Book - The Seventeen Second Miracle by Jason F. Wright

It only takes 17 seconds to change a life. That is the premise of this book. Cole's father decides to be intentional. Most random acts of kindness only take a few seconds. Whenever Rex, Cole's father, sees the opportunity to help someone he does it. He instills this value in his son, Cole, who then uses the lessons learned to teach high school students in a discussion group forum. It is really a good book.

While the subject is not specifically about Christmas or Christ's birth, I believe that since Christ is love this book is a great Christmas read. It is only through the help of the Holy Spirit that we can find it within ourselves to love those that seem 'unlovable'. Yet, often those are also the souls that most often need a 'seventeen second miracle' in their life. As we perform those small but meaningful miracles, we point others toward Christ.

So have you done your seventeen second miracle today?

Friendship Bread by Darien Gee

An anonymous gift - begins a wonderful journey of healing for one woman and brings an entire community together. It all begins when Julia receives a gift - a bag of starter and a recipe for friendship bread. She wants to toss it out but her daughter loves the idea - and wants to follow the directions to eventually make the bread with her Mom in ten days. At the end though Julia ends up with more starter bags and gifts those to others. Pretty soon the entire community is making friendship bread. The book bounces telling you a bit about the people who receive these bags of starter - letting you into their lives. It is a great book about friendship, healing and love.

This was a really great book. I very much enjoyed it. And the best part is that there are recipes at the end for making the starter and the friendship bread. I can't wait to try them.

Video tribute

Very cool video ---

click here

Dinner

We had just a fabulous dinner tonight. It was a rather unusual combination but really tasted well together. We had asparagus & green beans (for those in the family that just won't eat asparagus), corn beef (baked in the oven - it was so nice to turn the oven on to take the chill out of the air), Smoky Three-Bean Bake and Hot Potato Salad. The bean bake and the tater salad were new recipes - and WOW were they good. Highly recommend both. Here they are:

This is the link for the recipe for the Hot Potato Salad (really good!).

This is the link for the Smoky Three Bean Bake (also really good!).

I wanted to make a nice dinner for the family as it was the first time in several weeks that we were able to sit down all of us together. It seemed like we should have a special dinner. Normally, we always try to have family dinners - sitting down, praying, eating and sharing what happened in our day. Since my oldest is now going to school - things have changed, schedules have changed and we don't always get to have family dinners together. I miss that.

A Dog Named Christmas & Christmas with Tucker

A Dog Named Christmas & Christmas with Tucker

By Greg Kincaid

I love a good story that involves animals - especially dogs! I have had a dog almost all my life. The joy of owning a house vs. renting is the ability to have pets! We (our family) shares our lives with a wonderful friend - Tanner - a Siberian Husky. We love him.

Both of these stories are really great. They speak to the wonderful place dogs hold in our hearts and lives. Dogs really are wonderful friends. Both books are enjoyable reads. Neither are overly long.

Snow Day by Billy Coffey

Really enjoyed this book. It is fun. The author has a wonderfully, delightful, sense of humor. Living in a northern state like we do, we love snow days! They make life fun. A time to totally put live on hold and just go play in the snow. A time to go sledding. A time to help neighbors shovel out. A time to reconnect with neighbors as we all shovel together. Our family loves snow days!

Snow Day is a book that capitalizes on the fact that snow days are so much fun for kids (because school gets put aside for one day - and it is a day of play). Yet, it is many times a day of headaches for adults. We think of still trying to get to work - navigating through the snow. All the work to shovel out passes through our minds. Snow brings more work and headaches for adults. Not a day of play. In Snow Day, Peter decides to set his normal day aside and enjoy a snow day. It becomes a day of reflection and a self evaluation for Peter. Through basic encounters with others he reflects and evaluates his life, values, focus, goals and ultimately his relationship with Christ. The author does this with such a great sense of humor. It is insightful and funny.

Sewing project long overdue

Okay - sewing isn't my thing. And yet - I end up having to sew on all the patches and badges for our Cub and Boy Scouts. I am (of course) behind (because who rushes to do the dreaded tasks in life) --- and decided to force myself to do it tonight. I had to get my older son's shirt to see where to sew stuff on. And so the project begins.

I love my kids and do this for them --- but I would rather be doing anything else! These badges were not created to sew on easily or nicely. Then after I get them all sewed on - I look and usually something is crooked or off. Ahhhhhh! It is agony! Agony, I tell you! Plus I usually stab myself with the needle at least 4 times -- and then have to try to not bleed all over the shirt. (My oldest son tells me that some moms hot glue the badges! I am tempted I tell you. Tempted!)

