmP7AVWupWzGcwUFf0346rCjuveA8A4/s1600/Award-winning-in-Education-2373218_870x340_zps75fbe7fd.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="125" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNwILKOKJJaDee2FrA3POWyCTJzqlnSVSleRQN3dz_1FbXy9RJtOXcznPntcVZ0nksKVEXXYjY4TNQN1nrnF3mhR3LbdaK5cpbT5J3IsTBcfHokmP7AVWupWzGcwUFf0346rCjuveA8A4/s320/Award-winning-in-Education-2373218_870x340_zps75fbe7fd.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;"> This game was so much fun! We were all laughing together over some of the outrageous product ideas we came up with. The game is labeled for ages 8 and up, however, my 6 year old did a GREAT job with the game and loved it more than anyone and my four year old had a ton of fun coming up with funny ideas to pitch to her brothers.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOC4kjFdGdUsXy0jpBs09wwD3uc7wcddNoXshIkIFehODxsbMLdNB-cXgNpwfRYBh2If7QX0o3n17ac5PYyZ-DyNfOUxAZkd7iU24YMo87drSNYtPzdbhZuo0UtlV23MGtTdBwq-adufA/s1600/snake+oil+4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="492" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOC4kjFdGdUsXy0jpBs09wwD3uc7wcddNoXshIkIFehODxsbMLdNB-cXgNpwfRYBh2If7QX0o3n17ac5PYyZ-DyNfOUxAZkd7iU24YMo87drSNYtPzdbhZuo0UtlV23MGtTdBwq-adufA/s640/snake+oil+4.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">4 year old pitching her GREAT invention to the 6 year old </td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;"> This game became a quick family favorite that everyone wanted to play. We laughed over the creativity and salesmanship that came out of our three older children as they pitched their ideas and tried to convince us that THEIR idea was the best! </span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Special guest appearance during one round of play. </td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">This game would make a perfect Christmas or birthday present! I hope you enjoy it as much as we are! </span><br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16984443185895566485noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6492585629440406030.post-86439889965402240472014-11-12T23:33:00.000-05:002014-11-12T23:33:21.420-05:00Purposeful Design Review<center>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;"> As a Christian, understanding Creation through a Biblical Worldview is not only paramount to me, but also to my teaching my children. The miracles all around us everyday are something we often take for granted. As I teach my children about Creation, I want them to experience wonder over all that God has made. </span><i style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><a href="http://jayschabacker.com/purposeful-design-book/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Purposeful Design: Understanding the Creation</a> </i><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: large;">by Jay Schabacker helps us to see the wonder in the world around us and enjoy what God has given us, both the visible and the invisible. Produced by </span><a href="http://jayschabacker.com/" rel="nofollow" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: x-large;" target="_blank">Purposeful Design</a><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: large;">, this is more than just a book, it's about the love and purpose of our Master Designer.</span></center>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;"> This is a large, colorful coffee-table style book. Within the pages of this book with vivid illustrations and large, easy-to-read text. In this </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: large;">award winning, hardback, 96 page book,</span><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;"> Mr Schabacker discusses many of the whys and hows of what God has done on our earth as He created it. </span><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Jay Schabacker is a former aerospace scientist (he worked on the Apollo Moon Program at NASA). Now he has turned his attention to creating a book that explores the wonder of the the universe and how it came to be. </span></center>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The chapters in this book include:</span></center>
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<b><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Chapter One - The First Day - Creation of the Heavens and the Earth - Foundation of it All </span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Why does the Universe keep spinning? You'll learn more about God's involvement in the Creation and how He has created the laws of science.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>Chapter Two - The Second Day - Creation of the Atmosphere and Water </b>You'll learn about water and its varying properties. And what would have happened if God had made the oceans larger or smaller!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>Chapter 3 - The Third Day - Creation of Dry Land and Vegetation </b>Plants their variation and usages. God created plants that heal, feed, protect, and more.