Math Rider Review

It seems that whenever we are in need of a particular subject getting a little more attention, TOS sends us a product to review that just fills that need! It is truly wonderful and such a blessing! When I was notified we would be reviewing Math Rider, I was very excited for a couple of reasons. First, my daughter (10) needs some work in reviewing her basic math facts, and second, she loves horses! This just made my day!
Here is an overview of the game from the website:

What did we love about Math Rider? Well, I loved the simplicity of it. I was basically hands off, which I enjoy having a few things I can just pass off to my kids and they can take over and handles it themselves. My daughter figured out everything with minimal help from me. She would go online daily and play 4 rounds of the game and she was moving up in the levels as well as mastering concepts she had not mastered at this point. That was wonderful!

What did we not love about Math Rider? Very little, however there is a magical concept to the game and magic is not something that blends with our faith. For instance, there was a magical healing flower that was to be used to heal a cursed or sick person. However, you do not need to play that part of the game to continue on. The term magical is used, however it is easy to avoid and my daughter continued playing without ever having to participate in the parts we found objectionable.

Overall, I found this online game to be fabulous! You can find out more by checking out there website here: Math Rider Be sure to check out the many links available to learn more about this great product.

The cost of this wonderful tool for your homeschool is only $37 and even comes with 30 day money back guarantee!!


Disclaimer: I am a member of the TOS Homeschool Crew. As such I have received this product free of charge in exchange for my honest opinion and review of this product. I have not received any additional compensation for my review.

Keeping it Classy

Last Day!

What a super fun week this has been! Atira and I had a wonderful time participating in our first Modest Fashion week!! So here you have it our last outfit for the week...a little of this and a little of that. We were getting ready to head out for our Sabbath services and study. It was a lovely day! And it was wonderful to get to see all of you modest fashionable ladies!

Keeping It Classy

Only one more day after today!!
So, here ya go!

Atira is wearing brown pants that we found at a thrift store, they have a pretty buckle at the waist you can't see in this photo. Her green sweater was mine...but a bit too fitted for my liking, so she wears it now. I have on one of my favorite dancing skirts (it twirls so beautifully!), this burnt orange peasant skirt, it has pretty little beads and sparkly pieces on the layers, so pretty. I have on a green cami made again by Mod Bod, and my cream long sleeve hoody was purchased at JC Penney.
Here is Atira's fun watch, yes, it was a Mcdonalds toy, it is just so darn cute!
And last, my earrings. My son took a jewelry making class and one day while I was sitting there, bored, I asked the teacher if I could play with the beads. I ended up making these and she said I could just keep them! What a blessing! Off to celebrate the sabbath with my family! The house is all clean, bread just came out of the oven and dinner is bubbling away...the house smells super delicious! Can't wait! Have a blessed weekend all! Hope I get time tomorrow to post our last picture! I will certainly try! We will try to get on here in the morning and do that. Blessings!!

Keeping it Classy

We are having some fun here getting in to some "poses" for our pictures. This has been such a fun week of mother daughter fashion talk!
Atira picked this pose and I love it! So, what are we wearing? Atira has on a two piece outfit she received for her birthday, lovely little number with black stripes. It's still cold out so she also has on a long sleeve white tshirt underneath. And I will share more about her super cool boots in a few. As for me, I have on one of my few print tops (I don't know why I don't have more, I really like it when I wear prints) purchased at Kohls, longs sleeve blue T from Mod Bod (love it when Costco holds a sale on them, what a bargain!). Black skirt that was a thrift store find, white tights and of course my black Clarks boots.
Close up of my pretty necklace that was a lovely surprise from my husband. Inside is a scroll of paper with Hebrew on it reciting the Shema or "Hear O Israel, the Lord our God the Lord is one..."
My pretty fillagree earrings, I cannot even remember where I bought them I have had them for so long!
Atira's super cool boots up close! The zipper is colorful, hard to tell, but it's true! She got these at (can you guess?) Kohls. Yes, we have a Kohls near us....
LOVE THIS! Atira took a long piece of organza ribbon and wound it around her wrist and tied it off with a bow to make a really feminine and funky bracelet! She has such style!
And her beautiful gold ball earrings. This is a child who cannot wear silver, so her earring assortment is limited at this point since it must be real gold. These are still very pretty and go with tons of stuff!

