September Edition of the Monthly Barden

...is LIVE!

Check out the newest edition of the Monthly Barden. Wait, it is the only edition of the Monthly Barden! The previous editions were of the Weekly Barden....

Enjoy!! And there is a contact email address for the Monthly Barden- look on the last page of the newsletter- if you want to suggest something or just say how great it is ;)

LIBERTY BELL made of LEGOs :) Awesome eh?

LIBERTY BELL

Aha! Nature study finally. Bat on our garage door. Now to see what kind...

Aha! Nature study finally. Bat on our garage door. Now to see what kind...

Word Filled Wednesday -09/29/2010

Matthew 6:19-21

Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal; But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through or steal: For where your treasure is, there will your heart also be.

Yea! a Wednesday meme that I can get into- Word Filled Wednesday.

Last night my dh talked with our pastor about being more involved in the church. I wasn't there to hear all that was said so I cannot relate it as it was presented. However, when I asked what was said, the gist was that as we become more involved in God's Will we receive more blessings. Amen! That we do! 

Something that was brought up though made me think of the above scripture- the 'blessings' that we receive are not necessarily material or even physical. A nice house, a nice car, having these things in abundance (paid for or not) is not what we should be striving for in terms of 'blessings'. 

My treasure is in heaven; moth nor rust can corrupt.

Great Savings & a Gift from TOS

Get a free limited edition, cranberry and cream, Homeschooling with Heart tote bag and a two-year subscription to The Old Schoolhouse Magazine for just $19.95. Offer good only through midnight on October 2, 2010.

Free Homeschooling with Heart Tote Bag!

From now through October 2 2010, you can receive a beautiful Homeschooling with Heart tote bag with a 2-year subscription (new or renewal) to The Old Schoolhouse Magazine.

For just $19.95, you'll receive the limited edition tote bag, a two-year, print subscription (U.S. and Canada residents), their upcoming Fall Issue, and their new E-Book: Cranberry Christmas. There are limited quantities.

October 3-5, the deal changes--you'll only receive a one-year subscription. But you'll still get the beautiful tote bag, the Fall Issue, and the Cranberry Christmas E-Book.

Grab all of this for $19.95 before midnight PST on October 2 for the best value! This is a new color--so, if you collect the Homeschooling with Heart tote bags, this is a totally new version.

You can also get The 2010 Schoolhouse Planner and the 2-year subscription deal (with the free tote bag) for only $49.95.

Hurry--the $19.95 free tote bag deal is only through Tuesday, October 5.

Get a free limited edition, cranberry and cream, Homeschooling with Heart tote bag and a two-year subscription to The Old Schoolhouse Magazine for just $19.95. Offer good only through midnight on October 2, 2010.


**Disclaimer: this post contains affiliate links. Purchases made through these links will (hopefully) result in monetary compensation for me :D See more about my Policies/Disclosure.

What We’ve Accomplished Today…09/28/10

I'm gonna get this on here real quick (maybe lol) because I thought it was a good day. And I'm starting my Weekly Wrap-Up post already so that it'll be ready on Friday. I've got a moment to spare :)


Both:
Bible: Matthew 26 & 28 (one's a little behind...still)
Verse: Same as last week because they didn't get it all then...never hurts to go over it again :) Read, write & recite- Lee: Galatians 5: 22, 23 (hasn't written it yet...); Fox: 2 Timothy 3:16, 17
Math: Lee: BA HC Lesson 53; Fox: PA chapters 10 & 11 (reminds me: need to check to make sure 'formulas' have been written that were new)
Science: O&R; we started chapter 2 last week but only got one lesson in. We read "Variations in Theme" and learned (again) the parts of a flower. They went over this quite a bit last year in science but this has more detail and more parts that are explained. We learned today (and yes, that includes me!) that not all plants have both pistils and stamens. I did not know that- or more likely- I'd never thought of it. Feels like I learned something ;)
Foreign Language: FF: Lesson VII, Worksheet 2, Section 2 & we went over Sentence Pattern #2 (S+V+DO) and reviewed Sentence Pattern #1 (S+V). Greek: Learned "a man", "a brother", "apostles", and "I see". It is neat to learn Greek and it's a bit fun to write it too!
Church History: Started on Chrysostom and I was so engrossed that we actually got more than 1/2 way done with the entire chapter on him. There were some confusing wording in the Saints & Heroes book however and it wasn't clear, to us, who certain people were or what their significance was. Perhaps as we read it more it will fall in place :)
Computers/Writing/DN: Lee: worked on Alison and also on a funny writing assignment that I made up on My Access Writing (links to my review). Fox: Did his Lego Story build using Lego Digital Designer; writing with My Access (links to the website) (this will be switched to the Write Foundation tomorrow- but you'll have to wait for the review!). They both checked the daily news in Torrington (...woohooo sooo exciting here....) as well as Washington Times and New York Times. They've not actually been reading anything unless it's 'interesting' they said. Hmmm.
Reading: Lee: Prince Caspian; Fox: ...yet to be done!