</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Chapter 4 - The Fourth Day - Creation of the Sun, Moon, and Stars</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">This chapter is larger than the previous three. It covers such things as the </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: large;">earth's perfect tilt</span><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">, </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: large;">cycle of the seasons</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: large;">, the earth's rotation and equinox, climate, sunrise and sunset times, ways the precision of the sunrise has been used in history, phases of the moon </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: large;">and how it affects the tides</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: large;">, ocean's tides, and the stars and their use in navigation. </span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Chapter 5 - The Fifth Day - Creation of the Birds and Fish</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;"> The birds and fish and why they were created and their pre-programmed instincts. How fish swim and why ice floats. The pictures of the various sea creatures were very interesting to my children. </span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Chapter 6 - Creation Day Six - Creation of Land Creatures and Humans</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Discusses why we need animals and the uniqueness of humans. In this chapter, we see that everything has a purpose, including so-called "vestigial organs" that we once thought were useless or leftovers from less-evolved forms of man. </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: large;">You'll read about our fearfully and wonderfully made bodies:</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: large;"> look at blood, mother's milk, cells, the brain and the different parts of the head. </span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Chapter 7 - The Seventh Day</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Discusses the need for rest in the creative process. This is a shorter chapter that
includes Exodus 20: 8-10 (the creation of the Sabbath rest) and several other Bible verses. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">There is a Young Explorer's Club workbook available for free when you purchase the book. It gives your students fill-in-the-blank questions to go over the material learned in each chapter. There are also verses for reflection and to memorize, and questions to bring about deeper discussion about what God was doing and why, when He created the Earth. Each Chapter ends with a small prayer. The workbook has a crossword puzzle for kids in the back. There is a Teacher's Key to the workbook with the answers, a certificate to award for the completion of each chapter and talking points to help you interact with your kids around the material in the book.This is a workbook curriculum designed to go along with each chapter in the
book. It contains a Kid's Workbook, Teacher's Set, and a Certificate of
Completion that can all be downloaded free of
charge from their website. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;"> I think <strong><em>Purposeful Design:
Understanding the Creation</em></strong> is a useful and stimulating tool for learning about creation according to God's Word. It's a beautiful book to have
out on display for visitors to your home as well. The illustrations are incredible and most certainly enhance
the experience as you learn. <br /><br /> It's a great read-aloud book that is meant for and will appeal to
readers of all ages, but some of the information might be a bit advanced for
younger children. The pictures will help to keep their attention,
though!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;"> We fully intend to enjoy this wonderful book as a family for years to come! </span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16984443185895566485noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6492585629440406030.post-27172534716435886492014-11-12T10:43:00.002-05:002014-11-12T10:43:10.258-05:00IXL Math and Language Arts Online Review<center>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;"> Our family have the opportunity to review <a href="http://www.ixl.com/math/" target="_blank">IXL Math</a> and <a href="http://www.ixl.com/ela/" target="_blank">IXL Language Arts</a> from <a href="http://www.ixl.com/" target="_blank">IXL</a>. We were given access to their online program for a full year for up to five students. I used the program with my two oldest sons ages 8 and 6 - grades 1st and 3rd. </span></center>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Often, students need practice in order to learn new skills. ”Practice makes progress” and IXL gives students the opportunity to practice Math and Language Arts skills in order to become proficient in them. IXL offers distraction-free online learning for students who need a little extra time to grasp new concepts, or perhaps want to test their own skills. </span></center>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The IXL program specializing in Math and Language Arts for students in K-12. O</span><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">nline Math is for Pre-K through Pre-calculus and Language Arts is for grades 2 through 8. </span><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The program is aligned to state standards (you choose your state when you sign up) along with Common Core standards. <a href="http://www.ixl.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">IXL</a> does not teach, rather it's function is to review. If the student gets a problem wrong, IXL will work through the problem with them. But the focus is on practice, not learning new skills.</span><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<strong><span style="color: magenta;">IXL</span></strong> provides right and left brained content, an online environment free from distractions, and a reward system to encourages your students to succeed. Online reports and weekly emails will keep you up to date on your children's progress.</div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHRQNVvgHs5-N6tPiXggLK3Y_lO3WVJPMylnE-2GxNioN0x8izZyuT5CAWjEpr1wyWIEl1q6TciSFrUk3QZ09ispi9DCStndQGB3yHnfvxGaH6UM3s8xznmV9q8nVY5v99z6HCJ7P_flc/s1600/IXL+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: x-large; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="293" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHRQNVvgHs5-N6tPiXggLK3Y_lO3WVJPMylnE-2GxNioN0x8izZyuT5CAWjEpr1wyWIEl1q6TciSFrUk3QZ09ispi9DCStndQGB3yHnfvxGaH6UM3s8xznmV9q8nVY5v99z6HCJ7P_flc/s400/IXL+1.jpg" width="400" /></a></center>
