Book Review

I was given the opportunity to receive a free copy of  The Moon Shines Down by the late Margaret Wise Brown from Thomas Nelson Publishers.  I chose to receive and review this book because I have three children who love books! 

This book was in hiding for more than 50 years, and was only recently discovered. When it was found, it was much too short for immediate publication. So, Laura Minchew (a children's book publisher and fan of Brown's) wrote additional verses to complete the book.

Some of the verses flowed more freely than others. Which made me wonder which ones were written by Brown, and which ones were written by Minchew? Overall the book has a lovely theme. Children all over the world fall asleep each night with the same moon shining down upon them.

With seven countries and the ocean mentioned, parents can take the opportunity to discuss various topics such as geography, language, culture, etc... 

Linda Bleck is an amazingly talented illustrator. In fact, the illustrations were our family's favorite part of this book. Before reading the book, we took the time to look over each page, admire the illustrations, and search for the koala (often hidden) on the page.

Even though I do not believe this book is Brown's best work, we did enjoy reading it together, and will again I am certain. 

Do you think this is a book your family would enjoy reading together? Click here if you'd like to purchase this book today.

 

 

Thankful Thursday!

Once again, I'm joining my friends over at Celebrate Every Day and share 13 things I am thankful for. This week, I will be sharing my children's words. Yesterday we made Thankful trees, and I am simply going to list the things my children wrote on their trees.

Lauren Says....
1. My family
2. Grandma Shelly
3. Daddy (what about Mom????!!!!)
Tyler says...
4. Jesus
5. Bible
6. Clothes
7. Churches to go to and learn about Jesus
8. Jesus died on the cross to wash away our sins.
9. Mom and Dad (that's more like it)
10. family
11. food
12. house
Kaitlyn says...
13. Christmas
14. Church
15. Lauren, Tyler, Mom, and Dad
16. Trees
17. Bible

Okay...that's more than 13 things, but I wanted to share all of them today:)

Kid-Friendly Recipe

This weekend at Today's Housewife, they are asking their readers to share a kid-friendly recipe.

I asked my 6-year-old what she liked me to cook for her. She said, "macaroni and cheese and chicken and rice soup."

When she said "macaroni and cheese" I was reminded of this fun thing I've made the children a few times. It was a recipe I found at Kraft Foods. It's called Mini Octopus Macaroni and Cheese. Click here for the recipe.

Do you ever have leftover hamburger or hot dog buns? If so, you can use the hot dog buns to make peanut butter and banana sandwiches. I just open the bun up, spread on a thick layer of pb, and top with banana slices, close it up, and enjoy! With leftover hamburger buns, I take one half of the bun, spread on peanut butter and use raisins to make two eyes, one nose, and a smiley face. Sometimes we take pretzel sticks and make "hair" on our hamburger bun by sticking the sticks into the bread all over the top of the bun.

Published Writer!

Heath had the opportunity to be a writer for Lifeway. He wrote a week's worth of devotions in a youth magazine called EC. If you'd like to learn more about the EC magazine. Click on the link, and it will direct you to Lifeway's main homepage. Then, click on the "magazines" tab. He had a lot of fun, enjoyed it very much, and hopes to get the opportunity to write again for them soon! His devotionals will be in the April 2009 edition.

Thankful Thursday

Since today is Thankful Thursday AND my wedding anniversary, I am going to share 13 reasons I'm thankful for my husband.

1. He loves me (tells me and shows me).
2. He cares for me.
3. He challenges me and sharpens me (Pr. 27:17).
4. He walks closely with the Lord.
5. He steps up and is our family's spiritual leader.
6. He takes good care of me.
7. He still flirts with me.
8. He tries his best to give me some time off each week.
9. He is really good at folding laundry, cleaning up messes, and just helping out around the house in general:-)
10. He is not selfish.
11. He is committed to me.
12. He is my best-friend.
13. He is really good at basketball (and he's my favorite opponent).


I LOVE YOU HEATH! I AM THANKFUL YOU ARE MY HUSBAND!

Taking some time to be Thankful

I'm joining in on the fun over at Celebrate Everyday, and going to share a list of 13 things I'm thankful for. I was suppose to share this yesterday. Did you notice the graphic at the top?