Lee:
History/Geography: World Studies; Africa Settings Review- she learned quite a bit about Africa two years ago so this is 'old news' for her ;)
Logic: The Fallacy Detective (...and we didn't write it down!!)
Japanese: practice writing


Fox:
Military History: Boys' Book of Sea Fights; John Paul Jones
Biblical Studies (?): TGSET (last week -or when I wrote about it last- I wrote what he was reading in Matthew; although these are along the same lines *the life of Jesus* totally not the same- this book is historical fiction-- anyways, he's not to the part where Jesus goes before Pilate yet)- Chapter 27


Ah- another great "What We've Accomplished..." bit: Lee made an ant farm!! From the Order & Reality text book she located the study of ants near the end. For probably a year she has been 'harassing' me to buy an ant farm for her. She was even saving up money to buy one- she'd searched tirelessly online for the 'perfect' one. Well, she came across a way to make one of her own. I wish my camera had batteries! It is super neat. She used two jars; one smaller than the other. She put the smaller jar in the larger jar and then put dirt in the space between. Then she dug up some ants. Well, not really dug; they are prolific in our backyard. She even found a wannabe queen (she's too young but does have wings- she'll be queen soon)! Quite the achievement for her and she won't stop watching them! They've started quite a few tunnels already and it is neat to watch them :)


Okay...now it's off to make dinner! It's been a good day :)

As You Begin the Week, Align Your Priorities with God

I follow A Wise Woman Builds Her Home but not as closely as I'd like most times. I came across this post (catching up on what I've missed the last few days) and thought I'd share the link for others. This a truly beautiful blog with a wonderful Godly purpose.
The title of this post is what I took away from what I read- something I need to do everyday.

Book Giveaway @ The Book Guardians!

Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life. Proverbs 4:23

I thought you might be interested in a giveaway hosted by The Book Guardians. Check it out!


If you don't know 'who' The Book Guardians are you can read my blurb about it here or just continue reading this post ;)
The Book Guardians are a group of homeschooling moms that would like to help make the task of reviewing the contents of books easier for others. By following the guidelines set out for The Book Guardians, it is our hope that you can find out if a book will be a good fit for your family. As mentioned on the About... page, the contributors to The Book Guardians are a diverse group and opinions vary! Here is what we look for when we post a book:


Content Considerations

 1. Religious/ Secular Content:
 2. Adult Content:
 3. Mature Topics:
 4. Strong/ Inappropriate Language:
 5. Magic/ Witchcraft/ Fictional Characters:
 6. Disrespect/ Rebellion:
 7. Drug/ Alcohol Use:
 8. Violence/ Abuse:
 9. Educational Value:
10. Positive/ Negative Messages:

Stop by and check out The Book Guardians, for the giveaway or for the content reviews of books you might be considering using.

What's Been Up Over Here :)

Today is already Tuesday (and only Tuesday!) and I feel that I've been gone forever. 


Saturday was productive. Out of the list of to-dos I had, we finished at least 4 of them and started or got well into another 2 of them. The rest will have to wait until this weekend (ie: the rest of the fence being stained and the weed extermination). 


Sunday was good, we went to both services at Church. And I should have posted on Sunday because there was something great that I heard/thought because of the service and now I can't recall :( If I think of it I will post it another time. But either way: God is GOOD. Always.