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<br /><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;"> For each grade level in, Language Arts and Math, the website shows a list of skills that are organized by topic. Your students can pick a topic and answer a series of questions that increase in difficulty. It is assumed that your student already knows the material when you start, however, when a wrong answer is given,</span><strong style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: magenta;"> </span>IXL</strong><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;"> shows student what the right answer is, and WHY it is the correct choice. More questions for that skill will follow to ensure that the student has now mastered that skill. </span><br /><br /><strong style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">IXL </strong><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: large;">keeps<span style="color: magenta; font-weight: bold;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">track of your students' scores for each thing that they have worked on. Scores increase with each correct answer and decrease with each incorrect answer. Students have to work harder to bring scores back up, but they still have the opportunity to reach a score of 100% which will earn them a gold ribbon. </span></center>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Pricing for family memberships starts at $9.95/month or $79/year for one subject. Each additional child costs $2/month or $20/year. </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: large;">So an annual subscription for one child for math is $79; for math AND Language Arts, it would be $129. For two children for math, it is $99 for the year; for math and language arts, it would be $149. </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: large;">For more information or to purchase a family membership, go to </span><a class="bbc_link" href="http://www.ixl.com/membership/family/pricing" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: x-large;" target="_blank">www.ixl.com/membership/family/pricing</a><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: large;">, and select your preferred membership option to view pricing details. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">In the parent account, you can see what skills your student have done well with, what skills they’re having trouble with, and how long they spent on <a href="http://www.ixl.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">IXL</a>. In addition, you’ll get reports emailed to you for each of your students, and certificates of completion, for you to either print or save, your choice. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="http://www.ixl.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">IXL</a> has math apps for iPad, Android, and Kindle. My kids tried the Kindle app, however, primarily we used the website. The app is free with your purchase of the program, which is great! There is no app for language arts as of yet.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">One of my favorite parts about the program is the explanation when a student get the wrong answer. It's very helpful that my sons can understand where they got confused. This was particularly helpful for my 8 year old because he is at an age where he would really understand and be encouraged to work harder on correcting his skills. My 6 year old was less enthusiastic about the program in general, he was too young for the English portion, so he only did the Math, which is not his favorite subject in general. He needed a lot of one-on-one support from mom to complete the work, which made it more difficult for Mom to complete this in addition to his other Math work. However, this is due more to his need to improve and mature in his learning rather than any deficit in the program itself. There were several skills in both children's grade level that were above their current skill level, however it was easy to go back to the previous grade level and work on some of those skills instead.<br /><br /> Overall, I think this is an excellent supplemental program for both practice and mastery of specific skills. If you'd like </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: large;">to read more reviews by members of the Schoolhouse Review Crew,c</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: large;">lick on the banner below .</span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16984443185895566485noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6492585629440406030.post-71514846870977899182014-11-11T09:19:00.001-05:002014-11-11T09:28:20.218-05:00Food Solutions: Fresh Garlic Hummus<a href="http://www.tomoson.com/?code=TOPdd82aaf4ce83da93317263e8a9736662" rel="nofollow"><img src="http://www.tomoson.com/images/front/pixel.png" style="display: none;" /></a>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;"> Here's one of my family's favorite recipes! I'm calling this recipe a "food solution" because it's what I give my family when they are sick. The fresh garlic really packs a powerful punch to when we are fighting germs. And it's really incredibly healthy and tasty too! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;"> I'm going to give you several ways to make the same recipe. There's the "best" way which takes more time and planning but, in my opinion, will produce the healthiest version of this recipe. However, I'm a mom, so I totally get that there are days where "time" is just not something you have to spare. Your kids are sick and you want something quick that will help it to keep from spreading through the whole family. So I'll give you some quick tips on how to make a faster version that will still get that fresh garlic in your kids, but will be a lot less time to make. