Marvelous Monday - Spring is Finally Here!

For the LORD thy God bringeth thee into a good land, a land of brooks of water, of fountains and depths that spring out of valleys and hills. . . Deut 8:7

What beautiful days we have been having here.  The weather and seasons have been crazy for everyone this year.  It seems no matter where you live I have seen reports of crazy weather.  Lots of rain and snow.

We just got done with a rain spell and there is more on the way later this week.  It will probably be good for the garden as long as we don't get too much!  When there is standing water everywhere and the chickens are under water then it seems that would be too much!

Poor chickens!!

So grateful for the sunshine.  We will enjoy it as long as it is here.  Praying your day is blessed!

Planet 316 Story Bible REVIEW

We love Planet 316! When given to opportunity to review another one of their products we, of course, said Yes!  The Planet 316 Story Bible and the companion Planet 316 Story Bible App by Planet 316 and Worthy Kids/Ideals was a no-brainer for us to choose.  Little Bug LOVES to have her daddy read her bible stories at bedtime EVERY night (except when he isn't home on time).  The fact that this one has a really fun interactive component had me intrigued.  I received the book and then downloaded the app for free.  You can download the app from the App Store or Google Play.  They do not currently have the app available for Kindle.

This special book has Augmented Reality that works with their FREE app to bring the Bible to life!  The app works on your smartphone or tablet.  The 3-D animation is fascinating for the kids to watch.  Even I got a kick out of it!  The book is high-quality hardback with heavy-duty glossy pages (304 pages).  There are more than 100 bible stories with wonderful illustrations that capture your child's interest.  Add in the interactive component with the app and your children are on their way to learning about the stories of the bible.  If your little one is like mine, who can just about recite any of the stories to you, don't worry about it being boring.  The interactive app that brings the pages to life captures their interest and further reinforces the stories in their minds.
You just open up the app, press start, and allow the camera to scan the page and voila!  You are ready to interact with the story.

The 3-D animation does not read the story to them but has audio that adds to the storybible and the experience.  You can HEAR the ocean and animals.  The characters talk and interact in addition to what is being read on the pages of the book. The 3-D component is fascinating. It is a little awkward with the iPad and I do think it's easier to use with the smaller iPhone.  The picture is, of course, better with the tablet, but hard to hold the book at correct angle and tablet at the same time (definitely takes more than two hands!).

Little Bug just giggled with delight the first time she saw it in action.  It was funny to see her try to figure out just how it was happening, but then she just had fun watching it in action.  She also still loves to read the book without the app.  The illustrations are fun and expressive.  I also like that when she starts to read this will be a good beginner book for her as the stories are short.  They don't read this book every night but it is definitely part of her bedtime routine several nights a week.  This will be a book that she will use for several years to come before she outgrows it.

The book includes bible stories from both the Old and New Testaments (from Genesis to Revelation).  Scripture references are included with each story.  There are no actual scriptures so no Bible version is given.  The book is listed for ages 4-7 but I would say all ages!  We have always read to even our young babies and certainly a 2-year-old would get a kick out of the interactive app.  My 14-year-old was even caught playing with it!!  LOL.  The book is currently discounted on their site for $14.99 (25% off).


I'm really glad we reviewed The Planet 316 Story Bible and the companion Planet 316 Story Bible App.  I highly recommend it if you have kids ages 4-7 or even younger or a little older!  You can connect with  Planet 316 and Worthy Kids/Ideals on FACEBOOK and TWITTER.  If you have the time, check out what we thought of their Daily Bible Jigsaw app.
Please also take the time to read what other Crew members think of this wonderful resource through the link below.

BathTime!

Went out to the coops this afternoon to do the normal afternoon chores and found this silly girl enjoying a rather wet and slightly muddy bath.  I had this tire in the main run for their dust bath but it almost never got used.  I might have seen it used a handful of times in the past year or two.

Since moving it to the 4H pen, the girls have been enjoying it immensely!  My white easter egger was NOT white this afternoon.  I wondered what she had gotten into, then I saw this silly Black Marans enjoying a rather wet bath.

There's always something going on in the chicken yard and they are an endless source of laughter. 

Anything thing new and funny going on in your chicken yard?

