Wordless Wednesday

by Cindy on September 1, 2010


Brothers

{ 1 comment }

Like many other homeschooling families, we start each day with a reading from the Bible. We teach our children to explore each subject, from history to science, by examining what God’s word has to say about it first. Whether parents educate their children at home or not, giving them a Biblical worldview from which to judge all things is the most important job a Christian family has.

As I’ve found out from hard experience, teaching my children the way they should go is an uphill battle, and the world fights me every step of the way. Our science books, our reference books, even our storybooks are filled with an evolutionary, secular worldview that must be examined constantly by the light of God’s Word. Rather than insulate our children from the claims of the world, as some would have us do, we prefer to teach our children what the world is saying, and how to trust God in the face of their evolutionary claims.

Charlie and Trike’s Grand Canyon Adventure is the first in a series of adventures written by Ken Ham to help parents do that very thing: teach their children to trust the Bible from the very first verse.

Charlie and Trike take a trip to the Grand Canyon and discover during their adventure that there is more than one way to interpret all kinds of things–from eyepatches (pirate or adventurous hero?)  to the fossil record (millions of years or thousands?).  The book is written to appeal to children ages 4-8. It has bright, beautifully drawn pictures, pop-out features that keep children interested, and most importantly, a firm Biblical message.

As you can see, my 6 year old is eating it up! I read it to him as soon as it arrived, and he was thrilled to recognize Bible themes in his new storybook. It is a little too wordy for a younger reader to tackle on his own, but it’s a great read-aloud for even younger children. David has kept this book at his side since we got it. He keeps coming back to unfold the mini-books and look at the images and maps. To my delight, he was also very eager to explain it all to his grandfather last night! I enjoyed the story of Charlie and Trike as much as my son did, and I know you will, too.

Buy it: Charlie and Trike’s Grand Canyon Adventure is available at Amazon.com for $15.99 $12.47. (That’s not an affiliate link, btw.)

Win it! Two easy ways to enter: New Leaf Publishing is going to send four of my readers a copy of Charlie and Trike’s Grand Canyon Adventure! I’m going to do this giveaway a little differently than my usual ones. Two of the books will be given to random commenters who follow the rules for this giveaway. Two others will be awarded based on merit. You can enter both ways to increase your chances!

To enter for the random draw (2 winners): Just leave a comment telling me who you’d be sharing this wonderful book with!

Extra entries: For extra entries, you may do any or all of the following. Just leave a separate comment for each.

To enter the link-up and share your own ideas (2 winners): I would love input from the Christian blogger community on this question, please. Either in your own blog post or by emailing me your answer, tell me:

How do you teach your child to trust the Bible in the face of an unbelieving world?

  • It could be as simple as a prayer, or as complex as your very own Bible curriculum. This newbie mama needs ideas. Please help!
  • Your post can be as long or as short as you like.
  • If you’ve already written a post that touches on this subject, feel free to submit it from your archives. It doesn’t have to be fresh to be good!
  • You can link up your own review of Charlie and Trike, if you have one. Other participants in the blog tour are welcome to link here to share. I couldn’t send you  a prize for that, of course, but I’d love to include your post!
  • I’m going to leave this linky up for 2 weeks, so you can take your time thinking about it.
  • Details: This giveaway is open to anyone in the US. (Sorry, Canadians!) This giveaway will be open until midnight, September 17, 2010. The winner will have 72 hours to respond to my email. Please use a valid email address in your comments so that I can contact you if you win! Please use one email address per entrant, per household, per IP address. Cheaters will be permanently banned from this site. Good luck!


    My No-Legalese Disclosure

    Disclosure: New Leaf Publishing Group has included Get Along Home in their campaign to promote Charlie and Trike’s Grand Canyon Adventure. I received payment to post the Charlie and Trike button ad and a book for review, as well as a copy of Your Guide to the Grand Canyon: A Different Perspective. New Leaf Publishing will provide the 4 winners’ copies of Charlie and Trike’s Grand Canyon Adventure. In addition, this post qualifies me to compete for a grand prize to be given to the blogger with the best overall response. (So wouldn’t you love to help me by entering? :-) )  My opinions are my own, and I do not speak for new Leaf Publishing.