Keeping it Classy

*DAY 4*



So, for today we had a usual routine kind of day. We got a lot of schooling done and then Atira had her recorder class. I had a fabulous time running around Target collecting some serious bargains thanks to couponing! So, the theme today was cute, comfy and casual. Atira is wearing a cute jumper from A Children's Place along with the long sleeve purple shirt under. Of course she has on her skinny jeans (her new favorite fashion item)..she looks darling! As for my outfit, I have on another favorite sweater in such a pretty color! Purchased at Kohls...black tshirt underneath was given to me. My skirt, feels like jammies, it was purchased at Old Navy and my black leggings are also from Kohls.


This is my beautiful necklace my sweet friend gave me...it's of a praise dancer. She gave it to me because I teach Messianic praise and worship dancing. So sweet and one of my favorites...and she is an amazing friend and sister in the Lord. I am blessed.

Keeping it Classy

Here we are day 3! This has really been a lot of fun so far. Each morning we get up and after breakfast, bible and exercise we start talking about what we will be wearing. How fun is that? I just love having a girly! ♥ So for today, Atira is wearing super cute Gap Denim Dress, denim jeggings and her cute and oh so trendy gray slouchy boots. I have on one of my favorite sweaters found at Costco! A Mod Bod long sleeve dark pumpkin t shirt, my denim skirt is one of my faves from Christopher and Banks and my brown go to Clarks boots. You can't see my earrings, but they are a very pretty filigree circle with little brown gems in them.

Here you can see her pretty details, under her dress is a lavender burn out tshirt and she is also wearing her black and lavender stars scarf. I love how this girl accessorizes!

I'm lookin' a little tired here, it is the end of the day...but it is a cute shot of my sweater, that I LOVE! (Did I mention I love it?) I am always cold too, so this is a very warm sweater, makes me happy! :) See you all tomorrow!

Cinderella Moments

Ahhhh...what a day. Let's say it again. Ahhhhh....what a day. It was THAT good that you needed to say it twice. I mean, seriously, that good.

For those not "in the know", I planned an evening out for Atira, both of her grandmothers and myself to see Pacific Northwest Ballet perform "Cinderella". Let's back up....I have a sweet friend, Denise, and she has a very talented daughter, Abby. Abby was accepted last year to PNB as a student. What a prestigious honor and evidence of her incredible talent. Abby was then chosen to perform in this years performance of Cinderella. This led to the idea that it would be fun to go and see her and of course experience the ballet for our first time. Well, after checking into the price of tickets....*hack*cough* (was that blood?) we decided to just enjoy the photos of Abby in her costume instead.

About a week or so later, there was a contest on the radio to win tickets to Cinderella, we tried, but did not win. That's when the wheels started turning. Scott and I decided that this would be an incredible memory for Atira and that it was worth it. That contest gave me a little opening to ask some "conversational" questions, ya know, just chatting it up. I asked Atira, what if we had won, would you want it to be just you and I or would you want your Grandmas to go too? She said all of us....hmmm....would it be possible?

The Grandmas were delighted with the whole idea...the wheels of secrecy were now in full motion, churning silently along....mwah ah ah!! I LOVE a good secret! The plan was set, Atira and I would have a girls day together, nothing big, maybe some lunch and time shopping. She had NO idea.

The day finally arrives, I am giddy inside, just dyin' to jump up and down and scream "aren't you excited!!!". But I can't, she doesn't even know. We have a lazy morning, we shower. We are getting dressed to impress because we joined a "Modest Fashion Week" blog contest...she comes in my room in her super cute outfit and asks me what I think. I gush, tell her it's fab and super cute, but what do you think of THESE! I throw back two pillows that are on my bed covering up TWO BRAND NEW OUTFITS! She flips! She jumps up, arms around my neck, thanking me and even tearing up a bit. It was so sweet. She chose an absolutely fabulous little number, the black and white polka dot dress with hot pink shrug. Amazing.