Princess Cut Movie REVIEW

Our family always enjoys a good movie, especially for our weekly Friday night movie night.  I was excited to have a chance to review the DVD of Princess Cut (True Love is Worth the Wait) by Watchman Pictures.  My husband and I always enjoy a good Christian film and with a growing teen in the house, this movie was just perfect.  This romantic drama is Dove approved for ages 12+.  There is no profanity or nudity.

My son doesn't really like to think or talk too much about subjects of relationships right now and that is ok with me.  He is just now 14 years old and he has time to grow and mature.  He knows how we feel as a family and what our goal is.  I have had good curriculum over the past couple years that I have covered with him and has opened up a lot of good discussions (albeit generally short sessions).

The general plot of the movie covers dating relationships and how a father and mother can lead and guide their child into a Godly union for marriage.  The common term of courtship is not mentioned in the movie.  Rather the movie uses and demonstrates a Godly union in a practical way.

The main character, Grace, longs for the day her knight in shining armor will woo her and place that princess cut ring on her finger.  She has been having a long distance relationship with Stewart and has an upcoming date with him where she thinks he is going to pop the question.  Instead, Stewart announces his engagement to someone else.  Grace is devasted and certain she will never find Mr. Right.

At a local coffee shop, she runs into the guy who worked at the jewelry store where she was looking at rings.  He pursues her and at first, she puts him off.  He is persistent and they pursue a relationship that she thinks is wonderful because he seems to respect her and treats her special.  The problem enters when he becomes more forceful to become much more romantically involved.  I absolutely love this part where it becomes so evident that Grace has been raised with strong convictions and her inner-self knows that somehow this relationship is just not right.  She struggles with it and ends up breaking the relationship off.

In her despair, she ends up seeking the advice of her father who had recently been convicted to be a better father to her and take up his responsibility of guarding her heart until the time that he gives her away in marriage.  Grace agrees to trust her father in helping her and guiding her in pursuing the right person for her future.  

A young doctor, Clint, moves in next door and you can imagine that the rest is history.  But of course, the story doesn't have a simple ending.  Do they pursue a relationship together?  What happens when the doctors ex-fiance shows up?  What happens when Grace's ex-boyfriend shows up?  What happens to cause the doctor to leave?  What does it mean to truly love someone?

I absolutely LOVED the way this movie demonstrated how a Godly union can happen and what it might look like.  By beginning the movie with Grace making some wrong choices it brought a lot of reality to the story.  It showed how making wrong choices that seemed right at the time will generally not have a happy ending.  The movie demonstrated to young people how waiting for that true love can indeed be worth the wait.  When we choose to follow God's design in relationships it can be a wonderful and magical story.  Grace didn't have to go looking for her Mr. Right.  God brought him to her.  Clint also had a past where he had made some wrong decisions and not allowed God to lead in his pursuit of relationships.  He was able to demonstrate how much more God had for him when he pursued Grace with quiet patience and a deep friendship first before pursuing anything romantic.  Clint also honored Grace's parents by asking for their permission to pursue a relationship with Grace.

I highly recommend Princess Cut by Watchman Pictures to any parent of a preteen or teenager.  This movie can help open up discussions of what your family might like to see how your child might pursue future relationships and ultimately marriage.





You can connect with Watchman Pictures on FACEBOOK, TWITTER, PINTEREST, INSTAGRAM, GOOGLE+, and YOUTUBE.

Please also take the time to look at the other review on this movie to get other opinions on it.

Live in Peace

If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live 

peaceably with all men. Rom 12:18 NKJV

Do you have peace? Do you desire peace?  God calls us to live peaceably with one another.  He doesn't desire that we live in or cause strife with others.  A good rooster is worth his weight in gold. One of his jobs is to keep the peace in the flock.  When then hens get to bickering it is his job to break it up and restore the peace.

I just love our head rooster Cedric.  I am so sad that he is just so crippled due to previous injuries.  His newest injury is that he somehow lost a toe!!  Yes, he lost a toe and we have no idea what happened.  It is still fairly recent so I continue to pray he will not get an infection or suffer any complications.  We had to bring him in the house again for a few days of doctoring but he is back out with his flock and seems to be doing pretty good.

He is pictured above with one of his sons that he has managed to keep the peace with.  We have had previous experiences where we tried to keep multiple roosters and one decided to buck the plan and caused chaos for all involved.  Currently, we have Cedric with two of his sons and a little silkie rooster with all the hens and everyone seems to be keeping the peace fairly well.