Monday was our second week at Co-Op and a local new friend has started to attend also. She has two children, an 8 year old and a 10 year old. Her son (the 10 yo) is on the autism spectrum - but where I couldn't tell you - and he gets over stimulated easily. We worried some that the new atmosphere and the amount of kids (and people in general) might cause him to have an anxiety attack but he did surprisingly well. Her daughter, so far, is a typical 8 yo (as typical as one can be with living with a brother with autism)- she's super sweet and surprisingly (or not so surprising maybe) mature for an 8 yo. We didn't bring a potluck contribution this week so we had pb&j sandwiches made with the bread I made on Sunday. We came back home and picked up 40 lbs of flour from a generous friend from church that is moving soon and trying to lighten their packing. We will definitely miss them! I'm so grateful for the flour as I was down to my last 5 lb bag and would have had to buy more shortly. God is good :) & she is nice too ;)


Today is Tuesday (lol in case you'd not figured that out yet!) and I feel that the week has zoomed past already -then I catch myself and realize it has really just started! I am still waiting on two books for one of my classes so worry that I will fall behind. Fortunately, he's emailed everyone the first week's reading materials. Perhaps he is aware the books are backordered. I've not even started the other class other than to look at the 'homepage' for the class. Last week I did do the first assignment but haven't actually 'turned it in'. Well, I do think that all is going well.


Today for the kids' school they've done well and are moving along well. I will most likely do Weekly Wrap-Ups for that on Friday (unless I periodically get a moment- like now!). The Monthly Barden will be up hopefully by October 15th! Keep an eye open for it!

Review Preview- Shayz Scentz

This is not my official review for the products I received for review from Shayz Scentz but I wanted to just post something really quick:

THESE SMELL DELICIOUS!! 

My house hasn't smelled so good in so long!


Be watching for a full review soon!

When I Disappear, You'll Know I'm Still Here :)

Oh my, it's getting close ... just two more days... I am starting to actually think about it... eeek! It's COLLEGE!


Uh, my college (Lee still has at least 2+ years, thankfully!). 


When classes start, life gets really hectic. I must be a manager of my time. I was going to say, "I must be a better manager of my time," but that's just silly for many that know me. I've never gotten that down.


Tomorrow is Saturday and there are a lot of things to accomplish before the sun goes down:

• Rake the back yard to get rid of the dead weeds
• Pull up the old, dead plants from our poor gardens (I know God made the grasshoppers (which ate my garden)- and mosquitos (which eat me when I go out to the garden to get rid of the grasshoppers)- but do I have to like them??) and turn the ground
• Take down the clothesline (not sure about the post in the center of the yard that was used to hold it up...)
• Stain more of the fence, at least to get it completely one-coated
• Work on school work that did not get done during the week (Science- poor poor science-, a bit of history, artist study & possibly composer study)
• My bathroom needs cleaned (I suppose I will be the one to do that lol- funny how 'my' bathroom gets cleaned by 'me')
• Laundry to do (Lee is going to be charged with that! usually I do the laundry because it is in the 'forbidden' zone...but I'm delegating :D
• And usual outside chores (weed pulling and trash detail)

Then it's Sunday and we have church, the kids have their bathroom and room cleaning. I would like to use the time between services to cook up some chicken for the freezer, make some bread and tortillas. But we will see how that goes. 

Monday is the day it all falls apart becomes more of a challenge. Well, actually since Monday is also co-op day I guess I don't have to worry about being online much- I won't be able to be! (lol that makes me sad) As much as I would rather it were different, I think I must limit my internet time down to only a few hours a week. For some that may seem like a lot but I am usually on here every day for at least 2 hours a day. I'm going to dwindle that down to perhaps 3 hours a week. With the exception of my classes, which are online. I want to try to post the Weekly Wrap-Ups since I won't really be able to do the WWATs very much. 

The plan is rise early, read email and some blogs :) then do some of my school. Then the kids wake up, we start our school day. When theirs is done, I do a bit more on mine. The last parts of the day are for socializing :) making dinner, cleaning up, playing games, reading books, rough housing, etc. That's the plan...hopefully the things that gets neglected the most are the emails and blogs and not the other things!