Red Glove Series by Karen Kingsbury

What a great series. All of the books are very heartwarming stories. Not very long stories. Easy to read in a day or two but very, very good stories. Kind of nice for a quick, easy summer read.

The books are:

Gideon's Gift

Hannah's Hope

Maggie's Miracle

Sarah's Song

Read them all - they are all very good. At the end, they have ideas for doing your own red glove project. The red gloves represent the gift of giving. Red - the color of our savior's blood. Through that He gave us the greatest gift of all - eternal life. The red gloves show up as a symbol in all the books. In Hannah's Hope the red gloves were a Christmas present that Hannah had received. They had the word 'believe' embroidered inside them so that Hannah would remember that she to continue to have faith and believe in God and that He has the ability to do miracles.

Great video

What a great video - wonderful photography! Great testament to God's creation.

Click here to view

Roasted Cumin & Chickpea Salad

3/4 tsp ground cumin

2 Tbsp olive oil

2 Tbsp fresh lime juice

Salt and Pepper

1 15-oz can chickpeas, rinsed

1 stalk celery, thinly sliced

1 medium tomato, chopped

1/2 small red onion, finely chopped

1 oz feta, crumbled (about 1/4 cup)

1. Heat a small skillet over medium heat. Add the cumin and cook, stirring until toasted and fragrant, about 1 minute. Transfer to a large bowl.

2. Add the oil, lime juice, 1/2 tsp. salt and 1/4 tsp pepper to the bowl and whisk to combine.

3. Add the chickpeas, celery, tomato and onion. Toss to combine. Let sit, tossing occasionally for 15 minutes.

4. Fold in the feta before serving.

I found this recipe in a Woman's Day magazine - and was pleasantly surprised by how good it tasted. I am always looking for new and interesting things to make for the family. Salads are so nice during the summer. No turning on the oven! A huge plus when it has been rather hot here lately.

Spicy Skillet Chicken

Spicy Skillet Chicken by Betty Crocker --- I tried this for the first time and my husband absolutely loved it. Thought it was one of the best recipes I have made in a long time. Even I loved it - as it was flavorful but not really spicy.

Here is a link to the recipe: link to recipe

It is really quick and easy to make. And very, very good.

Book review - The Girl in the Green Sweater

The Girl in the Green Sweater

by Krystyna Chiger

What an amazing survival story. This is a true story told by a survivor of the holocaust. She and her family survived by living underground in the sewer system of Lvov, Poland. A sewer worker, Leopold Socha, feels that he will find redemption by helping this family out. He comes every day and brings supplies and food. It is a nasty, dirty place to live but they do survive. It is an amazing story. I recommend reading this story. We need to remember and never forget - we can never let it happen again.

4th of July - let us remember

Wave On, Old Glory, Wave On

Pray for our troop and their families.

May God bless all who serve and keep them safe.

Fresh Corn Salad

This was really delicious. A great salad to make for the summer. Light, fresh. Does have a bit of a zip to it. Be warned though - it makes quite a lot. I am showing a small portion here in the picture - that I packed up for my parents to take home.

8 ears of corn, shucked

6 fresh tomatoes, chopped (I used Roma tomatoes)

2 cucumbers (The recipe said to peel, seed and chop - I didn't do that. I used only one cucumber but I used the whole thing. I did not peel or seed the cucumber.)

2 green onions, chopped

1 green sweet pepper, seeded and chopped. (I also added a red, yellow and orange sweet pepper - seeded and chopped)

1 jalapeno - seeded and chopped. (I don't like things too spicy so I only used 1/2 of the jalapeno.)

1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

4 Tbsp. white balsamic vinegar

3 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil

1. Preheat grill to medium-high. Brush corn with a little olive oil. Grill corn until lightly browned, turning to cook evenly. Cool. When cool enough to handle, cut corn from cobs.

2. Toss corn with tomatoes, cucumbers, green onions, pepper, jalapeno, cilantro, vinegar and the 3 tablespoons of olive oil. Season with salt and pepper. Toss and marinate at least 2 hours in the refrigerator before serving.

The Walk Series by Richard Paul Evans

The Walk by Richard Paul Evans (Book 1)

Miles to Go by Richard Paul Evans (Book 2)

This is really a great series. I can't wait for the next 3 books to come out. In the books we meet Alan. He has it all. He is a very successful advertising person who started his own ad agency. He married his high school sweetheart - and the love of his life. They live in a big, expensive home. They have it all.