It will be a sad day when we no longer have Cedric.  I have come to rely on him so heavily to keep the flock in order.  My hope is that his son that is second in command right now, Kristoff, will be able to pick up the torch of his father.  He has big feet to fill!

Remember to live in peace as much as you can. It is God's desire for you.

Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.  John 14:27 NKJV

Homeschool Diploma REVIEW

Names are blurred out but you can see the nice quality and lettering.

Sometimes when you homeschool you wonder if your kids might be missing out on some "traditional" options that their public or private school counterparts might have access to.  I was excited to be able to participate in this review for an 8th Grade Diploma from Homeschool Diploma.  Sam is getting ready to graduate from the 8th grade and the timing was just perfect on this.

We are not going to have any big special celebration, but we wanted to at least acknowledge his graduation to the next level in his homeschool life.  We might go out to eat at a place of his choosing and then present it to him afterward.  I suppose the big celebration will come when he graduates high school!

I chose the 8th Grade Diploma and had lots of options to choose from.  I was able to choose some really nice upgrades for no additional charge (the extras do normally cost extra).  The diploma we received looked just like my high school diploma!  It came with a really nice padded, hard backed cover with very nice lettering that I had chosen and upgraded to include our homeschool name and his name on the front.  You can even have your own customized logo or crest printed on the front!  The diploma paper is a very nice heavy cardstock quality paper.

The seal I choose was "Soli Deo Gloria," to God alone be the glory.  Some other options I was able to choose were the selection of a bible verse and parchment instead of plain cream paper.  I could have also chosen to have an honors seal if he had earned that.  There are some wording choices you can make along the way.  For example, I chose "from the Eighth grade level" instead of "from the Junior High School department."

I like that it came with the following notice that let me know if we were to mess this one up somehow while preparing signatures, we could order a replacement.

The ordering process for the diploma was easy and there were a lot of nice upgrade options to choose from.  If you are in need of a High School diploma, you have the option to choose a Standard, Personalized, Gilded, or Vintage diploma.  The Gilded option has 23-karat gold illumination to decorate the seal and first letter of the school name.  Additional letters can be illuminated for an additional charge.  The Vintage style diploma option is printed in raised ink.With the Standard Diploma, you can still choose from 3 different embossed seals.  For our 8th Grade Diploma I was able to add the scripture that I wanted.  It also allowed me to choose either embossed or engraved seals (I chose embossed).  The signature lines on my option were customizable.  I chose "Principal" and "Instructor."  

If you have an upcoming high school graduate you should check out their Standard Diploma. It is not too late, shipping is fast and if you are in a real hurry they can also rush it to you overnight for an additional fee.

Homeschool Diploma can be your one stop shop for all things graduation.  If you just need diploma covers they have that. You can also order caps and gowns, graduation announcements, and class rings from them.  They have options for Kindergarten, 8th grade , and High School graduations.  As I stated before, the ordering process is very easy and they walk you through each step and allow you to choose your options and upgrades available at each step.

You can connect with them on FACEBOOK, TWITTER, and PINTEREST.

I was very pleased with the 8th Grade Diploma we received and definitely plan to use their services when high school graduation comes around.  I would recommend Homeschool Diploma if you plan to celebrate your child's academic accomplishments.

Be sure to check out the other reviews that will include more information on the Kindergarten, 8th grade, and High School diplomas.

Katerina Does It Again!

Sorry for the gruesome picture, but if you own a homestead then you most likely have had to deal with these creatures.  We have active access to 4 of our 5 acres and there is at least a 2-acre plot of farmland right next door to us that is farmed every year.  We have mice.  There is just no getting around it with farmland.  A good mouser can be worth their weight in gold.

About 2 years ago or so we had an adorable stray kitty adopt us.  Notices to our neighbors turned up no one to claim her so we just kept her and she has stayed around ever since.  She is the sweetest and best mouser.  She really takes the moles out too!!

Sorry, that's all she left of it!

I really could do without her leaving these "presents" on my back deck where she lives but I'm still grateful she helps to keep the population down.  Especially those pesky moles that just tear the yard up!!  Do you get any nice "presents" left for you?  What is the strangest thing your pets have brought to you?