13 Things I'm Thankful for
1. My marriage
2. My children
3. My home
4. My church
5. New friends
6. Old friends
7. Telephones, computers, cell phones, mail (all wonderful ways to keep in touch with family and friends in MO and AR).
8. My mini van
9. My digital camera
10. Warm drinks to keep me warm made in my Tassimo machine
11.Freedom
12. Books
13. Today (Ps. 118:24)

Poems and Stories About Autumn

This week, the children wrote poems about autumn. Can you guess which one was written by my daughter and which one was written by my son?
I gave the children these prompts in order to write the poems:
I see...
I hear...
I smell...
I feel (touch)...
I feel (emotion)...


Dancing with the Leaves
Leaves that are bright and yellow and red
Sweet sounds of birds singing and tweeting
Fish and water
Soft, furry, good, and smooth
Excited, glad, and makes me want to dance.

Having Fun
Fish, water, and bright red leaves
a song
manure
mud and fungus
excited.

Do you think my son wrote number 1 or number 2? Hope the manure, mud, and fungus doesn't give it away automatically to anyone!
I think they both did wonderful jobs.

The children also wrote a story together. They took turns writing the story, line by line.

My Life as a Leaf

I am a leaf. At springtime I begin to grow. When it's summer, it gets really hot, and my leaves are green. It's fall now, and I'm gonna change colors. I'm gonna be red. Then I fall off the tree. I decompose, and turn brown because I'm dying. It's winter. I see a snowball that has my friends, that are leaves in it. These leaves are still trying to decompose.
The End

BirthdayCake

I have always wanted to make an ice cream cake, and for my daughter's birthday this week I did. I asked her if she wanted a brownie ice cream cake or regular ice cream cake. She chose the brownie cake.

So, I baked a family-size brownie mix in 2 round cake pans. I took them out of the pans, and stuck them in the freezer on a cookie sheet lined with foil. Once they were cold (very cold), I took them out of the freezer to build the ice cream cake. I built the ice cream cake in my springform pan. I layered brownie, ice cream, brownie, and ice cream. I used the entire container of ice cream. I then placed the springform pan back in the freezer. Later, I "iced" the cake with cool whip and decorated it with mini chocolate candies.

I used this kind of ice cream. I scooped out half the ice cream into a medium-sized mixing bowl, and stirred it to soften it up to make it easier to spread over the brownies.

Our family enjoyed this very much! It was fun to make something a little different than the normal birthday cake! I already have some recommendations for different ice creams to try. Mint chocolate chip may be our next one. But, it will be a while because we try not to have too many sweets just sitting around the house!

Still Lovin' Preschool

This week, my little preschooler was learning about the letter F. I found this neat activity over at No Time for Flashcards.

Another resource that has been great for our family is a LeapFrog DVD called, "The Letter Factory." Last year, when I was doing kindergarten work with the older two children, I would put this DVD in to occupy L (age 2 at the time). She watched it 1-2 times per week. Around February of last year she could identify almost every single letter of the alphabet AND the sound they made! My husband was very impressed, and I laughed and told him, "I didn't even do it on purpose." It was just something she picked up very quickly. L is definitely an auditory learner!

Favorite Recipe for Leftovers

I like to make vegetable beef soup with leftover roast. It's super easy. I will take the leftover roast, and any extra broth, and throw it in the crockpot. Then I will add one bag of frozen mixed vegetables, and a can of vegetable juice (v-8). Season to your taste (salt, pepper, garlic powder, italian season, etc...). I like to sometimes garnish with parmesan cheese. I let it simmer on low all day in the crockpot. Make some cornbread, biscuits, or homemade bread, and you have a nice warm comfort meal!

If you make potatoes and carrots with your roast, you can also throw it in with the soup. I've also been known to raid the refrigerator, and have added vegetables like corn and green beans if we had them earlier in the week.

What do you like to do with leftovers? Share your recipe on your blog, and then go over to Today's Housewife and link up!

Please Pass the....Dessert!

Easy Cheesecake
Vanilla Wafers
2-8oz packages cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
2 eggs

Mix together cream cheese, sugar, vanilla, and eggs. Place vanilla wafers in the bottom of foil lined cupcake wrappers. Pour cheesecake mixture on top of wafer and bake for 25 minutes in a 325 degree oven. Chill and top with desired fruit.

Do you have a dessert you'd like to share? Post it on your blog and then go over to Today's Housewife and link up!