Then, in less then two weeks Alan loses everything. His wife, his home and his ad agency. There is nothing left to live for. He decides against suicide and decides instead to walk. He picks the furthest place on the map from Seattle and decides to walk there - Key West, Florida. In book one, he doesn't even get out of the state before something bad happens. (I don't want to give it away and spoil book one.)

Then we pick up the story in book two where he meets Angel. She is a true angel of mercy sent by God to help him in his time of need. And the story continues. It is a great series. I love his writing style.

You Know When the Men are Gone by Siobhan Fallon

A very interesting book that helps those of us that are not in the military get a better understanding of how deployment affects those left at home and affects the family relationships of those deployed. I really loved the book. It is a collection of short stories about various families and it takes place at Fort Hood. I did find myself wishing that she had continued a few of the stories and gave us more of a completed picture. I do find that with really good books I want more - to follow up with the characters and see what happens next. I was left with that feeling after this book.

Tunneled in

Here's a good one for you. I came home and found pieces of cardboard on the counter. They were small, scrap like pieces. Hmmmmm - what is this? Where did it come from? (I asked.)

My husband pipes up and says - 'ya, about that. I tunneled in.'

What? You tunneled in where?

We wanted burgers and it is too hard to get them out of the top of the box. So I tunneled in. I opened the freezer and saw --- it honestly looks like a mouse chewed through the box to the goodies inside.

Libby

I had opened the cabinet in the bathroom - it is a small cabinet - where we keep a small garbage container. I was emptying the garbage and Libby decided to take advantage of the opportunity to climb on in. The second picture shows Libby leaving but give a better idea of the size of the cabinet. It is not a large space - but large enough for a cat!

When I Lay My Isaac Down by Carol Kent

What an unbelievably good book! And but for the grace of God there go I.............

The parents had done everything right - raised their son to know the Lord. Their son graduated from the US Naval Academy and was a Navy Lieutenant. Late one night they got the call that their son had shot and killed the ex-husband of his wife. This book does not defend the action but walks through the devastation the parents faced - the guilt, the shame, anger and grief. She talks about how this became her Isaac situation - just like Abraham had to lay down his Isaac in order to fully trust God, in this book she relates to having to lay her own son down -- and learning to trust God fully, to lean on him. And learning how to forgive.

We all want our kids to turn out well, knowing and following Christ. But they will make mistakes --- we hope they won't be huge, life altering or even life ending mistakes. As parents we all have the potential to be prideful --- see I was a good parent --- see how well my child has turned out. But what if you were a good parent and yet your child turns from the Lord, commits a crime, does something horrible? How often have I looked on a scene where a child is out of control and thought ill of that parent - without knowing all the struggles, without any knowledge of what that child is really like. Maybe the child was having a bad day, maybe the child was sick. Maybe no matter what was taught the child strayed. As parents we all wrestle with the guilt of not having that perfect child. I often think of how God must feel - we are all his children. He is our Father and yet we can't even for one second of the day be perfect for him. We sin, we stray.

This book was very good and recommend reading it. She told the story very well. And dealt with the emotions but never once defended the act.

Kids say the funniest things

First to set the scene - my oldest son is 15 and my youngest is 7.

My youngest loves to pass wind --- thinks it is just the most hysterical thing in the world.

(It must be a 7 year old boy thing!)

Well, my youngest and oldest were riding in the car with my husband a few days before. They were also taking a friend of my oldest - who happens to be a girl. They are truly just friends. Our family is friends with her family.

Now we fast forward the few days and our youngest is at home passing wind in the house. Horribly smelly wind. My oldest finds it offensive and proceeds to tell my youngest that the girl who road with them found it horribly offensive when he had passed wind in the car. It smelled so bad that the girl was sliding all the way over away from my youngest. (He was thinking that letting my youngest know girls find it offensive would be an incentive to stop it.) My oldest said, 'yah, she was almost on my lap, cause she wanted to get away from you.'

My youngest (without missing a beat!) says, "you're welcome!" (with a dry kind of amused voice).

My husband who heard this whole thing about about split a gut laughing.

Great sign

A local church has this sign - I really loved it!

The Very First Easter - great book for kids

The Very First Easter by Paul L. Maier

This is a wonderful book to read during lent. It has very nice pictures and it is told in story form. Mom and Dad are telling Chris (their son) about the first Easter. It is backed up with scripture. It is very nicely done book.