    { 17 comments }

    My Baby Clothes Boutique (Giveaway!)

    by Cindy on August 30, 2010

    I’ve found a sweet little shop online for baby clothes! Actually, My Baby Clothes Boutique found me, and offered to send my new little guy an outfit to review. After looking around their site, which has everything from baby hats to baby gifts, I decided to make a little football player out of this fella.

    I’ve been holding on to this cute little outfit for a couple of weeks, just waiting for a baby to put it on. Now that I’ve got a model, I can finally show you the product!


    Doesn’t he just look ready to tackle somebody? Watch out, world!

    Win! To help me celebrate the birth of our son, Benjamin, My Baby Clothes Boutique is offering one of my readers a $25 gift certificate to their shop! $25 is enough to buy a precious outfit like the one I got or lots of other outfits!

    To enter, visit My Baby Clothes Boutique and leave a comment here, naming an item that catches your eye. That’s it! No extra entries for this one. Let’s keep it fair for those of you who don’t have time for extra entries.

    Details: This giveaway is open to anyone in the US. This giveaway will be open until midnight, September 24, 2010. The winner will have 72 hours to respond to my email. Please use a valid email address in your comments so that I can contact you if you win. Please use one email address per entrant, per household, per IP address. Cheaters will be permanently banned from commenting on this site. Good luck!

    My No-Legalese Disclosure
    I wasn’t compensated in any way for this post. My Baby Clothes Boutique provided me with an item for review purposes. Opinions are my own. Your mileage may vary.

    { 15 comments }

    Welcome to the World, Baby Benjamin!

    by Cindy on August 29, 2010

    After two and a half weeks of false labor, 4 half-doses of castor oil, a great many tears, and 20 hours of labor (10 of those HARD), we have a baby to show for it!  Our third son, Benjamin Mark Dyer:


    Born August 25, 2010
    10:26 a.m.
    7 lbs, 8 oz
    20.5 inches

    Don’t you love those baby bottoms?

    About the birth: Some births are harder than others, and for no discernible reason. Maybe it was because he was late, or because this was a VBAC, or just because I’m getting older, but this birth pushed me to the very edge of my sanity. I was stunned that it hurt this much, having done it three times before and never experienced it quite this way. Maybe I’m just weaker than I used to be?

    I prefer to keep things as unmedicated as possible, not just in childbirth, but in day-to-day life. It’s just how I’m built. But for this baby, I asked for help. I got a shot of something (Nubane?) when I just couldn’t take it anymore, but the pain did NOT ease off. The nurse said it was too late for it to work much, and couldn’t give me anything else because the baby was too close to being born for it to be safe for him. So I’m not sure if this counts as medicated birth or not. I certainly got no relief!

    The baby never descended properly, for some reason. One time the nurse would check me, and he’d be at 0, then he’d float back up to -2. He really did not want to leave me! I suspect the umbilical cord wrapped around his shoulder may have been pulling him back, but I’m just a mom. I don’t even know if that’s possible. I know very little about these things. I nearly gave up when pushing time came and I heard the doctor say, “You’ve got a long way to push, Mama.” The nurse told me to wait and let my body do some more of the work for me, because he was still at -1!

    Well, undescended baby or not, I was hurting so bad I had to push. I knew I’d give up or pass out if I had to endure one more contraction passively. So push I did, and 12 minutes later (yes, I am SUPER!), I had a son.

    My other labors hurt, but this one was actually traumatic for me. I’m still having trouble thinking about it. Once it was over, though, I praised God just as loudly for this one as I did for the others! My praise after a baby is born always makes me think of the shouting in Heaven when a sinner is born again! Imagine that chorus! I’ve got nothing on the angels, of course, but I know that exultation, as any new mama does.