She decides her Grandma needs to see it...calls over and miracle of miracles, Grandma is available to have her come over and show off her new dress! We head on over Grandma is also available to go to lunch with us! Can you believe how amazing this is working out? We head out....I suggest we go down to the south end of town to a mall we never go to there. Great idea! We get closer and Atira asks if she can show her new dress to her other Grandma! WELL OF COURSE!! (I could not have orchestrated this better, we were heading that way to pick her up and I did not have to blow my cover for one second! Can you believe this stuff?) I play it off...well, Grandma might not be home you know, but we will try. And again, Grandma is home! What a surprise! ;0) And to top it off, she was available to go to lunch too! hee hee....my plan is coming off very nicely, dontcha think?

We head out to the restaurant, enjoy a leisurely lunch, a little time in the toy store. (Where else does a girl go when she's all dolled up?) And back to the van for the finale portion of my secret plan! Oh, I could have cried here I was getting so excited!

We drive along...I ask Grandma J, do you know where we are going? She does...Atira looks, how do YOU know? Mom was just saying she has a plan rolling around in her head...but how do YOU know? Mwah ah ahaha!! I love it! Savoring the sweetness of this wonderful moment. We finally come around the corner to the building where we will be seeing the performance.....as we get closer Atira says, " I wish we could have seen Abby's ballet." I pull the van over in front of the hall, I point to the sign that says "Pacific Northwest Ballet", and ask "what does that sign say over there?"

(now you need a serious dramatic pause here, I will also wait while you get some kleenex OK?)

(ready?)

Atira: "Abby's ballet? Really?" And the tears started flowing....and along with them the most heartfelt and tender thank you's I think I have ever heard uttered.

She was truly surprised, she was touched deep inside by the love of her mom, dad and Grandparents who wanted to do this special event for her.

Of course, when her tears flowed, so did mine and of course both of her Grandma's as well. Kleenex was flying around that van as it sat on the side of the road in front of the hall. THAT was my favorite part of the whole night. My sweet girl, giving me sweet hugs and tears of joy and appreciation. It was....well, amazing.

On to the event:

As we were waiting for time tick away (we were only about an hour + early) we took a few pictures like these:




Around the time of these photos, I realized I should call my friend Denise or text her and let her know that we were on the grounds and hoping to see Abby during the intermission. (This was part of our ultimate plan of course!) As I pop open my so cute pink and silver phone, I realize to my UTTER horror, I no longer have her number because my old phone croaked and with it all my phone numbers! I could have screamed. Immediately I began by trying to wake up my brain to come up with a solution...ugh. I find one friend, call her, nope, she doesn't have her cell! ACK! Then, just like that little light bulb, a solution popped into my brain! TEENAGERS! That's it! Teenagers!! Oh yeah, they are always connected to some sort of social media, right? HALLELU YAH! I text my son, who is friends with Denise's daughter, it went something like this:

"Text Sierra and tell her mom to call or text me, I lost her phone number".

Pause 20 seconds while I wait ever so patiently for a response.

I flip my super cute pink and silver number open and start calling my son, WELL! WHERE IS SHE!? I don't know mom...was his response. Now is NOT the time to NOT KNOW!! (Well I didn't really say that last part, but I was thinking it!)

I decide to wait another 20 seconds ...and like a beam of sunshine streams through the clouds, here comes Denise and Abby running by the outside of the building. I, being all dressed lovely like and acting every part the lady, fling myself at the glass wall and start yelling "DENISE!!!. What a spectacle. Then there is Abby, pointing, running (or being dragged, I am not sure exactly, it was kind of a toss up). I fly out the doors and start chasing my friend down...who briefly slowed down, at least long enough to tell me they were late...so what do you do when you're all dressed up in Downtown? You chase after with your super cute pink shiny cell phone flipped open and start dialing in numbers as they are being flung at you so you can call later when things settle down. I hope Denise, you are still my friend after that fiasco. What a dork I am.

We (Atira and I...yes she was in tow, but I have no real recollection of that part, my focus was getting Denises number...good job mom.) went back in to get some photos with the Grandmas and here they are:




Shortly after this point who would walk by? Denises husband and kids. Ooops. I guess I could have stood there looking lovely (hee hee) instead of running around like a crazy mama screaming at people for phone numbers. Oh well....I got the job done! OH YEAH!


