Some of you (well, most of you who are regulars) know that we power our home with a combination of renewable resources including wind and solar energy with a gas generator for backup.  Although Alberta has as much sun as some of the more southern states it seems to come mostly in the summer.  In the winter it isn’t strong enough to give us much energy at all.  Realistically we just can’t expect the sorts of yields on our panels that the folks who use California solar companies for their installations can expect.  California = more sun, year round.  Alberta = six months of winter.

That is one of the reasons we are so excited that Spring is coming!  Rose (our second daughter) has been frantically and desperately praying for an end to winter; she can’t wait to start gardening!  My husband is excited that we won’t need to run the generator as often, so we’ll save money on gas (it is SO expensive right now).  Personally, I’m just glad that I’ll be able to go outside again!  We don’t take our new babies outside during the cold winter unless we have to, and our little love isn’t happy for long without her mommy!

The alternative energy love is still running strong here though, despite our lack of winter-time sunshine.  My husband is continually investigating new potential power sources as our power needs ARE expanding as our children get older and increase in number.  Adding more solar panels is an option, but again, isn’t great in the winter, and is quite pricey.  For myself, I have to admit that the grid starts looking pretty good when I think about having the copious amounts of energy available to run a dishwashing machine, or an electric dryer.  I just don’t see that happening in the future though!

Andrea Carter – a fictional creation of Susan Marlow – is a bit of a hero to my daughters.  They love it when I read her adventures to them, play dress-up in overalls, and when we learned that there were now lapbooks to accompany each of Susan Marlow’s chapter books, we were thrilled!

A Journey Through Learning creates great lapbooking products.  The directions are easy to follow, and consistent from one title to another.  If you’ve done one, you’ll have even more success doing another!  The instructions are always VERY clear and well laid out.  Each lapbooking element page also includes a placement guide and assembly instructions right on the same page, making it SO easy to complete.  The lapbook for Andrea Carter and the Long Ride Home is designed for grades 2 – 6, and even at the lower end of this spectrum, my oldest had no problems completing her lapbook with a bit of verbal instruction from me about each of the elements.

This is our first literature-based lapbook from A Journey Through Learning, and I loved that they included a chapter reference for each portion of the study guide and for each lapbooking element.  This made it very easy to coordinate a reading of the book itself alongside the hands-on activities.  For example, we would read chapter one, then do the activities and study guide portions labeled ‘Chapter One’.  The additional study guide readings helped us to place Andi more firmly in time and space, and learn more about her culture in a more focused way than just reading the historical novels gave us.

Many of the lapbooking elements include full-color photographs of Andi, Rosa, and Taffy.  Others are black and white, but most include some color.  Enough activities are included to create three file folders worth of completed mini-books and interactive elements.

Some of her favorite parts of this lapbook were an assignment to cut out and glue various pieces of horse gear onto a picture of Taffy in a barn, learning how to measure a horse in hands, and the Venn diagram (simple literary analysis is included).  As a mother I really appreciated the inclusion and integration of biblical character traits like respect into this lapbook.  I was also excited to see my sometimes reluctant writer digging into the written work with enthusiasm.

My daughter loves Andi and she loves lapbooking.  This highly delight-driven combination makes education painless – she asks to work on ANY Andi related activities she can find in her free time!  I’m just riding the wave of enthusiasm, and I’m so thankful that quality educational enrichment titles like this one are available.

You can buy a print copy of this lapbook, a CD, download, or a fully assembled version at A Journey Through Learning.

OR you can by a download through CurrClick.

Do you read mom blogs? I do. This morning I came across the blog of a fellow homeschooling mom who posted that taking cinnamon helped reduce her menstrual cramps by 90%. Pretty neat. We just ordered some bulk organic cinnamon for us to encapsulate to help my husband with his cholesterol levels.

My Thoughts: I absolutely love Ginger Garrett’s work, so I can’t wait until my review copy of Wolves Among Us arrives!  I am looking forward to reading it immensely!

