A New Button and a Winner!

So I think that most of you prefer the picture of the cows for my button, so I will stick with that one.  Thanks for all of you who have grabbed my button before and I would love it if you would grab my new one now!


<center><a href="http://www.munchkinfarm.blogspot.com"><img src="http://i759.photobucket.com/albums/xx240/MunchkinFarm/Country%20Blessings/cows-1.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket" alt="Munchkin Farm" width="150" height="123" /></a></center>

And now, thank you to the two ladies who entered my Twin Sisters Productions giveaway.  Unfortunately only one of you gets to win and I used random.org to pick who it is:

Comment #1 is:
Farmin chick said... 

Miss M's favorite song for the longest time was Amazing Grace:) We would sing it every night before bed:) I loved hearing her sing the words, knowing them by heart.

Congratulations! I will be contacting you soon!

My First Hands-On Bible {Review}

I recently received My First Hands-On Bible for review and I have been having lots of fun reading it with my kids.  It is filled with Bible stories that the kids love and each story has hands on activities that you can do as you are reading.  The kids really enjoy these activities and it helps the stories come alive for them.  The activities range from counting out something, pretending to be an animal from the story, acting out part of the story, and much more.  At the end of each story there are also two more activities to review or reinforce the story. After each story there is also a "Jesus Connection" which connects each story to Jesus even if he wasn't in the story to show that Jesus is the center of all of Scripture.  Each story also ends with a short prayer you can pray with your kids.  This book is intended for ages 3-6 and I think that is a pretty accurate age range because my kids have really enjoyed using this book with me.  Some of the activities are really simple and Buddy found them a little boring, and some are a little harder and Lovebug found them difficult to understand, but for the most part Buddy, Sweetie, and Lovebug have all loved reading and doing the activities together.

From the publisher:
My First Hands-On Bible is the preschooler version of the popular Hands-On Bible, which has sold over a half million copies. Jesus taught with hands-on lessons and illustrations; My First Hands-On Bible uses the same experience-based learning to communicate God’s Word in an active, understandable way. My First Hands-On Bible is a fun and simple yet meaningful way to engage preschool, pre-K, and K children (ages 3-6) with the Bible while helping them build a solid faith foundation. Each lesson focuses on a specific Bible point through a variety of activities in order to reinforce and help young children remember the stories and lessons. Using common household items, you can help your children have a “hands-on” learning experience while engaging them in 85 key stories from the Bible. My First Hands-On Bible doesn’t just retell the Bible stories; it also includes actual Scripture from the easy-to-understand and easy-to-read Holy Bible, New Living Translation. In addition to the stories and activities, there are fun illustrations, prayers, and a special Jesus Connection feature.

I received this book for free for review from Tyndale House Publishers.

The Lion's Deceit {Review}

The Lion's Deceit by Mpho Otukile is a story about a lion who is very lazy and doesn't want to go hunting for his food.  He comes up with a plan to trick the other animals into coming right to him, but will he get away with it?

This is an easy to read short story to help teach children about the consequences of being lazy. After reading it with my kids, it provided a way to discuss working hard and being truthful. My kids liked the story and asked to read it several more times.  It is filled with bright beautiful illustrations that my kids enjoyed looking at. 
About the author: Mpho Otukile comes from Botswana, in the Southern part of Africa where she grew up listening to stories told by the village elders at night while sitting around an open fire. As much as she was entertained, these stories also instilled some moral lessons about life.
The author now lives in Winnipeg, Canada and is writing these stories to pass them to her daughter and other children.
If you are interested in purchasing this book you can get an autographed copy from Village Life Books or you can purchase Creatspace eStore where you can use the code 2LU4EXJM to receive 10% off your purchase.

This is a MamaBuzz review. The product was provided by Village Life Books for this review.

New Name

I've recently made some ID cards for myself and the kids (like other kids get from school) and I needed to give our homeschool a name to put on it.  I asked hubby for some ideas, but neither of us is too creative.  Finally we came up with Country Blessings Academy.  I think it fits our family well since we live in the country and God has blessed us with so much.  I also like it better than Munchkin Farm, so I am changing the name of my blog to Country Blessings.  To go along with the new name, I am making up a new button.  When I showed it to Hubby though, he wanted me to stick with the picture of the cows.  So I need your help!  Let me know which of these two pictures you like better (or neither!) so I can get a new button made.

Restless in Carolina {Review}

Restless in Carolina by Tamara Leigh is about Bridget, a tree-hugging, animal loving, widow of 4 years, who is trying to find an eco-friendly buyer for her family's large estate.  When J.C. Dirk becomes interested in purchasing the estate, Bridget finds herself interested in him.  First though she needs to get over her grief of losing her husband.  But J.C has a secret that could ruin everything Bridget is working for.
I have to admit that after the first couple of chapters I was ready to quit reading this book.  It was really hard for me to connect with Bridget's character.  I'm glad I kept with it though because it did get much better as the story went on.  There were some humorous parts and the other characters were interesting, but overall it was a fairly predictable story.  If you are looking for an easy summer read, give Restless in Carolina a try, just don't give up after the first few chapters!

I received this book free for review from Waterbrook Multnomah Publishers.