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;"> Let me give you a quick idea of some of the ingredients in the fully homemade version and why I chose them. First we have Chick Peas. When I have time I use my dried organic chick peas that I first soak overnight in warm water and lemon juice. After that you could use your <a href="http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/slow-cooker-chickpeas-recipe.html">crock pot to cook them</a>, however I REALLY recommend a pressure cooker. My pressure cooker is an invaluable part of my kitchen and it makes my job so much easier! I can cook up my dried chick peas in under and hour and even if I forget to soak them overnight, which is ideal for <a href="http://www.nourishingdays.com/2010/09/what-is-phytic-acid/">removing phytic acid</a>, there is evidence that cooking them in the pressure cooker actually reduces the phytic acid all by itself! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;"> The garlic is the real star of the show here, I use 3 cloves of fresh raw garlic in this recipe and I will tell you why. Raw garlic has many <a href="http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=60">healthful properties</a> but the real one we are looking for today is its antibacterial and antiviral properties to fight illness. While my evidence is anecdotal, I can tell you that we have successfully fought many illnesses in our family without having to resort to antibiotics by using fresh raw garlic. My husband and I are both willing to swallow the garlic by the clove when we are sick, but obviously that doesn't work for kids! So this is one of my recipes I have created to help my kids get raw garlic in something they enjoy eating!</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTQbPT4QNdP4EM_R9RFED-d6yfVNLcOSfnI_kOF118Hxw2GnCBGLoT85m0JH32vk5qMByOheJfFr-bIzhWknCEAGUIZASm3M5Js3fQzdzysZv9d8Z3gu2ouCT4QeeCX-hVyc6m-8bCjAM/s1600/Lemon+Squeezer+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTQbPT4QNdP4EM_R9RFED-d6yfVNLcOSfnI_kOF118Hxw2GnCBGLoT85m0JH32vk5qMByOheJfFr-bIzhWknCEAGUIZASm3M5Js3fQzdzysZv9d8Z3gu2ouCT4QeeCX-hVyc6m-8bCjAM/s320/Lemon+Squeezer+2.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;"> The next important ingredient is lemon juice. Fresh lemon juice is full of vitamin C, which can help your body recover when you are sick. Fresh squeezed lemon juice is the best source of vitamin C. I found this great stainless steel jumbo <a href="http://www.amazon.com/bitpsy-professional-jumbo-lemon-squeezer/dp/b00mfdinvi/ie=utf8?m=a1py84y5e0hkev&keywords=lemon+squeezer&tag=btipsy-lemon-squeezer-20">lemon squeezer </a> which works great to easily extract ALL of the juice out of the lemon and not have you spend your valuable time fishing lemon seeds out of your recipe!</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6DlIdT_vpTI5gerxROACyFCb_PkVokpJWuMAgj8fVjtZHtr-PPmb8fZ9ndtIGZL5vX3lm5Afls41QYZQ08-qDsXtN0Smpw8Ts73gje7Si5NNPfUHe7BMQ1SdnOgt6lvjQm7CZwUvBpww/s1600/Cumin+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6DlIdT_vpTI5gerxROACyFCb_PkVokpJWuMAgj8fVjtZHtr-PPmb8fZ9ndtIGZL5vX3lm5Afls41QYZQ08-qDsXtN0Smpw8Ts73gje7Si5NNPfUHe7BMQ1SdnOgt6lvjQm7CZwUvBpww/s1600/Cumin+2.jpg" height="246" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;"> The last two ingredients I want to tell you about are cumin and cayenne. Cumin has lots of trace nutrient in it, which are important when your body is fighting illness. Also, <a href="http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=91">cumin aids in digestion</a>, which can be slowed down when you are sick. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivwimyM9geYUKcAfierDzUsho9FmjzzsYSCpPEp6YuTO0YNCYav9VSvt6xYwWu1eOy_BH_bd4w92EYWkfS5PFZcpHI0QizQDUdwzFA3NiH242Kz3dTnkKCtiLkTAu-D4QglQ9jTskdpQU/s1600/Cumin.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivwimyM9geYUKcAfierDzUsho9FmjzzsYSCpPEp6YuTO0YNCYav9VSvt6xYwWu1eOy_BH_bd4w92EYWkfS5PFZcpHI0QizQDUdwzFA3NiH242Kz3dTnkKCtiLkTAu-D4QglQ9jTskdpQU/s1600/Cumin.jpg" height="246" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Like all spices, cumin will have the most nutrients when it's fresh. I have found an excellent source for <a href="http://www.amazon.com/jiva-organics-organic-whole-cumin/dp/b00j5pst9u">fresh cumin here</a>. Jiva organics cumin comes as a whole seed which helps keep those nutrients locked inside until you grind them yourself (I used a coffee grinder I keep for spices to do this). I also add a little cayenne pepper. I know not everyone likes things hot and spicy, but let me give you a little encouragement to keep this spice in your recipe. Cayenne is an incredible spice, read more about it's <a href="http://www.herballegacy.com/Cayenne_Herb.html">amazing benefits here</a>. Even a small pinch of cayenne can make your other ingredients in this recipe more effective, because cayenne helps those nutrients enter your cells more effectively as it gets your blood moving! I use a 1/2 tsp pf cayenne in this recipe, but if you are unused to cayenne or don't like a spicy flavor start with less and try to build up your tolerance. On to the recipe! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><u>Fresh Garlic Hummus</u></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>(note: this makes a LARGE amount of hummus, approximately 3 cups worth! My 4 kids eat this up like it's going out of style, but you could certainly cut the recipe in half if you need to!)</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">1 1/2 cups dried Chick Peas </span><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">(soaked overnight in water and lemon juice is best)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">3 cloves of garlic, peeled and cut into small pieces</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">2 tsps fresh ground Cumin</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">1/2 tsp Cayenne </span><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">(less if you must, but don't leave it out!!)