This week, the Christian Fiction Blog Alliance is introducing Wolves Among Us David C. Cook; New edition (April 1, 2011) by Ginger Garrett

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Ginger Garrett is the author of the Chronicles of the Scribes series (In the Shadow of Lions, In the Arms of Immortals, In the Eyes of Eternity), Dark Hour, and Beauty Secrets of the Bible. Chosen: The Lost Diaries of Queen Esther was recognized as one of the top five novels of 2006 by the ECPA.

Focusing on ancient women’s history, Ginger creates novels and nonfiction resources that explore the lives of historical women. A frequent media guest and television host, Ginger has been interviewed by Fox News, Billy Graham’s The Hour of Decision, The Harvest Show, 104.7 The Fish Atlanta, and many other outlets.

A graduate of Southern Methodist University with a degree in Theater, she is passionate about creating art from history. Ginger resides in Georgia with her husband and three children.

ABOUT THE BOOK

This richly imagined tale takes readers to a tiny German town in the time of “the burnings,” when pious and heretic alike became victims of witch-hunting zealots. When a double murder stirs up festering fears, the village priest sends for help. But the charismatic Inquisitor who answers the call brings a deadly mix of spiritual fervor and self-deceptive evil. Under his influence, village fear, guilt, and suspicion of women take a deadly turn. In the midst of this nightmare, a doubting priest and an unloved wife—a secret friend of the recently martyred William Tyndale—somehow manage to hear another Voice…and discover the power of love over fear.

Dinfoil, Germany, 1538. In a little town on the edge of the Black Forest, a double murder stirs up festering fears. A lonely woman despairs of pleasing her husband and wonders why other women shun her. An overworked sheriff struggles to hold the town—and himself—together. A priest begins to doubt the power of the words he shares daily with his flock. And the charismatic Inquisitor who arrives to help—with a filthy witch in a cage as an object lesson—brings his own mix of lofty ideals and treacherous evil. Under his influence, ordinary village fears and resentments take a deadly turn. Terror mounts. Dark deeds come to light. And men and women alike discover not only what they are capable of, but who they are…and what it means to grapple for grace.

If you would like to read the first chapter of Wolves Among Us, go HERE

Around a month or so ago I wrote a post – which was entertaining in my own mind – about how it was a shame that there were websites needed that taught web surfers How To Write a Check. That was before we had some problems within our own household (ahem) with incorrectly dated checks!

It seems that God wanted to teach me humility….again.  We have had checks written incorrectly, even in this home.  Checks that were post-dated a month ahead of time so that the payments were late when they finally, finally cashed.  This has happened twice in the last year!  So yes, some people do need help learning how to write checks.

And if you need help writing a check, feel free to ask me.  I promise not to make fun of you anymore.  Or you can visit a website like the one linked above at the How To Lounge.  Nope, this website doesn’t want to teach you how to lounge, it’s an online lounge where you can find out “How To” do a variety of different things.  Like write checks.

We caught another incorrectly dated set of checks today.  I’m glad we caught them before they went out!  No teasing now – you never know when it might happen to you!

Roxi Gold is a troubled teenager; taken from a negligent mother, shuffled between group homes and foster families, she eventually finds herself living with her mother’s cousin and her teenaged son.  Longing more than anything else to be loved and to belong to a family, she is swept into the criminal schemes of her caregiver and enters the world of antiquarian book theft.

I always enjoy reading C.J. Darlington’s book-centered Christian suspense titles.  I particularly enjoy how she weaves real-life rare book details into the fabric of each of her stories.  Bound by Guilt is the follow-up novel to Thicker Than Blood, Darlington’s debut.  While we are introduced to a new cast of main characters, it was exciting to see how familiar faces from the first novel were interwoven into the plot of this second novel in surprising ways.

Deeply engaging, Bound by Guilt is crafted with a wealth of emotional tension.  I found myself reaching for the tissues several times as I read through its pages.  That being said, I did find the emotional responses of one of the key characters of Thicker Than Blood to be rather muted for the circumstances she found herself in.  She is no longer a main player on the ongoing storyline, but I would have liked to see more depth there.