    A woman giving birth has pain because her time has come;
    but when her baby is born she forgets the anguish
    because of her joy that a child is born into the world.

    ~John 16:21

    All Cleaned Up

    His siblings are wild about him. I’m blessed with unselfish children who don’t get jealous easily. Even his 20 month-old sister is handling it well.

    He is perfect, and worth every moment of it. This is the most content, laid-back baby I’ve ever seen! He doesn’t cry much, but he has this adorable little squeak he makes when he wants something. I could almost pinch him, just to see if I can elicit that sweet sound from him. It’ll be a struggle, but I’ll try not to do that…much. :-)

    { 13 comments }

    Weeds. Flowers. What’s the difference when the sweetest boys in the world pick them?

    { 6 comments }

    3 Things a Pregnant Mom Should Keep In Mind When Baby is Late

    August 23, 2010

    I know I’m a crappy blogger lately. I can’t think about anything but babies. I’m also a horrible wife, housekeeper, mother, daughter, friend, and sister right now. Being miserably, hugely pregnant can do that to the best of us. Some observations I’ll try to remind myself of if (when) my next baby is “overdue”: Doctors [...]

    Read the full article →

    My New Obsession: Tropical Traditions Coconut Oil (with Recipe and Giveaway!)

    August 22, 2010

    Don’t miss this one, home cooks and foodies! I’m sure a lot of you have seen the giveaways around the Momosphere for Tropical Traditions Gold Label Virgin Coconut Oil. I hope you’ve been entering those giveaways. I’ve been skipping past them, thinking I didn’t want to bother with a giveaway for “just oil”. Well, I [...]

    Read the full article →

    I’m Being Mean Again. Skip This Post.

    August 17, 2010

    I love Christians. You people are awesome. That would be because I love our Savior, and count myself in your ranks. So I hope you’ll all forgive me for what I’m about to say. I have a big, big quarrel with modern Christian music. We seem to have lost all discernment in our quest to [...]

    Read the full article →

    Yoplait Splitz Giveaway

    August 15, 2010

    I love working with MyBlogSpark! They keep sending me coupons for free food. Mostly yogurt, but I’ll take what I can get. Times are tough, ya know! My kids and I got to try Yoplait‘s new Splitz yogurt this week. The package says to try it frozen. Being a pliable sort, I did, and it [...]

    Read the full article →

    Button Woes

    August 14, 2010

    Just FYI, when I changed themes and rearranged my widgets, I somehow deleted about half of the blog buttons in my scrolling button-roll. If I’ve entered a giveaway of yours and you come looking for your button but don’t see it, please let me know so I can put it back! I’m so sorry! I’m [...]

    Read the full article →

    Am I Turning My Son Into a Zombie?

    August 14, 2010

    I’m not sure just how controversial this topic is for secular parents. My guess is, not very. But among Christian parents, there is a Great Video Game Debate. Actually, as far as I can tell, there’s no debate. Video games are bad. ‘Nuff said. In this family, though, video games are not only not avoided, [...]

    Read the full article →

    A Couple of Things

    August 11, 2010

    See that sweet new button at the top of my sidebar there? That’s a fun book I’m going to get to review and give away to a few of you! I’m excited about this one, and wanted to give you a quick heads-up. Click on the banner to learn more about the book! I’ve also [...]

    Read the full article →

    Emotional Blackmail on Facebook

    August 10, 2010

    A repost, because I have nothing for you today, but I still hate the Facebook! Every day, I open up Facebook and the first thing I see goes something like this: If you have (insert relationship here) who (insert warm-fuzzy-feeling-inducing behavior or victim label here), then post this to your Facebook status for at least [...]

    Read the full article →

    Help a Blogger Out?

    August 9, 2010

    Could you guys help me out, please? I love my blog. I want to keep my blog, but my blog is costing me (a little) money, and I don’t like that. If you enjoy Get Along Home even a tiny little bit, would you please consider doing one (or all!) of the following things for [...]