Book Review - Plain Wisdom

Plain Wisdom

By Cindy Woodsmall & Miriam Flaud

This was such a wonderful book. I really enjoyed reading it. Miriam is an Old Order Amish woman. She and Cindy teamed up to write the book. Each chapter begins with a scripture verse that ties into the subject of the chapter. Then, both Miriam and Cindy will share their individual thoughts on the subject. What I found interesting is how universal many of the ideas are. Even though the women are from completely different cultures both share the same God & Jesus. Additionally, so many feelings and emotions were shared by both - for example one chapter dealt with the worry / concern for the safety of family members traveling. It really impressed upon me how much we (as humans) are alike even though we might live in different cultures. We all hope, dream, live, laugh, love, fear.

They also shared many of their favorite recipes. I can't wait to make the Amish Friendship Bread starter and share it with others. Many, many years ago I had received a starter from a friend and it made such wonderful bread. I am excited to try the one listed in the book.

This book was very endearing and insightful. It is full of wisdom - much of it biblical wisdom. It is neat to see a friendship that has survived the obstacles of time, distance, cultural differences, the busyness of raising a family - and still it has endured and been strengthened over time.

New study

Mercola has a very informative article on a new study that links Breast cancer to aluminum.

He lists vaccines as a major source of aluminum.

Here is a link to the article:

article

There are two other sources of aluminum that I have found. Aluminum is found in deodorant and baking powder. A few years ago I switched to using Arm & Hammer Essentials Natural Deodorant. It is aluminum free and can be found at most grocery stores. Tom's is another good brand that I have used.

The baking powder is harder to find - I have not found it in the local grocery stores but Trader Joe's carries Rumford Aluminum-Free Baking Powder. They don't have it all the time but seem to stock it during the holiday baking season. It was fairly inexpensive there. I am sure you can find it at your local health food store, too.

Just wanted to share a few products that I have found that work well and are aluminum free.

The Five P's

I try to live by the 5 P's ------ have you heard this one?

Prior

Planning

Prevents

Pissed off

People

A friend of mine doesn't like the 'pissed off' and prefers to say 'perturbed' - so prior planning prevents perturbed people. So if you find that to be more word friendly - use that version. Either way the thought is the same. It is something that I try to live by as a little bit of planning can easily prevent a good day from turning bad. When you have little ones, it entailed making sure enough diapers and baby food are taken along. Hungry babies and 'messy' babies make for a very unpleasant day! Nothing can ruin a trip faster. I have a child with a dairy allergy. It is important to bring along foods he can eat. We can't always guarantee we can get the foods that are safe for him when we are out and about.

Lately, I have also been thinking about the economy and all the 'bad' reports I have been reading. Plus, there have been so many disasters around the world lately. One of our IT people at church has a son that has been living in Japan for awhile. He is not in the quake area but south of it. They have black outs for 3 hours about 2 times a day. There are food shortages and long lines to get gas. Plus gas is being rationed. (Please pray for Japan.)

It got me to thinking about how prepared should we be for various situations here in the states. Most of the time, disasters tend to affect only a certain region - and not the whole country. I also doubt that the level of devastation that is affecting Japan would happen here. Still, how prepared are we? What preparations have you done?

feeding teenaged boys

Wow - it is amazing to me how very much a teenaged boy will eat!!

I have found a few things that are cost affective, filling and cheap!

Potatoes - I buy them in the 10 pound bag - usually not overly expensive. I think the last bag was round $3.00 or so. Whenever I make a meal in the oven, I throw in potatoes to bake. These are then used the next day to make hash brown potatoes. I put some olive oil in the pan. Add some onions and green peppers. Then cut up the already cooked potatoes into slices. Throw those in. Cook until warm and slightly brown (or crispy if you like).

While I don't recommend it for adults as we don't need all the carbs, for a teenaged growing boy that works out all the time and burns off all that fuel --- it is a great side dish for lunch and not to expensive. It is very filling!

I also make a special treat for the boys - because they always seem to need snacks! Honestly, we can finish a meal and as I am still doing the dishes they are in looking to eat! I have started taking apples and dehydrating them! It is a wonderful, healthy snack. They love them and they aren't took expensive.

Just sharing a few ideas! What have you found that works?

