I recently came across a neat online application – TeamSnap – The simplest, easiest way to manage your team or group online. It is primarily designed for organized sports teams and includes features such as scheduling, team roster, player availability, messages, photos, and more. But because my children aren’t into organized sports my thoughts immediately turned to organizing homeschooling co-ops, club meetings (think boy scots, Keepers of the Faith, etc.), and even church youth groups.

There is a 30 day free trial to check out all of the options and features available, and after that you can use their free membership, or one of their paid membership options (available monthly or yearly). Organization is a good thing, so if you need help pulling your group together, check it out!

Well, I’m not entirely surprised. If we have a hard frost tonight, there won’t have been any months where we haven’t had a hard frost at least once. No wonder all we have growing in our garden is potatoes and peas. With such a dry, dry year and cold, late growing season that continues to be cold in the evenings…well, even the stinkweed died in our garden. I found it shriveled up and brown, the roots retracted from the soil.

Maybe next year will be better.

On the bright side, our wild saskatoon bush has NEVER produced like it has this year and Kaelynn is in her glory picking berries!

I first heard of the Egoscue method from my Mom. She’s always digging up interesting natural health alternatives and techniques that better your health without relying upon drugs or surgery. Since she’s encountered some significant physical difficulties herself (from past injuries etc. – hi Mom!) she found the Egoscue method in order to help her bring her body back into natural alignment through stretching and exercises.

One of my younger sisters is also using the technique to help with the hip pain that first developed during her pregnancy with her little boy (now almost 2!) Used for all sorts of musculoskeletal pain, it is often begun by those searching for back pain relief. Pain sufferers can head over to the website to get started immediately with some free introductory instructions for e-cises (as they call them) presented through video online.

There are also in-person clinics throughout the U.S. (24 in total) and some in Mexico and Japan – there don’t seem to be any in Canada at this stage. For those away from a clinic, Egoscue offers DVDs of their techniques geared for those who don’t exercise regularly (like me!)

After signing up to follow Mr. Egoscue on twitter, I did find that some of his messages are a bit positive-think, new-agey, but hey I don’t have a problem with stretching exercises, and you certainly don’t need to buy into his outlook to benefit from the program.

Okay folks, can someone in the know help me out here? We have a laptop and satellite internet. Our laptop is a little Macbook, it’s wireless enabled, but what do I need to buy in order to access the internet from anywhere in my house? I see that Mac sells a little Airport Express thing that looks like it has the right plug in. You just plug it in the wall and then stick your internet cable in? But the description doesn’t exactly say it will give you internet anywhere in the house. It uses the word ‘ethernet’. Umm, I’m SO not tech-savvy, so can someone let me know if this is what I need? Or do I need something else? I’d love to be able to move my laptop to hmm, the bed? the kitchen table? the couch? Our house isn’t very big, but I’d love the flexibility .

With growing numbers of bloggers in search of website hosting, and the ever-changing array of hosting options available, there are always new crops of mommy bloggers looking to set up their own brand instead of working on a free platform. Whether hosting your myname.com or snazzycatchymommyblogname.com, it always looks more professional than myname.freebloghost.com – as nearly any serious blogger or adviser will tell you.

Of course, every webhost wants to hype themselves up on their own sites, but Web Hosting Geeks hosts reviews from real users of various hosting services, and some of them are extremely blunt. Negative advice is just as good as positive advice and helps you steer clear of somewhat iffy hosting services.

Of course, this information is always timely when you’re looking for a new host as well. Maybe you’ve just realized that paying $12 for a single site is far too much in the highly competitive hosting marketplace and are looking for some cheaper digs.

They also have a listing of the top ten hosts (in their estimation), seo advice, domain name advice, and a plethora of articles related to general web hosting topics – always helpful when you’re just trying to figure out how to start up your own website, drop by and see what you can learn!

We have a winner – congratulations to Tami Lewis!  I look forward to God blessing your daughter through Shawn Grady’s work .  Thanks to all who entered.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Shawn Grady signed with Bethany House Publishers in 2008. He was named “Most Promising New Writer” at the 39th Annual Mount Hermon Writers Conference. Through the Fire is his debut novel.

