Sunday, October 28, 2012

What About Heaven?



What About Heaven? by Kathleen Long Bostrom is a children's book about heaven and the questions that children ask.  The first several pages are full of questions a typical preschooler might ask.  The following pages answer those questions with statements.  On each page, the Bible reference that supports the fact is listed in the top corner.

I am leery of feeding my children too much information that I'm not certain of.  I'd much rather say "I don't know!" and talk about things from there, rather than give certain answers.  I appreciate that the books starts off by saying that some things we won't know until Jesus comes back.  A few comments concerned me though.  The book promises that "Jesus will give you a room of your own, with others nearby so you won't feel alone."  The scripture reference is John 14:2, which says God is preparing a place for us, not necessarily a "room of your own".  I just felt like that was a stretch and might actually scare my kids.  The other statement that I didn't like was about us wearing white clothes and not needing a washing machine in heaven.  I'd rather tell me kids that I don't know if there will be washing machines in heaven or not, I don't think the Bible addresses that fact!

Aside from these reservations, the book is adorable.  The illustrations are fun and I can see this being a great starting point for discussions with children.  The book talks about what heaven is like, with the only mention of how to get there being "The way is with Jesus, believing in Him."  I suppose you could elaborate on that as you read.

I received a copy of this book free of charge in exchange for review from Tyndale House Publishing.


Tuesday, October 2, 2012

Nature Walk Bracelets

We went for a fun nature walk today!  I took a piece of tape and wrapped it around each child's arm.  As we walked, we found things to add to our bracelets and make them beautiful.  :)

Julia's was mostly dandelions. 

Lucy chose a variety of things and even got a rock to stay on. 

I love our big beautiful tree! 

sick baby snuggling mom

Esther kept putting things on and taking them back off again. 

one of the bracelets after we cut it off

This was a fun activity that we will probably do again sometime.  Do you have any creative ideas for making nature walks interesting?  Please share!  :)

Sunday, September 23, 2012

32!

Today I am 32!  :)  In honor of ME, I'm sharing 32 fun facts about myself:

1 - Growing up, I always wanted "3 girls and a boy" and maybe more.  I love my family and am thrilled that I got my wish!

2 - After we were married, Ross and I lived in Northern Ireland for a year.

3 - My husband is a film producer.  I'm so proud of him!  He went back to school four years ago at age 29 with a young family at home.  He worked extremely hard and really enjoys the job that he has today.

4 - I always wanted to be a ballerina.  I took lessons off and on when I could and in college I even got to dance on pointe for a semester.

5 - I don't really have a bucket list, but one thing I've always wanted to do is to sew a quilt.  Maybe this winter?

6 - I'm addicted to Mommy Necklaces.  I have quite a few of them, they are my "fun" thing.  I don't buy shoes or purses or coffee... MNs are my indulgence of choice.  :)

7 - When I first got married, I had no idea how to cook.  I burned a pan trying to boil water and served mainly spaghetti and cream of chicken soup meals.

8 - I've since learned to cook, however I did set the kitchen on fire once a few years ago.  The smoke damage was so bad that we had to live with my in laws for a couple of weeks while the house was restored.

9 - I've been blogging regularly for three and a half years now.  Its hard to find time lately, but  its something I really enjoy and plan to continue.

10 - I enjoy browsing Amazon, reading reviews on items that I am interested in, and finding new things to add to my never ending wishlist.

11 - I have a big stack of books that I own and intend to read... someday.

Wow, 32 is a lot.  Maybe I'm not that interesting a person?  lol  Lets see...

12 - My birthday is sometimes on the first day of fall.  I LOVE the weather on my birthday.

13 - My favorite foods are strawberries and mashed potatoes, but not together.

14 - I don't like chocolate much.  Ok, chocolate on a cookie is delicious, but chocolate ice cream or fudge, blech!

15 - My favorite color is pink.

16 - I was homeschooled.  (and loved it!  I have so many fun memories of learning with my mom and brother.)

17 - Most days my hair is in a ponytail.

18 - I rarely wear make-up.  I put some on Lucy for her ballet recital this spring and she said "Mom!  I didn't even know you had make-up!"

19 - When I was growing up my mom let us have just about any pet we wanted.  If we got books from the library and learned how to take care of it, we could have it.  (ducks, guinea pigs, hamsters, fish, lizards, snakes, crickets, parakeets, we had all kinds of things as pets)

20 - Yes, I once had a pet cricket that I kept in my room in his own little cage.

21 - I do not like swimming in lakes because you can't see the big fish under the water who might come up and chomp your toes.

22 - I like math.  I once proved the quadratic equation by myself, before anyone showed me how.  I can't remember it all now though!

23 - I speak a little bit of Spanish.  I wish I could speak it fluently!

24 - I know some sign language and am teaching it to my girls as part of their schoolwork.

Are you sick of random facts about me yet? Sheesh....

25 - I have had two of my children at home!  Its not something I ever really thought I would do.

26 - People sometimes mistake me as being Hispanic.  I'm not.  The nurse at the hospital when I was having Lucy had even written something on my chart about it before I told her I wasn't.  People will start speaking to me in Spanish... its kind of funny.

27 - My great-great-grandparents came over on a boat from Sweden.  Other than that, I'm a mix of English, French, Irish, etc.

28 - We have a chocolate lab, named Leia.

29 - Ross has already purchased Star Wars Legos for our six month old son.

30 - I grew up in TX, but always missed the snow.  (I was born in IL and have family there.)

Ahhh, umm.... hmm...

31- I love the seasons - apple picking in fall, cutting down a Christmas tree in the winter, seeing tulips come up in the spring - love it!

32 - I'm 5' 5 1/2" and my mom is 5' 6".  I'm 1/2" shorter than her, no matter how hard I try.

Phew, there you go!  All the random things you never always wanted to know about me.
Happy Birthday, me!

(#33 - I do not like having my picture taken and therefore could not find a good photo of myself to put with this post.  I'll have to fix that soon, my babies need photos with their mama!)

Wednesday, September 12, 2012