So anyway, that's where I will be for the next three months (yea right...we'll see how that works out) so if I'm not here, I'm still 'here'... :)

Great Biographies in Time by Plutarch on Audio Download - Free Audio

For those who aren't already in the know about Learn Out Loud's freebies- Last week to download some of the "Greatest Biographies in Time"

Great Biographies in Time by Plutarch on Audio Download - Free Audio

Biographies included here are:

• Alexander the Great by Plutarch
• Life of Sir Isaac Newton by Sir David Brewster
• Confessions by Jean-Jacques Rousseau
• Life of George Washington by Washington Irving
• Childhood, Boyhood, Youth by Leo Tolstoy
• Up from Slavery by Booker T. Washington
• The Story of My Life by Helen Keller
• The Education of Henry Adams by Henry Adams

PS Am sharing this via LOL's 'share' feature. It looks pretty strange on my end...hope it looks somewhat normal on yours! :)

Oldie but Goodie

Skipping around the blogworld I happened again onto Sage Parnassus' blog. I love to read her blog. It has so much great information pertaining to Charlotte Mason, and it's just a beautiful blog anyway. I'm envious that she will be attending the Charlotte Mason Education Conference and Symposium. Wouldn't that just be wonderful? Perhaps someday I will be able to be around, physically near, others who use CM. Maybe.

But as I was looking at one of her posts the "You Might Also Like" had 'Motto (etymology: Italian, from Late Latin "muttum"...' so I clicked it out of curiosity. 

The greatest respect is due the students

Or as her blog subtitle says: Maxima reverentia debetur pueris

I recommend reading her post. Her blog.

Weekly Wrap-Up...TGIF!!!

Yea, so we are definitely not unschoolers but some days (weeks?) it certainly feels that way. We love the library, love books, and love to just 'know' things, by doing them- but we don't like to ahem 'learn' about them. We have difficulty finishing our school day lessons as they are written with the books and materials that have been chosen. BUT no, we are not unschoolers...I think eclectic would be the best way to explain our school (a little bit o' this, a little bit o' that...and more of Charlotte Mason than the rest).
Here is our Weekly Wrap-Up for the week of 09/20/2010- TGIF!!!

We started the WNHEN Co-op on Monday and YAY it was a success! We are looking forward to next Monday. The only thing I personally am not looking forward to is the fact that we will be gone all day. From about 8 am to about 4 pm. So much I could do during that time... well, it'll be fine...just fine.

Tuesday was a holiday! Yippie! What, you didn't know it was a holiday? Well, it is International Day of Peace :) And of course 09/21 is Lee's birthday. That is the holiday I was referring to :) We take birthday holidays at North Laurel School. Even dad's birthday heehee. (He might have to work but we will relax for him :D!)

Wednesday actually felt like it was Monday because that was the first day of the week we did 'school'. It took all day to get done. I'd like to have just stopped midway and said "It's good", but I just couldn't. We all suffer from uh, laziness here at North Laurel School. So the "beatings will continue until morale improves!" Oh, sorry that slipped out! There are no beatings! They're much too big for that now ;) I just make them 'keep on keeping on' with the work.

Thursday was productive indeed! We did a lot that day! Thankfully there wasn't much else in the way of 'excitement' that day or we might have been distracted :)

Friday (TGIF!!) Today we (Lee and I anyway) took steps to learn about savings and interest by her opening her very first 'own' savings account. We learned she will earn a measly.25%!! She made a good deposit but with that low of interest it'd take shy of forever for it to amount to much! Fortunately she plans to add to it occasionally lol. Before that we had a lessen in spending wisely (wink) when we went to the local coffee shop and she purchased a drink and muffin for herself and her brother. She had taken only so much money with her into the store and had to count in her head what would be the best way to buy what she wanted (and what Fox was drooling over). Ah, and we finally got the History Channels free Story of US DVD set in the mail! The kids were super excited to start watching it but I made them at least do math (and house chores) beforehand. We still have more 'school' to do but we are always learning something :) I'm glad it's Friday...

Check out other Weekly Wrap-Ups at Weird, Unsocialized Homeschoolers! Let's see if we can get to 100 participants!! :)

Giveaway that I don't want to share! ;)

Our Homeschool Reviews is hosting Amy's Kitchen Giveaway. I hate to share this info because I love these products and I want them for myself ....but...it's so good for you so I am sharing (and unashamedly getting two more entries!) 
Good luck to those who enter! :)
Now go check it out!!

Wyoming Elements Magazine...editorial- I'm not happy...

I went today to get a free drink from a local coffee shop that I absolutely love (Three D's Coffee & Tea) and while I waited for my simple coffee with 1/2 n 1/2, I picked up a free copy of Wyoming Elements magazine. Hey, I'm all for free!

