Book Review: The Captive Heart

The Captive Heart is book two in the Daughters of Caleb Bender series by Dale Cramer.  It’s an ongoing saga of a family, the Benders, who have fled their home in Ohio for religious freedom.  They move to Mexico to a land called Paradise Valley.  In this second book, the Bender family is joined by other families and more trouble from bandits.  The Benders deal with much heart ache and pain in The Captive Heart and ultimately, Miriam is has to make a decision that can rip her heart in two. 

I had a hard time getting into this book.  The first four or five chapters seemed to go slow for me.  However, once I got into it, I couldn’t put it down.  There were several parts that really caught my attention spiritually and even struck up discussion in my home.  It was a blessing to me!  I’m looking forward to reading the next book in the series.  I just can’t wait to find out how it all pans out.

***I received a copy of The Captive Heart from Bethany House Publishers for  review.  All views and opinions are my own.

Gidget Goes Reviewing: Product Review--Wisdom From the Wardrobe

Wisdom From the Wardrobe is a unit study for The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe by C. S. Lewis.  It is a complete curriculum but users will want to supplement Grammar and Math.  It includes all instructions and suggested readings to complete the unit study and make a portfolio of the student’s work.  A notebook and dividers will be needed to complete the portfolio.  Also needed are the book The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe, supplemental books (can be bought or borrowed from the library), paper, pencils, and lots of imagination.  The authors suggest a membership to www.enchantedlearing.com and Giant Science Resource by Evan Moor Publications would also be helpful.  The product also has websites for the use of the student and teacher.  This is a faith based program but should be reviewed by individual families to make sure it goes along with their own beliefs.

Made especially for homeschoolers, Wisdom from the Wardrobe is written for students in first through sixth grades.  It can be used with a variety of learning styles and parent teachers should tweak the curriculum to fit their students.  Keep in mind that younger students will not be able to do all the activities and may need to be read to.  Older students should be able to do many activities independently.

I really like that this is a complete curriculum.  The only things I have to add are grammar and math.  I can supplement history if I choose to.  This really worked well for our homeschool because of it being complete and being a unit study.   My children learn best from a unit study approach.  I also like that it includes Bible!  That is a huge selling point for me.

I would really like to see unit studies for the other Chronicles of Narnia books.  I think that would really complete this study.  I can see using all the books and unit studies to make an entire year’s curriculum.

Wisdom From the Wardrobe is highly suggested for homeschool families who enjoy digging into a good unit study.  

Note:  I was provided a free copy of Wisdom From the Wardrobe by Fortunately For You Books in exchange for my opinion of the product.  All thoughts and opinions are mine and completely unbiased.

Update on Goals

Well, things aren't going as well as I had hoped on my goals.  I was sick with a cold last week so I didn't go to the gym. I finally went back last night and I was exhausted after doing my strength training.  Hopefully I can get back to the gym today and Monday...maybe I won't be so tired by then and can get up in time to do water aerobics. 

Laundry.  Oh dear.  Well, I've almost done a load a day.  Three days I did 3-4 loads.  LOL...I figure it all comes out in the wash.  (pun intended)

Reading.  LOL...well, I think I've read the for fun book I picked up.  Not completely sure though.  Guess I'll keep reading it to make sure.  I did request a book for review from Bethany House Publishers.  Stay tuned for that review!  I'm super excited about it.  I reviewed the first novel in the series and am really looking forward to the next book.  The first one was exceptional so I'm thinking this one will be too.  ;)

For my bible study/personal enrichment book, I'm having a hard time getting into it.  I think I've heard so many good things about it, I was expecting it to be more.  Hopefully it will pick up.  I'll let y'all know.

I weighed in yesterday and have lost 9 pounds!  Yes, you read that right!  NINE pounds!!!  That seriously excites me. 

I'm off to prepare my children's church sermon for tomorrow.  Everyone have a blessed weekend!

Work on goals

Well, I started working on my monthly goals today.  First, we went to the gym.  So that's one day at the gym this week.  :)  We also went to the library and I picked up my "for fun" book.  I got The Storekeeper's Daughter by Wanda Brunstetter.  I also put on a load of laundry today.  It'll be going in the dyer shortly and be folded and put away after that.

How are you doing on your goals?  Are you setting monthly goals like I am or something else?

Happy New Year!

I'm a little late but just one day.  :)  Yesterday started out right with worshipping the Lord at our wonderful church.  God has really blessed us. 

There has been lots of talk about New Years resolutions.  You know, the things that most people break every year.  Well, some friends of mine decided to make montly goals instead.  I have decided to join them.  Forget making promises I can't keep.  I'm just not doing that this year.  Monthly goals are much easier to keep.

Here are my goals for January 2012:
1.  Read one personal enrichment/Bible study book.
2.  Read one book just for fun.
3.  Go to the gym at least 3 times a week.
4.  Lose 6 pounds.
5.  Do one load of laundry daily (washed, dried, and put away).

That's it.  I want to try for more but I don't want to overwhelm myself.  I've already started reading a personal enrichment/Bible study book.  I'm reading the Ministry of Motherhood by Sally Clarkson.  So far it is an excellent book.  I'd eventually like to do a mom's bible study at church using it.

What are your goals?

99 years ago...

Today would have been my Nanny's 99th birthday.  She went home to be with Jesus almost 6 years ago.  I had meant to take a very special picture while I was at my mom's house to share with you all today but I forgot to do it.  I was going to take a picture of an old teacup that is crusted with sugar.  Why an old crusted over teacup?  That old teacup holds lots and lots of memories.