And of course we have to have our picture with Abby...she was amazing. I can't wait until the day we go and see her as SHE performs the part of Cinderella! Great job Abby!



Soon after this we headed for our seats...enjoyed the spectacular performance and even got a moment with Abby after the first act. It was truly an incredible and memorable evening. The ballet was beautiful, the company we shared it with was top notch and the whole day is one that will live long in all our hearts. Such a sweet day making memories together as family. God is so good.


Good night everyone!

Stylish Blogger Award

Rachel at Saved By Grace awarded me this Stylish Blogger Award. WOW! Blush...I am totally unprepared, I don't even have a speech prepared! Thanks Rachel that was so very sweet of you to think of me! And what timing, while I am in the middle of Modest Fashion Week! (Not that I really think of myself as all that fashionable..but I do enjoy clothes and shoes and accessories, after all I am a girl!)

The rules to follow for those receiving the Stylish Blogger Award are:

1. Thank and link back to the person who awarded you.
2. Share 7 things about yourself.
3. Award 15 recently discovered great bloggers.
4. Contact these bloggers and tell them about the award.

7 things about me:

1. My number one thing to know about me is that I love serving the Lord and walking in His ways. It is an incredible journey and I am so thankful He has invited me to join Him on it.
   
2. I never thought I would have kids as a young adult...let me clarify, I didn't WANT kids. Now here I am a full time, homeschooling mommy to two amazing children. I could NEVER imagine my life any other way!
3. My favorite donut is a glazed old fashioned. If you are my friend, remember that, it may come in handy some day! ;0)
   
4. I don't drink coffee...I only like to smell it.
   
5. I drink a cup of green tea every morning! (Refer back to #4 and second half of #2, this woman needs some kind of go juice in the morning!)
6. I love to dance. And I mean LOVE to dance. If things are bad or good and I start to dance before my King, they are always better. It's amazing.
7. If it weren't for hamburgers, I could probably be a vegetarian. But I love me a good hamburger. Blazing Onion is probably top of my list these days. Y.U.M.

Now it's my turn!
The nominees for Stylish Blogger 2011 are:

(Dramatic Pause)

Well..I would have done Got Chai, but Rachel beat me to it. Drats.

A day in the Life too (this is one of my new faves, she's a crackup!)
Pilgrims Welcomed Home (A fellow crewmate from The Old Schoolhouse)
Bramblewood Fashion Super fun modest fashion blog.
Barretts 6 My sweet friend.

Ok, you are supposed to bless 15 blogs...I just don't have that many I frequent! Sorry folks, that is it!!

Keeping it Classy

Sorry, I know it is a bit harder to see our outfits...but we liked this shot of us together on the couch enjoying a book. Atira is wearing a FABULOUS tulle lavender skirt, with her NEW Pacific Northwest Ballet tshirt that says "Cinderella" across the front along with a gold slipper and beautiful artwork. She has over that a cropped purple sweater, white leggings and her cutsey argyle socks, also in lavender. I am casual mama today. Wearing my khaki skirt, brown leggings, pinkish quilted corduroy vest over a dark khaki long sleeve tshirt. What you can't see is my super cute bracelet of pink beads made by my amazingly talented daughter. Perhaps tomorrow we will get some close up shots of our outfits. OH! Who could forget our shoes!? Shoes are a girls best friend...or is that diamonds? Atira has her lovely black ballet slipper shoes and I have another pair of my favorites, my brown Clarks with a criss cross strap on them. So cute, uber comfy and I can trek everywhere in them!