Cross Country Skiing

My youngest has some wonderful Cub Scout leaders that took their den on a cross country skiing outing. He had just so much fun. So much fun! Above you can see him giving me the 'do I have to pose for a picture', look. Below one of the older scouts is helping to get his skis on.

Ready, set, go!

The group relaxing in front of the fire in the lodge afterwards.

What a great outing!

new recipe

I tried a great new recipe for chicken ---- and I took a great picture of it. I can 'see' the picture on my camera but can't download it to my computer. My husband is working on fixing the problem. I decided to blog on - and just go with clip art.

Don't you love my chicken! Yep I cooked her up!

Anyway, the whole family loved this even my picky eaters!

Take French's Original French Fried Onions - about 2 cups. Crush with a rolling pin (or a glass will work).

Take boneless chicken breasts and dip them into an egg.

Then coat with onion crumbs, pressing them to the chicken if they don't stick well.

Place chicken on a baking sheet and bake at 400 for 50 minutes. (Or however long it takes for the chicken to no longer be pink in the center.) I had really large chicken breasts and they were still partially frozen - so they took about 50 minutes. If they are smaller and completely thawed I would think 30 minutes would do the trick.

The chicken tasted delicious. I actually have to confess that I heard this on TV on a commercial for French's Fried Onions. I hate to even admit that the commercials 'sell' anything. I truly try to blot most commercials out. For some reason, I was listening and this commercial caught my eye. I actually sent my husband to the store to buy French's Fried Onions today just to make this. Sadly, the commercial did the trick. It was good though.

A sign........

That yes I am getting older ------- I have had to get glasses for driving ------ for distance. I would like to say they make me seem like...........

--------- a wise owl

Sadly, I think reality is they are more of a sign of getting older. They aren't quite grandma glasses as those are the ones you need to magnify the print. And those must be perched on the end of the nose to really get the full grandma affect. Mine, I feel, are more stylish than that! I can't wait until I need them for distance and for reading. (Bifocals! - Yuk!) Or better yet I can have two pairs and perch the one I am not actually using at the time on the top of my head - for safe storage. That would look very hip, wouldn't it!

Herbal tea for colds

What a wonderful find! We tried this for the first time this year and both brands worked fabulous.

Traditional Medicinals Gypsy Cold Care &

Yogi Cold Season

Both are organic, caffeine free, herbal teas specifically blended to help cold symptoms. It is amazing but you can feel your airways opening up as you drink them. We are huge fans of the Yogi teas but found the Traditional Medicinals Gypsy Cold care to be just as good.

Lenten bible study for adults

Bread & Broth by Cynthia E. Cowen

Again, I was hoping to share about this wonderful study before lent began. Our Christcare group is doing this study and it has been such a joy. It is food, fellowship and biblical study all rolled up into one. We have just so enjoyed it. The study is done very well.

&

There are 6 sessions. For each session a soup or stew is suggested to serve along with studying about the lives Jacob, Moses, Joshua, Elisha, John the Baptist and Jesus. We normally meet at 7:00 but for this study are meeting earlier at dinner time. We do change it up and serve the dinner first as most of us can't wait that long. We wouldn't be able to focus on God's word as we would be too hungry to think straight. So we have changed up the order listed in the study. We discuss why that particular meal was served after we have eaten it but we all get the concept. It has been working very well and is such a wonderful way to share God's word. We are nourishing ourselves with God's word and with bread & broth! Nourishing our spirit and our bodies.

I was hoping to blog about this book BEFORE lent began but sadly just didn't get to it. I am so sorry about that. Still, I have to say we really are enjoying this story and I highly recommend picking it up for next year's lenten season.

Have you heard of or read Jotham's Journey? That is an advent study. This story, Amon's Adventures, takes place roughly 30 years later. Amon is Jotham's son. Jotham gets accused of stealing money from the temple and is sentenced to die. Amon, as the oldest son, sets out to try to prove his father's innocence. The book is set up in a similar way as Jotham's Journey --- each day you read a chapter. The chapter ends with a bible verse and a lesson to be learned. We often have a hard time just reading one chapter a day as it does leave you hanging to find out the 'rest of the story'. It is very, very well written and has been just a joy to read.

So much to say........

Hockey season is coming to an end and while we love the sport - it is sooooo nice to have time back. Hockey is quite a time consuming sport and more so for our family as we have 3 boys in the sport. Our middle son did make an elite team where 65 kids from this region tried out and he was one of 15 to make the team. They have practices this week and a tournament this weekend. And then (breathe a sigh of relief!) we are done for awhile!