Shawn has served for over a decade as a firefighter and paramedic in northern Nevada. From fire engines and ambulances to tillered ladder trucks and helicopters, Shawn’s work environment has always been dynamic. The line of duty has carried him to a variety of locale, from high-rise fires in the city to the burning heavy timber of the eastern Sierras.

Shawn attended Point Loma Nazarene University as a Theology undergrad before shifting direction to acquire an Associate of Science degree in Fire Science Technology as well as Paramedic licensure through Truckee Meadows Community College.

Shawn currently lives in Reno, Nevada, just outside of Lake Tahoe. He enjoys spending time in the outdoors with his wife, three children and yellow Labrador.

ABOUT THE BOOK

Firefighting burns in Aidan O’Neill’s blood. The son of a fireman, O’Neill has a sixth sense about fire and often takes dangerous risks. When one act of disobedience nearly gets a rookie killed, O’Neill is suspended. His weeks off are supposed to be a time to reflect but instead he escapes to Mexico, where another rash act of bravery actually kills him. But only for a few minutes.

Called back to Reno, he’s now haunted by visions of hell and paralyzed in the face of fire. And at the worst time, because an arsonist is targeting Reno. With a growing love interest with one of the investigators complicating everything, Aidan must discover where his trust rests as the fires creep ever closer.

If you would like to read the first chapter of Through The Fire, go HERE

CLICK HERE TO BUY NOW FROM CHRISTIANBOOK, AMAZON.COM, OR AMAZON.CA!

CONTEST DETAILS:

To enter just let me know why you’d like to win a copy of Through the Fire!

For additional entries:

1. Subscribe to this blog for updates – see the left hand sidebar. Leave an additional comment letting me know you’ve subscribed (or if you already subscribe).

2. Write a post on your blog promoting and linking to this contest. Leave an additional comment with a link to your post.

3. Add the Quiverfull Family button (see the code box in the right hand sidebar under BUTTON UP!) to your blog’s sidebar, or let me know if you already have the button displayed. Leave an additional comment with a link to your post.

4. Digg, Stumble, Tweet, Facebook or otherwise share this post on a social networking site. Leave an additional comment indicating how you shared this post.

5. Follow me on Twitter or let me know if you are an existing follower.

Each additional step taken counts for 1 additional entry. A total of 6 entries are available if you complete all of these steps. Please leave a separate comment for each entry!

The contest will close at 12 a.m. MST on Saturday, August 22nd, 2009. One winner will be randomly drawn for the software on Sunday, August 23rd, 2009 and notified by email. Please fill your email address in the comment form when you are completing your comment so that I can contact you. The winners must respond with a mailing address within 72 hours of my email, or new winners will be chosen. This contest is open to those living in North America.

I look forward to seeing God bless a reader with this book. Thanks for entering!

Just as we homeschooling parents are busily gathering last minute books and curriculum, parents sending their (oh how did they get big so quickly) children off to college are scrambling to set their dear ones up with all the essentials they’ll need for college.

You may remember my previous post about Sears CampusReady program and CampusReady app on Facebook, aimed at preparing outgoing students for college.  As part of their efforts to make the transition to living in a college dormitory smoother, Sears now has an extremely convenient option available for parents to provide their child with the essentials they’ll need in their new living environment.

Sears makes picking up last minute dorm essentials a breeze for parents whose children are attending a school far away.  By placing their order online and choosing “Web2Store” at checkout, the order can then be picked up at the Sears location nearest your child’s college!  It doesn’t get handier than that.

There are so many last minute details that must be attended to that it seems there’s always something that falls through the cracks.  Does your child still need sheets. a laundry hamper, or an mp3 player alarm clock docking station (that’s right, get them to load up their Greek vocabulary on there, and pump it up!)

Of course I hope to avoid all the fuss with our own children, and if necessary pursue college at home.  Still – I COULD use one of those mp3 player alarm clock docking stations myself…

We have a winner in our contest for a copy of Blue Like Play Dough by Tricia Goyer!! Congratulations Abi, who won by posting her button on her blog! I’ve sent you an email, so please let me know your address within 72 hours.

Thanks to everyone who entered!

Even though it’s mid-August, temperatures are dropping rapidly in the evenings. When we watched the Perseid meteor shower on the 11th we dragged all our blankets outside and tried to keep the children warm as they all fell asleep waiting for the show to begin. It would have been much easier to bundle them in super-warm insulated sleeping bags – child sized of course.