Keeping it Classy

Well, this one is going to be relatively short but sweet. I will do an expanded post tomorrow when I am not totally exhausted. It was an incredible day, I will tell you that much. So, be watching for all the lovely details to come. For now, I wanted to get this quick post in. Atira and I decided to join in a fun little adventure I found on a fellow bloggers site: Bramblewood Fashion. Ashley has decided to start a Keeping it Classy, Modest fashion week. The whole idea is to take a picture of your super cute, super fashionable outfit each day for 7 days and post it to your blog! I thought this was a great idea and after talking it over with my love and very fashionable daughter, we decided to play along. So, here is our Day 1 of Modest Fashion Week:



Here we are, I love my little black dress. I found this great little purple T at the thrift shop and my boots are my favorites, go to kind of boots. They make every outfit look great. The purple tights, well they are just plain fun! You can't tell very well, but I am also wearing a black beret that has sparkles on it...super cute. My sweet girl is in her new polka dot dress, which was a total surprise to her, along with some darling black ballet flats. Her hair was very fun to do, a bit of a fountain pony tail in the back, and a lovely black ribbon was criss-crossed over her head, I wish you could tell in the picture, it really came out so beautiful.

I am so glad to have this time with my daughter, working to be fashionable and at the same time modest. I love the idea of being fashionable, fun AND modest! It can be done! Modesty does not equal frumpy and I want to enjoy fashion as well as impart a sense of modesty to my daughter. I am very much looking forward to this fashion week and sharing this neat experience with one of the most fashionable and modest girls I know, my sweet Atira. ♥

Virtual Nerd

Don't you just love the name? I do. Virtual Nerd. Perfect. Their service is summed up wonderfully in the next line; "Real help in math and science". I would like to add that the phrase is quite accurate. Before I elaborate, I am going to allow Virtual Nerd to "speak for themselves", here is a little snippet of information directly from Virtual Nerd:

"Who We Are...
Virtual Nerd offers online tutoring in math and science to students grades 7-12. Our service is both affordable and convenient, providing help whenever and as much as needed. Using our patent pending Dynamic Whiteboard, each student has a very interactive and personalized learning experience. While watching our pre-recorded videos, they can drill-down for more information and access FAQs, terms and definition to assist in their learning process. Service is available on a subscription plan basis, a 1-month subscription is $49 - multi-month plans are also available."

Well put, and exactly what you will receive! Virtual Nerd is an online tutoring program unlike anything I have ever seen. Simple to use, just type in or look through their content, click a subject and up pops a video. A real human being teacher stands before a white board and draws out your problem, teaching you all the parts and whys of how to solve it. In another corner everything the teacher says is being written down for you to follow along, so you are covering multiple learning styles here!

For my family, we found we did not have a great need for this, as we only needed it a few times with my sons math, so for the price at this point in our life, it would be a bit costly. However, in the future as we get into more difficult concepts, this could be a wonderful addition to our homeschool curriculum. The teachers were upbeat and kept it interesting and no lesson was too long, just to the point and very helpful every time we used it.

Virtual nerd is definitely being bookmarked in my favorites list. And I would not hesitate to share this one with my homeschool community. I could see it being a very valuable tool in our future. Check it out, they offer you a free trial so you can get a "feel" for what it is all about!

Disclaimer: I am a member of the TOS Homeschool Crew. As such I have received this product free of charge in exchange for my honest opinion and review of this product. I have not received any additional compensation for my review.

Atira's Poem

Cute huh? This is Atira holding one of the newest members of our homeschool group. So sweet.

I wanted to share the poem Atira did today, I think it's fabulous.

Atira
Beautiful, funny, happy, stylish
Sibling of Obi
Love of family, animals, dolls, music
Who fears bees, spiders
Who needs to be politer
Who gives gifts to people
Who would like her room re-done
Resident of a pretty house
Roberts

Can I just add, amazing, sweet and incredible daughter....wow.

Dancing Moments

WHAT AN EVENING! This was a most memorable and fun evening and I am ready to repeat it any night of the week! Atira is apart of a most amazing American Girl Club run by a very sweet friend of mine. They are studying Felicity right now and apart of Felicity's life is learning to dance, which of course led to the club having ballroom dancing lessons. I am so thankful this became a family event. We had a wonderful two hour class where we learned Waltz and Swing as well as a circle dance.

It was an absolutely precious time to watch the Fathers and Daughters learning and working together, but you know I had to get a few turns in there myself! Our teacher, Michael, was top notch, he made everyone feel quite comfortable and did a great job in sharing both his passion and talents.

I am so blessed, in our homeschool adventure we have the best adventures and this is definitely one of them. I am thankful as well for such wonderful people in my life that make these adventures possible.