Autumn 2010 issue. One of the articles is "Christmas in July: Wyoming's Capitol Christmas Tree Hunt". It was of particular interest to me since we (kids and I at 4H) made ornaments to adorn this tree while at the White House. The photographs throughout the magazine are well done (some are slightly blurry but I assume that these are not necessarily professional photographers and as such, they are still good). I took the magazine with me as we headed home.

I open it up to read it more in-depth and here is where I become 'unhappy'. The editorial is about "Mangled Idiocy". If that title doesn't make a lick of sense to you, you'd possibly have to see the photograph that accompanies the article. While I am not allowed to reproduce the content in any form, I cannot tell you what it actually says but can give you an idea. The photo is vandalism of Vedauwoo public lands. 

Oh, I was upset when I saw the photo! I shook my head and had a few thoughts in my head about who would do such a thing. But I continued to read. The editor, Sonia O. Klein, was obviously even more upset than I. She had come to this area and had found peace, tranquility and feelings that only those who enjoy the outdoors can understand. Then when she returned to the same place and saw this vandalism, she was livid. I am sure she endeavored to control herself with her editorial (perhaps??). There are so many other things that could have been said- many more harsh words. 

What made me so 'unhappy' is not the vandalism- no, I in an instant forgot about what the editorial was about. With just one word all the feelings that she had been attempting to build up where washed away in utter shock. I lost for a moment the purpose of the editorial. I cannot tell you the word that was used. If I did, I'd be no better than she for using it. 

Perhaps in Wyoming they are very liberal with words or what they consider appropriate for readers. Perhaps they just do not care. Well, I certainly care. And I find no place for profanity at all. 

It was my first opportunity to view this magazine and honestly, it makes me leery to read the rest. I understand the upset she felt but there was no regard for others feelings when she wrote what she did. My kids may want to read that magazine and I don't want them to see that. 

I sent an email to the editor, you can bet! I hope I controlled myself but I wasn't happy with her choice of words and the fact that perhaps 50,000+ people will read it. I am only one individual but if it bothered me, it may also bother someone else who won't say anything.

What We’ve Accomplished Today…09/20/10 - 09/23/10

Monday: 09/20/2010

CO-OP! First day for WNHEN co-op. It went well :)

Lee had Choir, followed by Computer Security. Fox worked on his Math while Choir was going on because he doesn't have a 9am class, but then he had Watercolor. I sat with Fox while he did math and then Lee in Computer Security. Afterwards, Lee went to Watercolor and Fox went to Chemistry for Fun. I stayed with Lee for Watercolor but would have liked to be in the Chemistry class :) Lunch was after this and since we didn't bring a dish, we went to Sonic for fast food. Also went to Wally World in hopes of getting some photos of 4H activities for the kids' project books. Unfortunately the thumbdrive I brought had no 4H photos. Go figure! Anyway, so we decided to head back to co-op for Lee's Student Council and both were scheduled for PE. We skipped PE though and went in search of an ice cream cake for Lee's 14th birthday. We found a Dairy Queen off the main road and she picked out a chocolate chip cookie dough blizzard cake (no actual 'cake' in it). Then we rushed home to get the project books completed and turned in by 4pm. I discovered some missing pages in their books so we had to go to the extension office early to get those, get them filled out and to make sure everything was in page protectors (each. sheet. in. its. own. page. protector.) Sigh. Finally got done at 3:59pm! But thankfully that is done! Just hope that it was done satisfactorily and next year they will be working on completing the books throughout the year- none of this last minute stuff! Well, not all at the last minute anyway. So that was Monday!

Tuesday: No school- Holiday (aka: Lee's Birthday!) It was a good day...just doing whatever. Dh had to work so Lee had to wait until after 5pm to have her 'celebration' but I did let her open two gifts earlier in the day. She got Zoo Tycoon, a necklace and some foo-foo smelling bath stuff ;) I also let her pick out a movie to watch to pass time (with no school they have hours of 'what-to-do' time!)- she chose My Fair Lady. That held her over until a little after 5 when her dad got home. We went to a local burger joint called Ben's Diner. She had a mushroom swiss burger (actually both her and Fox did); I had a guacamole burger and dh had the cowboy burger (that one had onion rings on it...and was BIG..he couldn't even finish it all). Lee's friend had called earlier but I got the message late so she called back towards the end of our dinner. We came home to eat some yummy ice cream cake and for her to open the rest of her gifts. She got art stuff! Sketch book, construction paper and a large drawing pad (the kind you can set on the floor and draw on). Then she headed off to dance class where they all sang Happy Birthday to her. It was a good day :)

Wednesday: 09/22/2010 (The day that actually felt like Monday!)