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">2 TBS tahini </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Extra virgin Olive oil</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvaoov23eKoEi8Nyzmk9sM3uSeUUOiWVEWXJfIED8zSNvVVRCltfV6oXWGCo7g1dCcKv5J228NaI3psSaytbwrEMsikpL3-DNr1PtDDg_a_cuLsejKsYI4jxps_1LbVks90gBO2zTjFsk/s1600/Hummus+4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="307" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvaoov23eKoEi8Nyzmk9sM3uSeUUOiWVEWXJfIED8zSNvVVRCltfV6oXWGCo7g1dCcKv5J228NaI3psSaytbwrEMsikpL3-DNr1PtDDg_a_cuLsejKsYI4jxps_1LbVks90gBO2zTjFsk/s400/Hummus+4.jpg" width="400" /></a><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;"> Place your soaked Chick peas in enough water to cover them in your pressure cooker with a small amount of olive oil (this helps prevent foaming) If you don't have a pressure cooker follow a recipe <a href="http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/slow-cooker-chickpeas-recipe.html">like this one</a> for your slow cooker. Set cooker on high and cook for 35 minutes, let steam release naturally. Strain chick peas from cooking liquid, but retain the liquid- you'll need it later! </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: large;">Place chick peas, lemon juice, garlic, ground cumin, cayenne, and tahini in a food processor. Process ingredients on low until well combined. Add cooking liquid slowly through the top spout while still processing on low until desired consistency is reached (we like ours at a "pudding-like" consistency). You can add a small amount of Olive oil at the end to make the mix a little smoother and further help with digestion (fats help you digest grains and legumes) At this point I always taste to see if I need any additional spices. As this hummus sits the flavors will meld and get a little stronger, so don't go crazy adding additional spices, but you may find you need a little more for your personal tastes. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;"> This recipe can be served with tortilla chips or crackers. My kids really love it with homemade pita bread, but that's a recipe for another time! If you absolutely don't have time to do the full recipe, you can used canned chick peas, however I personally would not use the liquid included in the can for processing. I would wash them well (removing as much of the BPA as I could) and use a chicken or vegetable broth as my liquid. I have, on occasion when I was really strapped for time, bought store bough hummus and added the raw garlic and extra lemon juice and spices. It won't be as healthful, but real life is full of times when you just can't do the "best" thing, so you do what works! Believe me, I get it! Your family will still get lots of great germs fighters in either modified recipe, so no guilt mamas! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;"> I'd love to hear from you if you try this recipe yourself and what you think!! I hope it helps keep you and your family healthier this season!</span></div>
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I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using <a href="http://www.tomoson.com/?code=BOTTOMdd82aaf4ce83da93317263e8a9736662" rel="nofollow">Tomoson.com</a>. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>I'm a mom, not a doctor, as according to the FDA nothing on this blog is intended to treat, prevent or cure any disease.</i></span></div>
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16984443185895566485noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6492585629440406030.post-59158360833705747492014-11-06T09:42:00.000-05:002014-11-10T16:49:12.212-05:00David Nicholson Christmas Book Review<div style="text-align: center;">
<span class="bbc_color" style="color: black;"><span class="bbc_u" style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="color: #333333;"><i style="background-color: #b6d7a8;">"For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David's throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever." -</i></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #b6d7a8;"><i>Isaiah 9:6-7</i><span style="color: #9d3300;"> </span></span></h1>
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<span class="bbc_color" style="color: black;"><span class="bbc_u"><span class="bbc_size" style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><strong> </strong>Have you ever thought about what kind of place the world would be if Christ had not come? There's a story that <a href="http://www.davids-treehouse.com/">David Nicholson</a> heard years ago by Nan F. Weeks that gave her idea of what one little boy dreamed it would be like if he woke up Christmas morning but Christ had not come to the earth as a baby. <a href="http://www.davids-treehouse.com/">If He Had Not Come</a> is the story of a boy named Bobby, and his experience one Christmas season. </span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;"> The book begins with Bobby, who is getting ready to go to bed on Christmas night. He's excited to go to bed so that he can wake up early on Christmas morning, but he reads a verse from the Bible with his Dad first. One part of the verse sticks in his head, "If He had not come..."</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"> </span><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">We enjoyed reading this story as a family. The illustrations by Charles Jaskiewicz are incredibly well done. It's a story that makes you really think through the implications of Christianity on modern civilization. Several of the examples of what would not be here if there was no Jesus first struck me as over-reaching a bit, since there are certainly many religions that teach about "good works" through things like hospitals and homeless shelters. </span></span><br />