Keep watch, this Sunday we have a tea etiquette presentation....so more pictures and family updates coming!

See-N-Read Review

See-N-Read

I had never heard of this product before we were chosen to review it. Interesting concept, a simple tool to help you maintain focus and help you remember what you are reading. I was excited to give this one a try!

For the purpose of this review I received one paperback size reading tool as pictured above, one paperback tool that is cut out to allow you to highlight and underline and one tool for standard 8 1/2"x 11" paper.

As I used this tool I found myself able to stick to the topic in front of me, I have a bad habit of trying to read ahead of my brain....this really did help me not to do that. I found that I was better able to focus on the topic in the sentence AND retain more of what I have read. What a lovely benefit!

I also gave this tool to my teenage son. He used it while reading and he said he could see the benefits, for example, it helped him focus on the words better, he felt overall it slowed him down. He is an excellent reader, always has been and he does retain much of what he reads, so I am not sure if this is a tool for him, or maybe when he gets to some more intense information that requires a lot more concentration. We will definitely give this a try again in the future on some of our more difficult assignments and see if it helps.

Overall, I would recommend the See-N-Read reading tools. I could easily see how beneficial these simple, compact tools can be. I look forward to personally reading more, with more efficiency and comprehension.

You can find See-N-Read online at their website: http://www.see-n-read.com/ At their website you will find a plethora of information about this product, including research on the benefits of this product, the story behind it and SO much more. You can also find a full product listing. They even have a product for the computer! Prices begin at just $2.99 for a single tool and go up from there, you can buy multiple packs for multiple family members or classrooms.

Disclaimer: I am a member of the TOS Homeschool Crew. As such I have received this product free of charge in exchange for my honest opinion and review of this product. I have not received any additional compensation for my review.

Fit Mommy Friday

Ok, I lost my image...oh well.

So, how did I do? Overall not too bad, but I did not succeed. I ended up sick twice during December, making it very hard to stick to all my elements. The cool thing is I am really craving healthier foods, fruits and veggies while trying to get over the last bits of this sinus infection I had. So, the right amounts of those have not been a problem.

I have not worked out regularly, again because of sickness...but I will get back to it as soon as this is completely over.

I lost some weight, but not my goal of 8 pounds. It was more like 3. Wish it was better, but I am happy for at least going in the right direction!

I did post some of my verses...not every Monday....slacker, no other excuse.

I did drink my water as committed to. YAY!

Overall I would say I am in a better place than when I started and I am so thankful for that and ultimately that is my true goal. To continue on a better path of daily health.

So, for the new year I am kicking things off with a cleanse. I went to my naturopath and got all I needed to begin the cleanse and I will start on Monday. I know how cliche, I did not really plan it that way, I had been planning on a cleanse for a while, the timing just worked out good. So, I will be on a diet of select fruits and veggies, brown rice, lenitls and wild rice, select lean meats, chicken and fish and finally smoothies made with a detox powder of herbs and veggies along with detox herbal supplements. I think this will be a good thing for me, body and mind.

Congratulations to all of you who were in this challenge with me. You all worked hard at improving your health at some level.

May the Lord bless you and protect you in this new year.

Bricks vs. Stones

Genesis 11:3-4 They said to each other, “Come, let’s make bricks and bake them thoroughly.” They used brick instead of stone, and tar for mortar. Then they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves; otherwise we will be scattered over the face of the whole earth.”

Exodus 1:14 They made their lives bitter with hard labor in brick and mortar and with all kinds of work in the fields; in all their hard labor the Egyptians used them ruthlessly.

As we read this week in our Torah portion about the bricks being made by the Israelites, I started thinking about the idea of bricks and the teachings I have heard on them. My favorite, by Rabbi Daniel Lapin, shows us how bricks are man made creations, they are made in such a way that they portray uniformity, mans way of being one, at peace with one another. Bricks are made to fit together and create a monument to the handiwork of man. They are not a reflection of the sovereignty of God. Bricks are what our society wants. Human beings that fit together nicely, building a strong society that looks, thinks and behaves the same, yet taking pride in our diversity, while never judging. A trophy to mankind showing that without a god we can become one, a strong functioning, diverse unit. If only we would all behave according to the standard, a worldly standard, not a godly standard.