Curing An Ear Infection Naturally

I know this is an odd post to write in the middle of summer and especially when most of the country is in the middle of a heat wave.  But it seems that global warming has forgotten our little corner of the world and it still feels like the middle of spring here.  Our neighbors have been pumping water out of their blueberry and potato fields for the past week!  And since the weather is crummy, my kids thought they would help contribute to the overall crumminess (is that a word?) of our wet summer and get colds.  So on Friday, I wasn't too surprised when Sweetie told me her ear hear really bad.  The last thing I want to do on a Friday however is go to the doctor's office.  I've made that mistake before.  So I hopped on the wonderful world wide web to see if there was anything I could try at home first.  I figured there had to be something people used years ago before they could just run to the doctor like we can now, right?  So I found quite a few sites that had natural remedies using garlic and olive oil.  This site was the most helpful with quite a list of things I could try.  I didn't have any fresh garlic on hand, but I did have olive oil and lavender essential oil.  So I tried mixing a drop of the lavender in about 20 drops of oil, putting a couple drops in Sweetie's ear and then massaging it in.  Within 1/2 an hour she said her ear was all better!  I was amazed!  Since most of the other kids had all the makings for developing ear infections, I headed to the store for some fresh garlic, since that seems like it is the most effective option. 

And it was a good move, because on Saturday night, Sweetie's ear hurt again and on Monday morning, Lovebug said his ear hurt.  Both times I heated a clove of garlic in a little olive oil, placed a couple drops in their ears, and massaged it.  And both times it was gone within an hour!  Hopefully this means no more doctor visits and antibiotics for ear infections for us!  (Disclaimer: I am not a health care professional.  I am only sharing what worked for us.  Please do your own research or consult your doctor to make your own decisions on treating your children!)

Linked up with:

Raising Homemakers

Healthy 2day Wednesday

Twin Sisters Productions Bible Stories {Review and GIVEAWAY!}

We have officially been on summer break for about a month now, but I have still been encouraging the kids to practice the skills they have learned by doing things they think are fun.  That way they don't always realize they are doing math, practicing reading, etc and it is much easier to get them to do it.  Twin Sisters Productions has a lot of great products that are perfect for this and recently they sent me their Bible Stories workbook and music cd for review.  The kids have loved listening to the songs, many of which are familiar, but also a few new ones they have enjoyed learning.  The workbook contains 14 mini Bible story books that each go along with a song, finger puppets, Bible story starters, some easy crafts, and some suggested Bible verses for the kids to memorize.  The kids have been having fun coloring the books and Buddy can easily read them to everyone. 

They have also loved the finger puppets and are constantly retelling their favorite Bible stories with them.  A large part of our curriculum during the school year has the kids retelling me stories after I read them to make sure they catch the main ideas of the story.  The kids don't really like doing this unless I give them an exciting way of doing it like acting out the story.  I think these puppets will come in handy next year to have them retell me Bible stories in a fun way.

This is the second product I've reviewed for Twin Sisters Productions and both times have been very pleased with the products.  They offer many educational music products on their site and I think my kids would have fun with a lot of them and not even realize they are learning at the same time!

Currently they are having an Old MacDonald Had a Farm video contest on their Facebook page.  This is a cute opportunity to share a video of your kids' creativity! Head over to their page to get all the details and also a promo code for a free download of Old MacDonald Had a Farm!

Twin Sisters has also graciously offered one of my readers a $10 gift certificate to their site!  To be entered please leave me a comment letting me know your kids' favorite Bible song.  Please leave a way for me to contact you if you win!

For extra entries you may do any of the following, but be sure to leave a separate comment(s) for each entry!

1. Visit Twin Sisters Productions and tell me your favorite product (1 entry)

2. Like Twin Sisters on Facebook (1 entry)

3. Enter their Facebook video contest (5 entries, leave 5 separate comments!)

4 . Follow or subscribe to my blog (1 entry)

This giveaway will end on July 28 at noon and I will draw a winner using random.org.  The winner will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be picked.

I received this product for free for review from Twin Sisters Productions. All opinions are mine. Thanks Twin Sisters!

A Place Called Blessing {Review}

A Place Called Blessing by John Trent, Ph.D. with Annette Smith is a great story of blessing and forgiveness.  I really enjoyed it and could hardly put it down.  It is a sad story of how a little boy becomes angry and alone after years of being in the foster system.  Then he finds a family who continually offers him love despite his rejection of it.  The end had a great twist that I didn't see coming at all and it ended the story so beautifully.  I highly recommend this book.

Book Description

Five-year-old Josh and his two older brothers lose their parents in a drunk-driving accident. A series of foster homes and a shocking tragedy eventually separate them, leaving Josh alone, angry, and distrustful of most everyone. At age eighteen, Josh strikes out on his own to find work. With only a high school education and few life skills, he is one step away from homelessness when Providence brings him to a place where he finds much more than physical shelter. For the first time in his life, Josh receives unconditional love and something every human being craves, the gift of "the blessing."

The book includes an introduction and reader’s guide designed to identify and discuss the five elements of the biblical blessing that every person needs. Through the power of Josh's story, readers are shown how to give this gift to their children and others as outlined in the more than one million copy bestseller, The Blessing.

I received this book for free for review from BookSneeze.

10 Years Ago

I married my best friend.

Wasn't he so handsome?  Good thing he still is! :)  Can't wait to spend the next 10 years with him too!



Tasty Tuesday - 5 Minute Ice Cream

I recently found this easy soft serve ice cream recipe that only takes 5 minutes to make so I tried it with the kids yesterday and it was so simple and fun!

Ingredients
1 cup Half and Half (Twin Brook Creamery is the best!)
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 Tbsp sugar
1/2 cup salt
Ice

Put the half and half, vanilla, and sugar in a small ziploc plastic bag, close, and mix together.  Put the salt and enough ice to fill it half way in a larger ziploc bag.  Place the small bag inside the bigger bag with the ice and close.  Shake, toss, play catch, have your kids jump on the trampoline with the bag, do whatever you want to shake it up for a few minutes, then remove the bag of ice cream and enjoy!  We made 3 of the small bags of ice cream so each of the kids could have their own and they loved it!