Kregel Blog Tour: Baby's Little Bible

160 pages $9.99 each

Baby's Little Bible, by Sarah Toulmin; illustrated by Kristina Stephenson

About the Book: Baby's Little Bible was written by new mom Sarah Toulmin as a way of sharing the stories she so loved with her own little ones. Her ultra-simple retellings of twenty favorite stories, from Creation to Resurrection, are filled with a sense of wonder, expressing God's love for creation. Featuring Kristina Stephenson's heartwarming, baby-friendly illustrations, this little Bible offers lots to look at and point to while parent and child share this delightful book together. Now available in a small format with a padded cover in either pink or blue, or as a gift edition with gilt edges and a ribbon marker, Baby's Little Bible is a perfect starter Bible to share with a much-loved child. 

When we signed up for this tour, we were told that they were sending out the different colors at random and you couldn't pick pink or blue.  I was very excited when the package came and we got the pink one because I have a sweet little 2 year old daughter that I knew would love it.  She did!  The book is very sturdy with a padded hard cover and the perfect size for small hands to carry.   The stories are short enough for little ones to pay attention to and the illustrations are adorable.  She loves having her own Bible to read and carry around with her.

You can take a peek inside by clicking here.

I thought it was an adorable Little Bible that would make a great gift for the little ones in your life.  There was one thing that I did not like.  The Bible begins with, "Once upon a time"  I think we need to be careful to set the Bible which is real and true apart from fairy tales or it could become confusing for children.

I received a complimentary copy of Baby's Little Bible from Kregel for the purpose of writing a fair and honest review.  I received no other compensation.

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15 Years Ago Today.....

I just have to say I can't believe it's been 15 years!  I am getting old.  Some people don't believe that miracles happen any more, but they do happen everyday.  Here is the short version of my story:


I was 28 weeks pregnant with Chelsea and woke up in the morning feeling not quite right. I had not been sick at all during my pregnancy and thought it was odd that I was feeling so sick at this stage. As the day progressed I felt worse and worse. I was achy, nauseous, and vomiting. By late that evening I also had pain that had settled in my right side. After heading to the ER and having blood drawn I also had a very elevated white blood cell count. My doctor thought it was probably a kidney infection, but shortly it was discovered that I had appendicitis. I was told I had 2 choices. I could not have surgery and the baby and I would both die, or I could have the surgery and I would probably go into labor and the baby could die. My OB (who had delivered me) had never had a pregnant patient with appendicitis and my surgeon had never taken an appendix out of a pregnant woman. Needless to say I chose to have the surgery. They gave me spinal anesthesia because it was less dangerous for the baby so I was awake during the surgery. At first, I was terrified. I was not worried about myself at all, but I did not want my baby to die. I remember laying on the table while Christmas music was playing, watching the clock tick, and praying. After a few minutes, a wave of peace came over me and I knew that everything was going to be all right. Even though I was not living my life anywhere near the way I should, even though I had not been to church or even prayed in a very long time, I felt the presence of God as I laid on that operating table and my prayers were answered. I never even had one contraction and the baby's heart rate stayed strong. I recovered my my surgery and 12 weeks later delivered an 8 lb 8 oz very healthy little miracle who changed my life forever.

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Book Review: Smitten By Colleen Coble, Kristin Billerbeck, Denise Hunter, & Diann Hunt

Four friends devise a plan to turn Smitten, Vermont, into the country's premier romantic getaway-and each finds her own true love along the way.
With Smitten Lumber closing, residents wonder if their town can stay afloat. Then four friends and local business owners-Natalie, Julia, Shelby, and Reese--decide the town is worth saving. How will they do it? They'll turn Smitten into a honeymoon destination!
As Natalie, Julia, Shelby, and Reese work to save the town, each discovers romance in her own life. Meanwhile, the faith of a little child reminds the whole town what it means to have real faith in the God who is the always and forever Love.
Discover a novel written by four of Christian fiction's most popular romance novelists- friends in real life who've drawn an amazing story of four friends! Includes a Reading Group Guide as well as "Conversation over Coffee with the Authors"