And I will be back to blogging more frequently! I have been composing blog entries in my mind - just not had time to get them on the blog! My kids always laugh at me when this happens - I don't blog for a while and then whammo - many, many updates! So hang on ....... here they come!

Blogging for books

I blog for books and love doing it. This is the latest book that just arrived. I really enjoy reading about the Amish. What is so exciting about this one is that it is an advanced copy! I have never gotten an advanced copy before - it can't even be bought in the store until March 15th. How cool is that!!! I am halfway through it already and really enjoy the book. There are some really great recipes in the book! I will do a full book review soon - so stay tuned!

drive in theater

At AWANAs tonight it was drive in movie night. They were to create a 'car' using a box or laundry basket. Our middle child helped our youngest make his car. It turned out really cute. It was a large box which turned out to be a real blessings. Another boy forgot that it was drive in movie night and didn't have a car. JJ's car was large enough to allow a friend to sit with him during the movie. JJ thought that was very special. The kids get popcorn, bottled water and a movie. How cool is that! We love our AWANAs.

Isn't it cute - they thought up the idea of doing a windshield / window all on their own. You can't see it in this picture very easily but they taped mirrors on the side to act as rearview mirrors. I am happy to see that even as young as they are they are 'using their mirrors' when driving! Good job!

Book Review - The Dragon and The Turtle Go on Safari - children's book

This was a very cute, lovable story about two friends who decide to conquer their fears by camping out all night at the base of the mountain in the jungle. There are lots of animal sounds but the friends identify the sounds so they become less scary. At the end of the book Deuteronomy 31:6 is quoted "Be strong and courageous". When I was reading this I was thinking of Joshua 1:9 where it says "Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go." The friends didn't need to be discouraged or afraid. All they had to do was pray to God. He would never leave them nor forsake them.

This book was very well illustrated. I like that many of the picture had the boys shining their flashlights - a light shining in the darkness scaring away the evil - kind of like Christ is our light in the world fending off evil. My son talked about a light of truth blowing forth into the world. I thought that was a great analogy.

I received this book from WaterBrook Maltnomah Publishers for the sole purpose of reading and doing this review.

Book Review - Lioness Arising by Lisa Bevere

Lioness Arising by Lisa Bevere

This book is a call to women to wake up and change the world. Lisa Bevere uses the lioness as a symbol for women to follow. She shows many of the lioness's characteristics and then uses scripture to demonstrate that women should take on many of the lioness's qualities for the betterment of the world. For example, lionesses are fiercely protective of their young - but not just their young - all young. She calls women to be passionate about children being abused and to rise up to fight against it.

I really enjoyed her look at the lioness. It gave me an insight into the role of women that I hadn't thought about before. She does question the role of the wife in regards to submission - and she talks to what God really wants that to look like by quoting scripture. She challenges the notion that women can't hold positions of leadership within the church. She says that "gender alone does not qualify a man to lead, just as gender alone should not disqualify a woman. Virtue qualifies both male and female." (p. 97) She gave me alot to think about and all of her points she backs up with scripture. I can see both sides of this issue though and can see where some Christians will take issue with her conclusions. Our church has walked this line by allowing women in many positions of leadership including serving communion. We just do not have women pastors. Only men fill the role of pastor in our church. Again, there is much disagreement in the church community on this issue --- I can see all sides but I personally am most comfortable with the stance our church has taken on this.

The book is very well written and very engaging. I do hope you will read it. It was very enjoyable. I received this book from WaterBrook Maltnomah Publishers for the sole purpose of reading and doing this review.

Too much shoveling

Makes for one tired Hubby! Who says naps are just for kids!

class at the zoo on animals in the Rainforest

It was hard to get a good shot of the kids due to the glare from the windows. It was a nice sunny day outside - and it was so nice to see the sun.

After the classroom portion we then walked around to see the primates that live in the Rainforest. It was very nice for the kids to get to see the animals.

Afterwards, we had some extra time before we had to get to piano lessons - so we went to the bird house. We actually got to see one of the baby penguins - that was only 2 1/2 weeks old. They also had to more babies - one was 3 days and one was a week or two. I couldn't get a good picture of them through the glass. It was very amazing to see though.

At this section of the bird house, the birds are not behind glass. They fly all around you. They are so used to people coming through they rather expect you to move - and they will just stay on the paths. Here is one cleaning himself right on the walkway. Couldn't care less that we were there. Kind of amazing!

Clearly I was in his way. This was his house after all!