Though these sleeping bags aren’t made for little people they sure are warm. Ranging from comfort levels of above 0, down to -34 C! Now that’s a sleeping bag! If you’re tired of wussy bags that only have comfort ratings of -10 C or so, step right up. Here in the northern climes of Canada where it’s winter for half of the year, the warmer the better.

With Webtogs offering free shipping across the EU in their end of summer sale, now would be the time to dig in and get ready for the cold that’s yet to come. This model features the most heavy-duty comfort level I’ve ever seen at -34 C, I love the mummy style, because it keeps your head warm. This model – the Lamina -30 even features a face gasket and draft collar seal in warmth, you need it when it’s that cold!

Just thinking about it makes me cozy, and with an expected temperature of 7 C tonight, I think I’m going to go make a fire.

I’m so thrilled to announce that this year our family will be working through Illuminations Year 1! Illuminations is a new comprehensive Christian homeschooling program that schedules history, geography, science, language arts, English roots, life skills, humanities, read alouds, read alones, literature guides (both read alone guides (RAGs) and family study guides (FSGs), Bible, spelling, copywork, grammar – you name it – just add math and stir!  It even schedules optional crafts, coloring pages, audio and video supplements!

I feel so blessed to have found this curriculum, it’s unabashedly Christian, well formatted, teaches history chronologically, integrates living books, pre-planned, comprehensive, uses non-consumable materials, and is multi-age. After having looked over several well-known history programs, this is the one I’ve always dreamed of!

Developed by the team at Bright Ideas Press, Illuminations Year 1 incorporates many of the spines they publish including: Mystery of History Volume 1, Christian Kids Explore Biology, Hands on Geography for Early Learners (EL – preschool through grade two) or The Ultimate Geography and Timeline Guide for Grades 3- 8 and high school. This foundational year covers the time period between Creation and Resurrection.

Illuminations is sold in two parts, the first includes the Early Learner’s and 3-8 schedule, the second the high school schedule, study guides etc.  We are going to be moving through the EL stream with my 6, 3, and 1 year old along for the journey (sometimes I feel like studying history is more for my benefit than theirs!)  My oldest is so excited, “Mystery of History, wow, I love history!”  I am so excited about the literature selections for all ages.  Unlike many classical history programs there is less of an emphasis in being heavily exposed to disturbing secular literature (so far I haven’t spotted Lord of the Flies in the high school reading lists), and much more of an emphasis on reading works by notable Christian authors, historical fiction, and of course some neutral secular reading as well.

Not all of the subject areas listed above are scheduled at each level.  The EL program includes history, Bible, literature, geography, science and supplements – slot your 3 R’s into the lesson grid and you’re up and running.  The 3-8 schedules all of the initially mentioned subjects excepting life skills, and the high school schedules Bible, literature, high school study guides (for independent study) and some of the same family study guides (FSGs) the 3-8s use, language arts, English roots, geography, supplements, and some wonderful life skills studies on finances, courtship, and other relevant topics to maturing students.

Both programs are available as downloads or on CD, there is no print option (and no resale rights) because the Bright Ideas team has made the program completely customizable. The scheduling grids are easy to modify, allowing you to swap in your own subjects, change assignments etc. – “totally tweakable” in their terms, then just print and go. If you have experience with other chronological history curriculums available digitally, let me assure you that the design of Illuminations is much more user friendly, and is so easy to get started with.  With the team rushing to get this to homeschooling families for fall there are a few glitches here and there, but we’re ironing them out together on the Illuminations1 yahoogroup. I’ve never seen such a responsive company – the curriculum developers are right there to answer questions, listen to feedback, and more.  It’s wonderful.  Of course, many users are there as well to offer advice, help, and to share experiences.  In fact Bright Ideas Press is made up of a team of homeschooling parents who have over 30 years of combined experience, so they have a good idea of what homeschoolers need.

I’m still gathering books and supplies, but once we get started I plan to share our progress and adventures this year right here on my blog!  If you’ve been looking for a Christian comprehensive, multi-age, literature based, chronological history program – here it is!  With fall coming soon I wanted to share the basics with you before we get started ourselves.

You can find a link to the free sample here, as well as the special introductory sale pricing!  I’m excited, and highly recommend you check the program out.