Both: 
Bible reading (Exodus 16 & 17)

Verses: Lee: Galatians 5: 22,23 (my fav!); Fox: 2 Timothy 3: 16, 17

Plutarch's Lives: plugging along with Julius Caesar...really we will finish it!

Math: Lee: BA HC- Lessons 47 & 48 (she checks her own work and only comes to me if she needs help); Fox: PA, chapters 5 & 6 but he has to redo Chapter 6 (didn't answer questions because he hasn't been keeping track of formulas ...has lost his 3x5 card...will make a new one)

Reading: Lee: Prince Caspian; Fox: The Fellowship of the Ring

Spanish: Leccion Trecera 11 & 12 (-Vive and Donde?-) & flashcards

Lee:

Computers: Blogger stuff (working on her Art=Awesome blog) but she forgot -or didn't know she could or some reason- to do work on Alison

Daily News

World Studies: Chapter 4 Review

The Brendan Voyage; pages 154-161

Fearfully & Wonderfully Made 1st 1/2 chapter 16

Mere Christianity: Book 3, Chapter 3- we actually re-read a chapter without really knowing it! It's a good book and so I don't mind re-reading this one

Fox:

TGSET chapter 26...next up Jesus is before Pilate!

Complete Book of Marvels: half of chapter 27 & notebook page. (I just love this book!)

Story of the World: Chapter 12 and map of Australia; learned about Ned Kelly.

Computers; Blogger- Lego Story

Thursday: 09/23/10

Both: 
Bible Reading (Matthew 25 & 27)
Verses: Galatians 5:22, 23 & 2 Timothy 3:16, 17

Math: Lee: BA HC lessons 49-50; Fox: PA Chapters 6 & 7

Reading: Lee: Prince Caspian; Fox: Abraham Lincoln's World, Passion for the Impossible (he wants to read a Star Wars book instead...um no...free time maybe, not for 'school')
Latin: Lesson VII, Worksheet 1 & 2 (Just section 1). I always find it interesting how the beginning can look like Greek (uh, no that's the other foreign language we are working on and it doesn't look anything like it!) but by the time we are done with the lesson it makes sense! I really am liking Memoria Press First Form and intend to go with Second Form next year ;)
Greek: more alphabet review and some matching letters with letter names. I made a quick 'draw' game out of one of the worksheets. The kids used a white-board between the two of them and I'd say a letter, whoever was the first to draw the letter first (and somewhat correctly) won! They did very well and it was a bit of fun :) The final score was Fox 10 to Lee 14. But it was more about the game and learning than winning that's for sure! Be on the lookout for my review of this product (Greek 'n' Stuff's Hey Andrew! Teach Me Some Greek!) in April, but you will get glimpses of what we are doing with it between now and then.
Writing: My Access -Yay! Lee reached Advanced on Language Style and remains Proficient at the other points. I was joking with her and said she was now going to be Fox's writing teacher...I got nervous laughs from both of them at that one! Heehee. Fox is improving :)
Daily News

Lee:

World Studies: page 104-109
History of English Literature: The Literary Lie; I'm not sure why this one gets the boot often but it does. It's well written and easy to follow. I hear grumbles usually when we start but by the time we are done, we've learned some interesting information and the grumbles have dissipated (thankfully!)
Computers: right now she is working on the Monthly Barden newsletter using the Serif Page Plus program we got as a free download from Amazon. 

So far that's our WWAT from 09/20- 09/23/10; there will be more today to add but will do it later. We still have scheduled Science and Shakespeare. Fox is anxious to be done with the 'reading' bit of Shakespeare because he is hoping we can watch the movie. Fox and I still have This Country of Ours to do as well. Then it's ...dunh, dunh, dunnnh...chores!

PS- I wonder if Zoo Tycoon would be considered 'educational' the way my kids use it?!

Missed Again

I go to church every Sunday morning (unless we are sick or out of town). There is an evening service and a Wednesday night service. We used to go to all three...but hubby started to have to work the occasional Sunday afternoon and had meetings at work every Wednesday night.

It's so easy to get into a habit of not doing something. Much easier to not than to. So I had already decided that I was going to go tonight because I've not gone in awhile and I feel the pull (God talks to us with these little nudges and tugs). I also wanted to just be there to be in God's house...