The idea of a collaboration of 4 authors into a book containing 4 stories about 4 friends was a good one.  The story behind it of a town that is dying due to the economy and a plan to save it using it's name and beautiful setting to change it to a tourist location made for a great story.  The flow of one story to the next was very good.  I enjoyed reading Natalie and Reese's stories the most even though they were full of mistrust and misunderstanding of the men in their lives.  Julia's story quite honestly offended me a bit because of the light in which she sees and presents her mother as a housewife and I had a hard time getting past that.  Shelby's story bothered me a little too.  Shelby has a traumatic secret from her past that at one point she says she has asked for and received her Savior's forgiveness.  Later on she accepts no responsibility for her  actions and lays all the blame on her father. She does  forgive him for what the part he played, but still does not accept responsibility for her choices.  Overall even though I really wanted to like it, I found the book to be disappointing.

I received a complimentary ebook copy of Smitten from Thomas Nelson for the purpose of writing a fair and honest review.  I received no other compensation.

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A Visit to the Christmas Tree Farm and a Trip Down Memory Lane

Today we headed into the "big city."  We enjoyed lunch at Olive Garden and then went to the Christmas Tree Farm to pick out and cut down our tree.  This is our 5th year to pick out and cut down our own tree and the children love it!  We usually go on Sunday after church, but it is supposed to be rainy and nasty tomorrow, so we decided to go today instead.  It was cloudy, but in the 60's, so the weather was beautiful.  We picked out a nice 6 ft tree, some of the children rode the hay ride, and we got some hot cocoa.  When we got home we decorated the tree and only broke 4 ornaments.  Keeping the baby and the cat out of the tree may prove to be challenging.

A trip down memory lane.  Christmas pictures with our trees in the past.

December 2008

December 2009

December 2010

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December 4 H Cloverbud Meeting

Last night was our December Cloverbud meeting for 4 H.  I did it early on the month because we missed November and before it got too crazy because of the holidays.  The children wanted to have a pizza party, so we used some of club money to buy pizzas and some of the parents brought some snacks.  We had a great turnout with 12 4 Hers (ages 5-10) and 5 younger siblings.  For our community service project, we made decorations to take to the nursing home. 

In addition to markers, we got really brave and got out some glue and glitter to sprinkle on (even after vacuuming you could still see some sparkles in the carpet.)

Then, we did two edible craft projects.  We made and decorated trees using: ice cream cones, frosting, M&M's, Andie's crushed mints, and red licorice.

The trees didn't last very long because they were eaten as soon as they were completed.  After that, we made Snowman Soup.  We mixed 3 cups powdered sugar, 2 cups dry milk, and 1 cup cocoa into a bowl.  Then, each child got 1/4 cup of mix, 5 marshmallow, 2 Hershey Kisses, and a small peppermint candy cane to put into a Ziplock bag.  I found these cute tags to go along with it.  My children drunk theirs after lunch today and said it was delicious.  It would also make a great inexpensive gift along with a snowman mug.

All in all it was a good meeting.  I think the children enjoyed it.  It was a bit chaotic, but we were trying to get a lot done with a lot of children in a short period of time.  I am not the most organized person in the world and I forgot a couple of things which added to the chaos (including a change of clothes for the baby who of course leaked through her diaper luckily there was a prepared mom there.)  Also, Emelia was demanding to be fed halfway through the meeting so I had to step out for a few minutes and feed her.  I am very thankful to have parents who are so wiling to step in and help during the meetings and to have Chelsea as a youth helper.  Hopefully I will become better in a leadership role as time goes on.

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Cooper and Me and the Winter Adventure Review and Giveaway!

I was thrilled to have the opportunity to review the next book in the Cooper and Me series, Cooper and Me and the Winter Adventure by Monique and Alexa Peters.  Cooper is a fun loving black Labrador whose adventures help children navigate challenges and emotions of real life everyday happenings.  More than just a great children's book, the Cooper and Me series of books provides teaching opportunities and conversations for adults to have with their children.