    Read the full article →

    Haven’t You Had That Baby Yet?

    August 9, 2010

    If one more person asks me that question, I’m going to freak out!!!!! Well, not really. I don’t go around making smarty-pants remarks to well-intentioned people, so I guess I’ll just smile and say “no”, like I did this morning with my mother. Read carefully, people: when a woman is on baby-watch, and especially if [...]

    Read the full article →

    CSNStores.com Review

    August 6, 2010

    I’ve got babies on the brain, so please forgive this quick and dirty version of a product review! Since the poll I took last time I mentioned CSNStores.com was a 50/50 split between people who wanted a giveaway, and people who thought I should buy myself something nice from one of the 200+ stores available [...]

    Read the full article →

    Got Praise?

    August 4, 2010

    Praise God! That’s all I really have to say today. I’m working on some posts, but for now, I’m just grateful for His wonderful mercy. He is good, good, GOOD to His children! Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you. I will praise you as long as I live, and [...]

    Read the full article →

    What Does a Hillbilly Homeschool Look Like?

    July 30, 2010

    This post is cross-posted at The Homeschool Village, where, for some reason, people are willing to put up with me. Thanks so much for sharing your audience, Stef! When I was asked if I’d like to contribute a guest post to The Homeschool Village about what our homeschool looks like, I did my usual fool [...]

    Read the full article →

    Attempting a VBAC: Pregnancy Update

    July 28, 2010

    I went to see my midwife this morning for our 36-week look-see. Baby Benjamin is doing well, hanging out upside-down just the way he ought to be, and kicking like a mule! You’d think I’d be extremely happy, wouldn’t you? But I’m not. I’m so mad I could spit. I love my midwife. She has [...]

    Read the full article →

    Pregnancy Update

    July 28, 2010

    Here we are at 36 weeks gestation! Want to see my tum? Too bad. You’ll have to go somewhere else for belly-shots. My camera is useless. Technically, this pregnancy is considered full term now. My babies don’t have a history of making early appearances, so I don’t expect to see this squinchy little face for [...]

    Read the full article →

    CSNStores.com Review or Giveaway Coming Up!

    July 28, 2010

    My good friends (OK, my email acquaintances) at CSNStores.com have kindly asked me to review another product from their stores. Naturally, with a baby on the way and the economy going so well, I turned them down. I don’t need anything from their 200+ stores. Nosirree! I’m kidding, of course! There are lots of things [...]

    Read the full article →

    PicPocket Books iPhone App Review (with Giveaway)

    July 27, 2010

    This giveaway is now closed! Congratulations to Jessica, from Muthering Heights! y iPod Touch is grimy. I’m not complaining, though! It’s grimy because my little boys are loving the applications sent to me for review by PicPocket Books and Kids Math Fun. Their favorite application today (they change their minds a lot!) is BlueBeary, a [...]

    Read the full article →

    More Free Money From Swagbucks!

    July 26, 2010

    Swagbucks just sent me another $5 Amazon.com gift card! If you don’t use Swagbucks, you really are missing out on the easiest little income stream in the world. There is no work involved! Just do what you do anyway at other search sites like Google and Yahoo. Make it your homepage so you won’t forget. [...]

    Read the full article →

    Coupon Clippers Anonymous

    July 26, 2010

    Hi, my name is Cindy. I am a recovering couponaholic. Welcome to the first ever meeting of CCA. I’ve learned to hate coupons. If I had to choose between shopping with a stack of coupons (as I did for nearly two years), or paying 3 times as much per week as my usual $40-$50 budget, [...]

    Read the full article →

    Maybe I Will!

    July 24, 2010

    A while back, I wrote a post kicking around the idea of actually blogging, instead of just promoting other people’s giveaways. Since I felt led to say more than just “enter here to win a piece of pie from Mama’s Best Bakery”, I bought a domain and jumped in. I’m not the most prolific blogger [...]

    Read the full article →