I also thought about the process of brick making. Slapping together the mud, sand and straw. Spending hours each day mixing, forming, drying and baking to produce more bricks to become apart of a larger project. A project that was not God's desire in the first place. How often are we caught up in a brick making project, working endlessly toward a goal that in the end has no spiritual significance for us, does not cause us to grow in our walk with the Lord or reflect His light into creation?




1 Peter 2:⁴ As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by humans but chosen by God and precious to him— you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Messiah Yeshua.

Then I thought about stones, as Rabbi Lapin says, stones are made by God. What a contrast. This beautiful picture above shows us the true diversity in stones. They are different sizes, shapes and colors. Stones start off jagged and broken and as they are tumbled about the earth, being washed with water, rolled through sand and tumbling against other stones, they become smooth, polished and beautiful.

As we walk through life, we are also being washed by His word, smoothed and polished. As we have encounters with other people we are being rubbed and our rough spots worn down. As we are caught on someones jagged edge, we must remember that we have them too, we still need smoothing and a forgiving heart as we are being used to smooth the rough spots on our brethren.

Exodus 20:25 If you make an altar of stones for me, do not build it with dressed stones, for you will defile it if you use a tool on it.

The altar was always to be made of stones, never bricks or stones that have had a tool used on them. The tool would be mans way of smoothing the stones, or bricks. And as we know from experience our way is rarely God's way. Allowing Him to create the stones upon which we would offer our sacrifice is the way. He gave us the Living Stone, our Messiah upon Him we can make our sacrifice daily of our own desires, or own way of doing things. Lay down our tools and take up His Torah. His teaching and way of living, so that we can walk in abundant life found in His wisdom.

Stones are what build up the Kingdom of God, bricks are what build up the kingdom of man. Let us be found pleasing in His sight, loving one another and working for His Kingdom.

Fit Mommy Friday - Verse Update

Fit Mommy Friday

Hm, can't seem to find my fit mommy image. So, this is getting done without it!

Here is a much overdo update to the Fit Mommy Challenge. Around the 1st of the month I came down with a cold, by the end of the second week I was mostly over it but had a wonderful case of laryngitis. (wow, I just spell checked that and it was right!! WOO HOO!!) So, that is why I have not been doing my regular check ins. But here is how things went over those couple of weeks.

As I started feeling better I was exercising again, I even went to Zumba which was great fun and will now become apart of my regular routine. I am going to attend class once a week with some of my girlfriends, how fun is that!? I did pilates as well, but I did NOT exercise all through the sickness, which I don't think I should do anyway, so no loss there. I did drink my water, albeit some of that was in the form of copious amounts of tea. But I could not possibly do both regular water and all the medicinal teas or I would never have a chance to lay down and rest! I did eat my fruits and veggies, sometimes that was in the form of orange juice as that was one of the few things I actually wanted to consume during this whole thing, but in my book that counts. Interestingly I found myself craving fruits and veggies throughout this cold. Which is not my personal norm...so that was a wonderful change for me! I did do my no sugar days as well! Which was not easy, but I did it! YAY ME! I did not always maintain my after dinner eating. I would have juice or something like that several nights after, sometimes I had to because of the tinctures I am taking. Does that count? I don't know...but I was not so concerned about it while trying to get better. I was making reasonable choices though. I also have not been keeping up on my bible verse, which I will be posting next. However I have been reading the word more frequently and that makes me very happy.

Now, an update to my update. After my cold was almost all gone I came down with a nasty sinus infection. Ugh. Double whammy. It's been years since I have been sick like this. So, I am now on a new tincture and 5000 mg of vitamin c per day. I am feeling much better today, but will have the doc check me over tomorrow to be sure I am fully on the mend. I am done being sick, time to go bug! I rested all day yesterday, did eat right, did eat later after dinner...but still not doing bad. So, I am hoping later this week to get back to an exercise routine, will start slow but move my way back into the groove.

I am grateful for this challenge, as it has kept me more mindful of how I am doing and what I am doing. Even while being sick I have seen some true positive changes I have made and it feels great.

