Camping Party



the invitation



the cake



take home treat



"Take a picture, Mommy!"

 Fresh eggs from our friends...

Mostly...

For those who ask, we answer "Mostly...."

My niece, Babybug

the future gymnast!

Halloween 2011

The magician... no, not a wizard.  He had to have a "pointy hat!"

The fire knight

 The lego man

Pinterest?

Okay, so I saw this on a blogger-friend's Pinterest.  I really am not 100 % sure what Pinterest is yet, and I'm sure it's one more thing I don't have time to add to my plate, but boy is it fun to browse.   So, if you want to invite me, or whatever it takes, feel free!  But anyway, blog friend, Candace, I was literally cracking up outloud, because I was just quoting this, almost word for word the other day in the car!

Source: heartofwisdom.com via Candace on Pinterest

Book Review: It Couldn't Just Happen

I took the opportunity to read and review It Couldn't Just Happen Knowing the Truth about God's Awesome Creation by Lawrence O. Richards.  This is the first book I've reviewed for Book Sneeze.  You can find out more about Book Sneeze in my sidebar. 

                                                                                                                         Let me preface this by saying, I'm one of those people that believe in a young earth.  Now, if you were to ask me to give you solid proof, I would have some trouble.  I'm just starting to delve into the proofs behind Creation, although I have most certainly believed in the Truth my whole life.  I was the first to speak up in Science class when the inevitable talk about Evolution surfaced. 

 It Couldn't Just Happen is marketed to a juvenile audience, but the writing is a bit advanced, in my opinion.  My boys are 3,6 and 9.  I would not hand any of them this book at present, nor would I use it as a read-aloud.  I really found the book to be more of a reference material that will go on my bookshelf.  When my boys are a bit older, I think we will refer to it often.

It Couldn't Just Happen is written well, laid out in traditional format, with  a list of Just For Fun questions to think about or activities to do at the completion of each chapter. Richards gives solid Biblical evidence for Creation shown through astronomy, the animal kingdom, plant life, geology, and human anatomy.  That's the basic scheme of the book. Following is my opinion.
There's this whole controversy (I think the debate's probably been going on forever!) over whether the earth has been around for billions or thousands of years.  Evolutionists, of course, perpetuate the billions theory.  But there are Creationists who speak in terms of billions as well.  I was hoping this book would give me age proof, but it did not.  In the fifth chapter, Richards points out that we can easily see why the "many different and complex living creatures on Earth could hardly have developed from a single, ancient cell, as Evolutionists think.  All this is evidence that God exists and that he is our Creator.  But none of this tells us the date of Creation."

Though It Couldn't Just Happen disappointed me on my age questions, it is definitely a book filled with evidence of Creation.  Sometimes, there's this certain way the sun shines out from behind clouds, and the first thing I think is "wow, how awesome is this Creation."  I point out to my children the fact that "Isn't that cool that God created that for us to enjoy?"  But I've never really researched just how awesome Creation is!   Richards unveils just how awesome the Truth really is!

Quite frankly, if you are an Evolutionist reading my blog, which I doubt there are any, but that would be cool because I've always thought it'd be neat to have a controversial blog ...here are some interesting points from It Couldn't Just Happen for you to consider.

• you have to have DNA to make DNA (hence, life could not have come about by chance, it must have been created by God)
• animals that adapt to their environment were created with those variations already built into their genes! they don't just happen to change over time
• there is not one complete fossil sequence of slow change from one kind of plant or animal to another
• similarities in the animal world suggest an Intelligent Designer!
• everything bears the clear mark of planning
• "when someone finds a few bones or bone fragments and announces to the world that he has found the link between human and animal, we don't have to believe him!...because every other claim to have discovered some link to man's animal past has later been proven wrong!"

Mr. Richards includes a chapter on human anatomy and how God designed us just perfectly in His image. In one of the last chapters he writes how we can be sure the Bible is Truth and couldn't have just happened.  He concludes his book with a very important question.  Would you rather succumb to the false Theory of Evolution and have death be your destiny... your end?  Or could you suppose that the Theory is wrong, and you find a Hope for your future through the realization that you were specially created by one amazing Intelligent Designer?

The above post is my own opinion.  I was not compensated for reading this book or giving my opinion. 

Father's Day Fun

6-19-11 - picture slideshow

Fishing With Daddy

Thoughts from Within

Okay, so I haven't posted in three months. I won't wow you about how I am currently removing the keys from my keyboard one by one to clean with alcohol on a q-tip because coffee was spilled. I won't give you the same old sob story about how busy we have been with Cub Scouts, the daycare, swim lessons, homeschooling three boys, and constant housecleaning. Just know, that I have been thinking about you, even if it doesn't seem that way. I will try to do better, I promise. And, even if I haven't had the time to write, believe, that I have been following you!

Our First Lego Creation Thursday Post!

I'm so excited for our first Lego Creation Thursday Post! Thank you Blessings from Above for inviting me!

The Spa, created by Butterbean

The Tower Jail Cell, created by Middleman

To see more Lego Creations, or to post your own you can go here!

Science Fair

My flood wall builder and his AWESOME Science Fair project!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Our handmade Valentines complete with homemade heart-shaped crayons.

Love in a Bowl Lunch

I've been searching for vegetarian recipes, as I am attempting, yet again, to eat animal-free. As I am odd when it comes to seasonings, and would much rather have my food plain; it's been difficult. Most of the recipes I see are chock full of spices. This one struck my fancy. Boy was I glad I tried it for our Valentine lunch today. YUM! Thank you to Allrecipes.com. Here it is.


Apple and Brown Rice Salad

Ingredients

3/4 cup low-fat orange yogurt
1/2 cup reduced-fat mayonnaise
3 cups cooked brown rice
2 medium apples, diced
1 cup chopped celery
3/4 cup coarsely chopped pecans, toasted
3/4 cup dried cranberries


Directions

Combine yogurt and mayonnaise in large bowl.
Add remaining ingredients, mixing well.
Serve immediately or chill until ready to serve.

I didn't toast the pecans, and it turned out delicious! A mostly- healthy recipe if you want to add more grains, yummily!

Book Review: Warning: Some Questionable Language

As my 9 year old and I are conducting research for his Science Fair project, we have read oodles of books about floods. We were excited to happen upon a little book in the Once Upon America series entitled The Day It Rained Forever, by Virginia T. Gross.

We began the book with the 9 year old reading aloud to his younger brothers, and my little daycare charges. He got bored quickly. I wanted to finish the book to see if there was any value, so I continued reading it aloud.

It was a rather boring book, and I have to agree with the mostly negative reviews I have read online. But my biggest concern (and thank goodness I was reading it and little eyes were not following along), was the phrase on page 40 " It's all the fault of the greedy rich," ..... "Damn them all to hell!"

Oh my goodness! Now, I know it may have been possible for the young character in the story to have realistically said those words. But I would have been appalled had my nine year old read them. I do not think they added anything to the story. The author could have easily shown the character's distress without the use of such foul language.

Therefore, do I want to read more of the historical fiction series, Once Upon America? I know this; I will definitely have to pre-read them all!

Middleman reciting a poem

Miscellaneous Photos to say I Blogged!