When I was growing up, my Nanny taught me how to bake.  I think that is one of the reasons I love baking as an adult.  Nanny loved it and she passed that on to me.  She used that old teacup to measure her sugar.  Of course when I was a teenager and taking Home Economics, I explained to her that it wasn't an accurate form of measurement and would most certainly mess up the baked goods.  Nanny humored me and we used measuring cups.  I'm not sure why I or she did not think to measure out one cup with a measuring cup and fill the teacup with it.  We never did.  I did that a couple of months ago.  Guess what?  I was exactly one cup!  In honor of my Nanny, my sugar canister now has a teacup from the stonewear set that she blessed me with for my hope chest when I was in junior high.  I measured it too.  One cup. 

Over my life, Nanny and I built many special memories.  I have tons of pictures but none of them are scanned in.  However, if you can picture the perfect grandma, you'd have my Nanny.  Just to clarify who Nanny was, she was my mother's grandmother...my great grandmother.  To me, she was just Nanny.  The woman who let me sleep with her in her full sized bed when I spent the night with her.  She even made sure my pillow had my special pillow case on it.  It was an old, vintage pillow case with ballerinas on it.  It was lovely with fair dancers wearing soft pink tutus.  She had a nightgown for me at her house that she made.  As I grew, I guess she made new ones because I always had a nightgown at Nanny's house when I spent the night.  Before bed, Nanny told me stories like Little Red Riding Hood and nursery rhymes like Little Boy Blue.  LOL...I won a nursery rhyme contest at a baby shower once because of that!

When we'd wake up in the mornings, Nanny would head to the bathroom first and light the little gas heater in the bathroom.  She wanted it toasty warm for me to go into.  Now, don't laugh, but I always asked her if she had used the bathroom yet because I wanted to know if the toilet seat was warm.  Yes, my sweet little Nanny went in there and sat on a cold toilet seat first so it would be warm for my bottom.  She thought about the smallest, silliest details.

It was a rare thing for me to have cold cereal at my Nanny's house.  I know she and Papa ate it because they always had corn flakes there.  However, when I stayed with them, Nanny cooked breakfast.  You would have thought she was a short order cook.  Papa liked his eggs fried as did Nanny.  I didn't care for fried eggs back then so she scrambled mine.  Just for me.  She also made biscuits and we put homemade jelly or preserves on them.  Nanny made the best peach, fig, and other preserves and jellies.

Sometime while I was with them, Nanny and I would bake.  It depended on my mood as to what we cooked.  She always baked whatever struck my fancy.  She made the best peanut butter cookies.  That was one of the first things I learned to bake.  Of course we used that teacup to measure the sugar.

Someday, many years from now, I hope I can build wonderful memories like these with my grandchildren.  I hope that they can look back at my old teacup and remember how much I loved them.  Of all my memories, the most precious is that my Nanny loved me very very very much.

My mommy!

Ok, so I meant to do this on my mom's birthday, but, well, I'm scatterbrained so I didn't.  My momma turned 53 this past Sunday.  I should have taken a pic for this post before I moved but again with the scatterbraininess so no pic.

My mom is great!  She can also be a little scatterbrained (see...I get it from my mom  :D).  She has been married to my dad for almost 38 years.  She's the mother of two GREAT daughters...see earlier post about my little sister and of course you already know how great I am.  <blushing>

In all seriousness, let me tell you about her.  She married my dad when she was 15.  By this time my mom was running her father's business.  After she had me, she took me to work at said business.  In case you're wondering, NO she was not pregnant.  She got pregnant with me 3 months after she got married.  She did it on purpose.  I wasn't an accident.  I was born exactly a week after she turned 16.  Mom worked part time at various places when I was a little girl and my Nanny babysat me while mom worked.  Um, MY personal favorite that she worked at was Dairy Queen (can we say yummy ice cream?!).  When I was in high school, my mother went to college.

Mom first got her BSW.  She worked in a nursing home for a while and then went to work for the Department of State Health Services.  She is, and has been for a looooooong time, a social worker for chronically ill and disabled children.  She is an amazing social worker.  She works hard to get kids the things they need to make their quality of life better.  Everything from transportation to doctor appointments (she's even gotten cars donated to families) to medical equipment to nursing services.  She's spent her own money to make sure her kiddos have gotten Christmas gifts and taken her own time to go take their senior pictures because their parents couldn't afford the ones from the school.  Through all of that, she's even made time to go back to school and get her MSW.  In addition, she teaches part time for the school of social work at Texas A & M University in Commerce, TX.  Yeah, she rocks that social work gig!

Besides being a social worker, my mom is also an ordained minister.  She has not only served as Childrens Pastor and Youth Pastor but also as Associate Pastor.  IMO, there have been a couple of pastors that have really missed out on having someone great on staff because they have passed her over.  She's an awesome preacher but above that, she LOVES the people and the church.  She is always willing to serve in the church in whatever capacity she is needed...secretary, preaching, scrubbing toilets...mom is there.  Mom is very dedicated to God and loves HIM more than anything or anyone else.  She also rocks being a minister!

Oh, she does more!  She is also a Make A Wish volunteer for the Make A Wish Foundation of Northeast Texas.  What does she do for MAW?  Why, she is a wishgranter, of course.  She goes out of her way to make every child's wish as special as that child is.  Everything from computers, to shopping sprees, to trips to Disney, mom is there getting the wish, throwing parties, and giving gifts.  She rocks being a wish fairy!

Of course she is also a wife and a mother and a daughter.  I could go on for forever about those things...how she took care of me when I was barfing up my toenails, took sister and I to all sorts of events and appointments, took care of my daddy after heartattacks, a stroke, and open heart surgery.  She took care of my Nanny and Papa when they got old.  She walked with them through life and stayed with them until they went to be with Jesus.  Yeah, she rocks that too!

So, you've caught a little glimpse of my momma.  She ROCKS!