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<i style="background-color: #b6d7a8;"><span class="text Jas-1-16" id="en-NIV-30283" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;"><span class="versenum" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"> "</span>Don’t be deceived,<span class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-NIV-30283A" data-link="(<a href="#cen-NIV-30283A" title="See cross-reference A">A</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 0.62em; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></span> my dear brothers and sisters.<span class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-NIV-30283B" data-link="(<a href="#cen-NIV-30283B" title="See cross-reference B">B</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 0.62em; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></span></span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;"> </span><span class="text Jas-1-17" id="en-NIV-30284" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;"><span class="versenum" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"> </span>Every good and perfect gift is from above,<span class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-NIV-30284C" data-link="(<a href="#cen-NIV-30284C" title="See cross-reference C">C</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 0.62em; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></span> coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights,<span class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-NIV-30284D" data-link="(<a href="#cen-NIV-30284D" title="See cross-reference D">D</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 0.62em; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></span> who does not change<span class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-NIV-30284E" data-link="(<a href="#cen-NIV-30284E" title="See cross-reference E">E</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 0.62em; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></span> like shifting shadows.</span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;"> </span><span class="text Jas-1-18" id="en-NIV-30285" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">He chose to give us birth<span class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-NIV-30285F" data-link="(<a href="#cen-NIV-30285F" title="See cross-reference F">F</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 0.62em; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></span> through the word of truth,<span class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-NIV-30285G" data-link="(<a href="#cen-NIV-30285G" title="See cross-reference G">G</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 0.62em; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></span> that we might be a kind of firstfruits of all he created." ~James 1:16-18</span></i></div>
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<i><span class="text Jas-1-18" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;"><br /></span></i></div>
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<i style="background-color: #b6d7a8;"><span class="text 2Cor-1-3" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; text-align: start;"><span class="versenum" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"> "</span>Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,<span class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-NIV-28804B" data-link="(<a href="#cen-NIV-28804B" title="See cross-reference B">B</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 0.62em; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></span> <b>the Father of compassion</b> and the God of all comfort,</span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; text-align: start;"> </span><span class="text 2Cor-1-4" id="en-NIV-28805" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; text-align: start;">who comforts us<span class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-NIV-28805C" data-link="(<a href="#cen-NIV-28805C" title="See cross-reference C">C</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 0.62em; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></span> in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God." ~2 Corinthians 1:2-4 (emphasis mine)</span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"> Then again, we are God's handiwork, he created us in his image, does not our very compassionate nature come from him, whether we acknowledge it or not? Paul says in the 2 Corinthians verse above that God is the "Father of Compassion", so maybe this idea is not so far from reality as it may have first appeared. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b> </b>In back of the book there are several pages to help you relate the story and the ideas further to your children. There is a list of discussion topics to bring about dialogue between you and your children (or Sunday School, etc). There are also several pages written by David Nicholson's pastor, to help with a discussion of more Biblically-focused nature including a Gospel message as well. The last of the pages gives some ideas to help you point your Christmas celebration towards Christ with some common Christmas traditions interpreted through a Christian understanding of the holiday. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;"> This is a beautiful physical hardback book and would make a great present for a friend or as an addition to your advent book list. The list price is $18.95. Age range for this book is for children 6 and up, however my 4 year old enjoyed listening to the story and looking at the illustrations, though she wasn't as active as a participant in the discussion of what the book meant afterwards. </span><br />
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