And then about 5 pm I started to get a headache. Not too bad. I've had worse... I took a shower, got dressed and 'fixed' my hair...then about 6:30- 15 minutes before leaving- my head started pounding and my stomach started rolling. I thought I could stand it... but I couldn't.

I missed going again. I posted yesterday about how I feel that God demands our whole life, and here I am failing/falling behind...again. My stomach is still pitching. My eyes are about just slits. (No, the computer doesn't really bother me- I don't have to move anything but my hands...but I can't drive and it's horrible to walk from room to room).

Sigh, I know that part of my feeling of 'failure' is because I've disappointed those in my church again. Granted, they are not who I should be concerned about in this matter. And honestly, I don't know why I even took the trouble to type out this post...It is only my thoughts.

Since I missed again, I will have to make it up: I'm going to go to bed and be close to God by reading His Word and praying. I never do enough of either.

Weekly- Er- Monthly Barden Soon to Resume!

I've been ordered to tell all that the Weekly Barden will be resumed starting in October. I, for one, am so glad to hear it! I hope those who read the Weekly Barden previously will be glad also. This time however there will be more space between issues. It will also have a name change: Monthly Barden.

You can see previous issues here.

The future issues will be made with Page Plus (check it out! FREE right now!)

*Okay, Lee, I've done my part ;) Now it's up to you!

God demands our whole life

"The one thing Christianity can’t be is moderately important: either it’s

untrue, in which case it’s of no importance at all, or it’s true, in which case

it demands your whole life." --C.S. Lewis

When you put it that way... Although, with the focus on "Christianity"
there I am caught between a rock and a hard place- I think. Perhaps I think too much! I say the focus on "Christianity" like that because I feel that it has become associated with a religion or a church. Wouldn't it be better to say "The one thing God can't be is moderately important: either He is untrue, in which case it's of no importance at all, or He is true, in which case He demands your whole life"?

Maybe it is because of the way people have put the emphasis on Christianity...instead of God. If that makes sense. Like saying, "I'm a Christian but I still watch inappropriate movies; I still smoke; I still behave the same as the world does, but I'm a Christian."

Shouldn't it be something like, "I'm Christ-like and I do not watch inappropriate movies nor do I smoke or act as the world does"?

I don't think it matters what church you go to or what denomination you call yourself, but it most certainly does matter what you believe. That's where it comes in that God must be your whole life. If we find Him to be moderately important then we are not believing as we should.

(No offense intended; it's not up to me to take the mote out of someone else's eye when I've got a huge beam in mine. I need my own 'advice'...)

TOS REVIEW: Salem Ridge Press (The Captives, The Sign Above the Door, Dearer Than Life)

From the TOS Crew I was able to receive complementary copies of three books from Salem Ridge Press. The purpose of Salem Ridge Press is not to simply reprint books that have been previously published but are now out of copyright. Their main objective is to help you provide wholesome books for your family.

Although this review will give you an overview of the books that I received and read, it will be more of a review of the company's goal; how are they doing in respects to delivering wholesome books for the family?

Let me start with short bits about the books that Salem Ridge Press so kindly sent to me. When you go to the website and check on the books, you will see that they are grouped into the genre/time period/subject that they cover. I found this to be very helpful. Personally, I love history so naturally that is the first place I looked ;) Another bit that I like about Salem Ridge Press is their prices. These books are not necessarily small books (not extremely large, mind you) and yet they are priced reasonably low. With a little more time, and more exposure, perhaps they will be able to bring them even lower. The quality of the printing is very good. I found no typos, no smudges, nothing second-rate in the publishing of the books.

The Sign Above the Door was actually sent to me as an ebook in pdf format. Although when I checked at the time of typing up this review, it was not offered as an ebook or hardcover. The price for the hardcover is from a previous inquiry to the site.

Historical Fiction/World History

The Sign Above the Door by William W. Canfield

Originally published in 1912

Paperback: $14.95

Hardback: $24.95

Age range: 12+

Pages: 307

Egypt, the first Passover- 1500 B.C. From the website:

Story Synopsis
Young Prince Martiesen is ruler of the land of Goshen in Egypt, where the Hebrews live. Eight plagues have already come upon Egypt and now Martiesen has been forced by Pharaoh to further increase the burden of the Hebrews. Martiesen, however, is in love with the beautiful Hebrew maiden, Elisheba, whom he is forbidden by Egyptian law to marry. As the nation despairs, the other nobles turn to Martiesen for leadership, but before he can decide what to do, Elisheba is kidnapped by the evil Peshala and terrifying darkness falls over the land. An exciting tale woven around the events of the Exodus from the Egyptian perspective!