Book description:  Cooper and Bella can't wait to go sledding, but what happens when they wander a little too far from home and a snowstorm makes it difficult to find their way back? 

Also included with the book are: A Special Memory Creation page, Life Lessons paragraph on what to do if you get lost, Connections taking about emotions, and Learning Together questions and answers.

Contact Information:

Website: http://www.cooperandme.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Cooper-and-Me-Inc/214695101924101

Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/cooper_and_me

Other Books in the Cooper and Me series include: Cooper and Me, Cooper and Me and the First Halloween,  and Cooper and Me and the Military.  You can purchase any of the books for $12.99 by clicking here.  There are other items available for purchase including a plush Cooper stuffed animal and music CDs to go along with the books.  $1 of every Winter Adventure book sold will go to advance research & treatment of pancreatic cancer, via the Lustgarten Foundation (http://www.lustgarten.org/)

 Make any purchase of $25 or more at CooperandMe.com and get FREE SHIPPING now through December 15.  MUST USE THIS CODE @ Check Out:  COOPERBLOG.

We really enjoyed reading Cooper and Me and the Winter Adventure.  The children (6,4,2) love animal stories and really liked  the rhyming story and the delightful illustrations.  My children especially love stories about winter and snow (probably because we don't see very much of it.)  The book is hard cover with a very strong binding which means it will hold up for many, many readings.  In addition to the sweet story, I thought the Learning Together questions and answers in the back of the book were a great compliment to the story and helpful when teaching children how to avoid being in the situation and what they should do if they are.  A great children's story doesn't just entertain, but also educates in a fun way and Cooper and Me and the Winter Adventure does both of those things.

Now for the Giveaway!

Interested in winning a copy?  All you have to do is leave me a comment with an email contact.  For an extra entry, follow with GFC or tell me that you already do in a second comment.  Giveaway will close on 12/07/2011 at 11:59 pm.  Good Luck!

“Disclosure of Material Connection: I received one or more of the products or

services mentioned above for free in the hope that I would mention it 

on my blog. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally 

and believe will be good for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance 

with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the 

Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

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Homeschooling Preschool

What kind of curriculum do you use for preschool?


There is a big push in our country to start schooling our children at younger and younger ages because it will make them "smarter."  Not just in public school, but also in private schools and homeschools too.  Parents are spending hundreds of dollars to send their children to preschool by the time they are three.  Homeschoolers are spending hundreds of dollars on curriculum for their 3 and 4 year olds.  Does anyone remember when preschool was for playing?

I have shocked people before with my answer, but I do not use curriculum with my preschoolers and its not because I don't want to spend the money either.  I think that preschool (and kindergarten) is a time where children should be learning through play, through reading,  and real life experiences.  I spend a lot of time reading at my house.  I read  history and science aloud, I read from the Bible, and I read chapter books and the little ones are playing close by.  Every afternoon I read picture books to the younger children and we will do activities related to the books.  Before Five in a Row and Five in a Row is a great resource for picture books and activities related to them.  A great website for lapbooks and activities related to FIAR is www.homeschoolshare.com. We sing songs when we clean up or to the baby.  We count and do colors by using blocks, buttons, toys, or my favorite M and M's.  We have plenty of art supplies available and ready for drawing, cutting, gluing, and painting. One of my favorite craft sites for younger children is www.dltk-kids.com  Any project that the older children are doing that the little ones want to participate in , they can.  We spend lots of time in the kitchen together.  We have toys to inspire imaginative play: kitchen, blocks, dollhouse, knights and castle, cars, costumes, etc...They are learning through play all day long.

Now sometimes preschoolers want a math book or workbook because their older siblings have one.  I usually get an inexpensive preschool workbook to pull out during school time.  If we are making a craft or working on a map I always print enough for the little ones too so they can do it if they want to.  For those times when an educational DVD would come in handy, I pull out one of our Leap Frog DVD's.  The children love those. 

You can successfully and inexpensively teach your preschooler at home.  And have lots of fun doing it!

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