Off to write a verse for the week! Hope you all are doing great!

Happy Hanukkah!

WHEW, what a week! This was a fabulous Hanukkah! We were SO busy! Started off the events with some lovely nights at home, having dinner, reading the Hanukkah story and of course, eating! We had latkes several nights, they are just so yummy! On Friday night our home fellowship gathered at our house for a Mexican themed Hanukkah party! That was a blast! We had plenty of food, doughnuts included and lots of fun. Max, Jeff's puppet friend made a special appearance to tell us all about what happened to the Maccabees and how they overcame with Gods help. We had a trivia game where chocolate was thrown to the person with the correct answer. We learned how to memorize the 10 commandments as well. We then moved on to some serious dreidel playing and closed out the night watching a Tim Hawkins comedy video. It was a fantastic evening.

We had Grandma Sheila over on Sunday to share an evening with her, light hanukkiahs and then of course she always brings them gifts. As usual, they were totally spoiled.

The week was wonderful, memorable and blessed. It went way too fast...but now my thoughts move forward to the spring when the cycle renews and with it comes more of His wonderful feasts.

Aleks Review

(From the ALEKS website)

What is ALEKS? Assessment and LEarning in Knowledge Spaces is a Web-based, artificially intelligent assessment and learning system. ALEKS uses adaptive questioning to quickly and accurately determine exactly what a student knows and doesn't know in a course. ALEKS then instructs the student on the topics she is most ready to learn. As a student works through a course, ALEKS periodically reassesses the student to ensure that topics learned are also retained. ALEKS courses are very complete in their topic coverage and ALEKS avoids multiple-choice questions. A student who shows a high level of mastery of an ALEKS course will be successful in the actual course she is taking. ALEKS also provides the advantages of one-on-one instruction, 24/7, from virtually any Web-based computer for a fraction of the cost of a human tutor. Math is NOT my strong subject, I love history. I thrive when my children and I are learning about History and so do they. Math is a struggle for us. I was really excited to review ALEKS. I love the idea of someone/thing else teaching my kids math, assessing them and making sure there are no "gaps" in their learning. Gaps, scary word for a homeschool mom. Reality is, there will be gaps, no matter what you do. But thankfully, learning doesn't stop at 18 and they can work their entire lives to fill those beautiful brains with knowledge, and even closing some of those gaps. However, having a program that is so complete that it continually assesses for learning issues, moves them on when ready and keeps records of everything is incredibly appealing. I set my children to work on this program right away, with very high hopes. They both enjoyed the assessment portion, both were happy with this portion. They then saw their pie chart that showed them where they have mastered and what they have yet to learn. Very satisfying, at least for mommy, to see this breakdown. Now I know what needs to be tackled! Not to mention I love to check things off! Let's get that green pie piece filled in!! I feel so accomplished! They liked it too....at least the idea of it. As they got working away, they enjoyed the program, but did have a few hiccups which turned into frustrations as we continued. They understood how to receive instruction by clicking on the explain button. However when they were sent back to the problem they had been working, the problem would be a new one after the explanation was given, they both found this frustrating as they wanted the opportunity to finish the work they had begun. They both needed a fair amount of help from mom throughout the program. They would read the explanations, it was different than the current programs we use, and this caused confusion. And I have to admit, some of the processes they used in the math was different than I had seen. I could understand it, but it was a different and it just added to them not understanding the procedure. I love the idea of the program, I even really liked the program itself. I think for my family it was just not a great fit. ALEKS is available for a wide variety of uses. Homeschool, Public Schools and is available for K-12. They offer free trials, which I would highly recommend as this program could be an excellent fit for you and your children! A subscription to ALEKS is $19.95 per student, per month, or only $99.95 every 6 months, or only $179.95 every 12 months. They also offer family discounts. Wonderful program, user friendly, just like everything it is not a perfect fit for every family or situation. I really enjoyed getting review ALEKS and overall, I think my kids liked it to. Disclaimer: I am a member of the TOS Homeschool Crew. As such I have received this product free of charge in exchange for my honest opinion and review of this product. I have not received any additional compensation for my review.