This book I found to be just as good of a quality book as the others, but I had a harder time to get 'into' this book.

Books in the Emma Leslie Church History Series

The Captives, or Escape from the Druid Counsel

by Emma Leslie

Originally published in 1873

Paperback: $12.95

Hardback: $22.95

Age range: 12+

Pages: 169

Druids and Romans. From the website:

Story Synopsis
The Druid priests are as cold and cruel as the forest spirits they claim to represent, and Guntra, the chief of her tribe of Britons, must make a desperate deal with them to protect those she loves. Unaware of Guntra’s struggles, Jugurtha, her son, longs to drive the hated Roman conquerors from the land. When he encounters the Christian Centurion, Marcinius, Jugurtha mocks the idea of a God of love and kindness, but there comes a day when he is in need of love and kindness for himself and his beloved little sister. Will he allow Marcinius to help him? And will the gospel of Jesus Christ ever penetrate the brutal religion of the proud Britons?

I must admit this book of the three was my favorite. I could not put this one down. I enjoyed the style, the topic, the outcome, etc. This I also received as an ebook but it is not available on the website currently as one. I would like to have this one in physical form.

Dearer Than Life by Emma Leslie

Paperback: $14.95

Hardback: $24.95

Age range: 12+

Pages: 255

England, 1366-1384. From the website:

Story Synopsis
Arriving home from a meeting of Parliament in London, Sir Hugh Middleton is shocked to learn that a neighboring monastery has laid claim to one of his fields. Sir Hugh steadfastly refuses to yield his property, and further offends the monastery by sending his younger son, Stephen, to study under Dr. John Wycliffe. At the same time, Sir Hugh sends his elder son, Harry, to serve as an attendant to the powerful Duke of Lancaster. As Wycliffe seeks to share the Word of God with the common people, Stephen and Harry and their sisters help spread the truth, but what will it cost them in the dangerous day in which they live?

I liked this one second of the three books. This gives a very good idea of what life was like during the time of John Wycliffe- very detailed in some parts, would have liked more descriptives in others. Would definitely agree with the age range unless your child is not sensitive and/or is advanced in reading comprehension.

The purpose of 'providing wholesome books for your family' is taken very seriously at Salem Ridge Press! I especially love the scripture that they use to guide them in their quest for wholesome books: "Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things (Philippians 4:8)."

I feel that they are doing well in offering such books. These are definitely different than you will find in the books written today. There is absolutely "No Kissing!" (perhaps the number one rule for Salem Ridge Press!...maybe) in the books they offer. They have also taken the time and effort to scrutinize these books for offensive illustrations or derogatory wording.

I encourage those who are looking for 'wholesome' books for their family library to consider Salem Ridge Press. I think that they do indeed help with this need.

To read more reviews from other TOS Crew members, check out the TOS Homeschool Crew blog post.

**Disclaimer: I was given a copy of these books for review from Salem Ridge Press through the TOS Crew. The opinions presented are mine and I was not compensated in any other way and was not required to give a positive review. See more of my Policies/Disclosures.**

Another Birthday :) Ripe Ol' Age of 14~

Oh, my little baby isn't a baby anymore (lol I'm not delusional- I know she's not been for a long time!) She's turned 14 today and it just floors me... how can it be? Take a little trip down memory lane with me :)

Newborn (about a week old) if you look at Fox's bday post you see how similar they look!

3 months (and super ticklish!!)- not so much anymore....lol we sour with age eh?

First birthday- she loved that doll & she still has it :)

Almost 3 years old (June/July 1999)

Almost 6 years old (with her brother there :)

This spring- about 13 1/2 ;) (and pretending to be camera shy... I've been corrected; it seems we posed this way- somewhere there's a photo of me that looks about the same lol)


I wanted to include a photo from today but really cameras, batteries, or any combination of those two just have it out for me! I can't believe she's 14 though. It's just gone too fast!

Happy Birthday, Lee....my young lady (no longer 'little').