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.