I’m excited to see what Darlington has for us in the future!  She has a way of crafting true-to-life stories of faith and forgiveness that ring with authenticity.

CLICK HERE TO BUY NOW AT CHRISTIANBOOK.COM OR AMAZON.COM!

Have you ever done an in-house treasure hunt with your children?  We’ve done a couple of rough ones (inspired by The Pirates Who Don’t Do Anything – Veggie Tales), and they have absolutely adored them. Today I found a website that offers customizable, downloadable, high-quality pdfs for treasure hunts.

You choose the number of clues, where you will hide them, and a customizable prize message for the end of the treasure hunt. I looked at one for saint patrick’s day activities for children, but we don’t really do St. Patrick’s day that way. There are some themes better suited to us though, like the birthday one.

Three birthdays coming up soon here – the first ten days of April!

Like most couples, our marriage hasn’t been free of arguments over money.  We have been married for almost ten years, and we still have some ‘sticky points’ when it comes to our finances that we are working our way through.  Our marriage started off not only without a foundation in Christ (we’ve been Christians for only four years), but also without a rock-solid understanding of where our finances were at.  Honestly, we didn’t do too badly, neither of us had debt going in, and we’ve always been open and honest with each other, but we didn’t have a systematic plan for handling money.

I haven’t read all of Money & Marriage yet (be watching for a full review once I’ve finished it), but I can already tell that Bell writes with a great sense of humor that helps to make a potentially heavy topic more digestible, and that this resource could easily become a ‘must have’ for young couples.  I am already making mental notes about young people who could benefit from the advice found within its’ pages.  Even older couples like ourselves can benefit from Bell’s advice, it is possible to teach old dogs new tricks .

More About the Book AND A Contest!

Matt Bell’s (a.k.a Matt About Money) Money & Marriage has just released (NAVPress) and is a great resource for engaged or newly married couples.

Matt says about the book, “I wrote “Money & Marriage” because I believe in marriage. I’m sure it isn’t news to you that money is a very common source of stress between spouses. It’s even a primary factor in many divorces. I wrote this book with no less of a goal than to save many marriages from disaster, and to help all couples use money in a way that strengthens their relationship and increases their joy.”

To celebrate Matt has put together a Nest Egg Giveaway with a prize package worth over $250!

One winner will receive:

•    A Free 1 Hour Financial Session
•    A $100 Visa Cash Card
•    A signed copy of Matt’s Money, Purpose, Joy and Money Strategies for Tough Times

To enter just click one of the icons below. Then tell your friends. And hurry – the contest ends April 11th. The winner will be announced on Matt’s blog on April 13th.

Be sure to pick up a copy of Money & Marriage – important principles whether you’re newly engaged or just celebrated your 30th anniversary.

After a few PCs crashed and burned on us in the first few years of our marriage, my husband and I returned to our first – albeit more expensive – computing love, Apple.  Since that time we’ve purchased a MacBook, several, several iPods, and most recently a Mac Mini.  First we purchased from WestWorld – a store in the city that was devoted to the Apple brand – but now we have the Apple Store!  Two locations are available in our ‘big city of choice’!  I love those guys.  They make customer service issues SO easy when you have Apple Care (buy as much Apple Care as you can…seriously.)

What I didn’t know until today is that there are even Apple Store coupons! Here I’ve been buying all sorts of Apple merchandise without knowing that you can get Apple Store coupon codes – how could this be? I guess that I just never thought to look online for Apple coupon codes, I was under the impression that Apple wasn’t a brand that you could easily find discounted.

Still, it doesn’t really matter to me.  I would continue to buy Apple products whether or not I am able to find coupons for the specific products I’m interested in buying from them.

After spending the past week out of diapers, baby Anne is finally recovering from her diaper rash!  Hurray!  It was SO persistent, I thought it might never go away and I’d have to sit her on a towel forever!  Diaper rash is the enemy and I’ll go to great lengths to defeat it, I’m just glad I won’t be forced into elimination communication against my will!  No offense to those of you who use EC, it just isn’t for us .