Boy Book!

What a cute engaging book, especially for boys! We stumbled upon Truck Stuck at our library time last week, and took it home since Jonah is recently fascinated with the vehicles! Sallie Wolf tells the story of a big truck which gets stuck under a "viaduct" in a little neighborhood off the highway. Children are engaged with the story by mostly 2-3 word catchy phrases that rhyme with each other. It's fun to see how the traffic (workers going to their respective jobs) behind the truck passes the time and emotions are transformed from anger and impatience to smiles and friendship. Great book for teaching about "community helpers".

Baby Bites...Sweet Butternut Squash

Check out this "baby bite" that Jonah loves!

It's great for dipping apple slices in,

or enjoying by the bowlful with lunch or dinner

(great food for babies, kids, and adults alike...so yummy!)

Put in pot:
1 butternut squash, peeled, de-seeded, and cubed
Cover with water and boil 'til very tender; drain.

While still hot, add
2-4 T. butter
generous sprinklings of cinnamon and nutmeg
brown sugar, to your taste
(try evaporated cane juice, coconut sugar, or honey to be real healthy!)

Puree (with a regular or stick blender)

Enjoy!

"Little Star" Christmas tale points to the True Light

Little Star, by Anthony DeStefano, is a fictional Christmas tale about the star which hung over the stable at Jesus' birth. I would really enjoy reading this story to a preschooler or young elementary school child! The story is from the perspective of a Dad telling his son the story of "the Christmas star", a lonely and ignored star. While watching the Christmas story unfold on earth, realization of Jesus' message and identity causes this small star to experience something extraordinary. I love the mix of fictional elements and biblical facts that this story contains, and how the conclusion of Little Star's story is a picture of Jesus giving His life for us. Children can learn from this story the meaning of the star on our Christmas trees! My favorite part of the illustrations are the pictures of Joseph, Mary, and baby Jesus as well as the variety of expressions on the stars faces! I would recommend buying this book for your child! You can find it on amazon.com for a great price!


*I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review.

Check it Out...A sweet kitty book!

Sometimes I don't know where to start when checking out library books, because there are SO many choices! My goal is to once in a while on this blog, write a review for a good picture book that we've found!

Today I am happy to bring you Rumble Tum, by Stephanie True Peters. As the front cover suggests, the book is full of soft dreamy illustrations, that give you a warm cozy feeling as you read! Even though I got this book out for a preschooler, I think that's one of the reasons my son Jonah is captivated by the kitty in this book! The illustrator also uses light in a special way in many of the pictures.

Rumble Tum is the story of a little girl, Beth, who adopts a kitty and tells him periodically as a refrain in the story, "I just love, love, LOVE you!". The story follows her as she cares for, trains, and enjoys her new kitten, 'til one day little Rumble Tum goes missing. Check out this book to find out if the little farm girl finds her furry purry friend!

Teach Me While My Heart is Tender...

What is the most important thing we as parents teach our children? To be full of knowledge? To be safe and healthy? Should we focus mostly on having them be “good”…respectful, honest, and kind? Or perhaps train them to be successful in society? While these are all necessary parts of child-rearing, the single most important thing we must teach them is about God and His Word.

“You shall teach them diligently to your sons and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up.” Deuteronomy 6:7

That is why, even though Jonah is only 12 months old, he has been learning the very first catechism questions (“Who made you, Jonah? 'GOD!'”), and he is listening to songs like, “My God is so Great”. That is why we are reading the Bible to him and teaching him how to pray. Why it is so critical that we teach him how to obey with a cheerful heart, control his anger, and respect when Daddy and Mommy tell him something. It is why we are teaching him the difference between right and wrong in this wicked world.

Why are we doing this? Is it because this is “our religion”? Is it because our church requires these things? Is it so that we can check the right things off a list of what “good parents” teach their children?

No, it is because we are seeking to train his mind and heart to obey and follow Jesus. We are told in the Bible that every person is born a sinner, deserving eternal punishment. We want to point little Jonah's mind and heart the direction of Christ, the only One who can save his sins and grant him eternal life in heaven!

We as parents are helpless to DO anything to secure our children a place in heaven and save them from their sins. So we must diligently train and teach, and most importantly we must PRAY that God will be pleased to give them repentance and faith to trust in His death on the cross for their sins and cause them to LOVE Him with all their heart! That is why my mom recently told me that she prays daily for my husband and I as we raise Jonah. And it is why my husband and I pray daily for Jonah's never-dying soul.

The most important issue in his life, and in the life of every child, is that they come to know Jesus Christ as their Savior. May God be pleased to answer prayers to that end and give all of us as parents wisdom to teach them the ways and Word of God!

“For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, not as a result of works...” Ephesians 2:8

Can I Have a Quiet Minute?

It was the end of a long day.

Toys all over the floor, baby teething, Mama tired.

I needed to go use the bathroom...

Shut the door, and sighed for a moment of quiet solitude.

Then...

Bang bang.

In a split second, there he was,

banging on the door with baby fists,

jabbering for Mama.

And as I put my head in my hands,

I couldn't help but say,
"Thank you, God!"

I waited all my life to be a mommy,

to have a little person who needed me.

And that sweet day has come!

God Gave Us So Much...

God Gave Us So Much is a "limited-edition three book treasury" by Lisa Tawn Bergren. Once again, WaterBrook Press has given us a beautifully bound and illustrated hardcover children's book. The three tales in this treasury, through the eyes of a polar bear family, extol the goodness of God in giving us our world, love, and heaven. In each story there is a good mix of animal science facts, fun elements, as well as biblical truths.

The first book, God Gave Us the World, is definitely my favorite. The polar bears explore their polar bear zoo, and discuss the diversity God has created, and why God has given us our wonderful world. It would be very easy to draw parallels between the story, and human life. In the second book, God Gave Us Love, the polar bear cub and his daddy discuss human and divine love, and how God's love helps US to love even when it's hard. This book seemed a little "surfacey" to me, so it was my least favorite.
I love that the third book, God Gave Us Heaven, helps kids see that heaven will be indescribably better than things on this earth that they love and find comfort from. There is a good bit of the story that touches on biblical concepts, but there are a couple instances that I do not believe are biblically accurate and/or incomplete (related to who goes to heaven, and the gospel message). But if you use the story to help your kids get excited about heaven, and use the Bible to correct the errors/incompleteness, then it is a sweet story.

There is ALOT of dialogue in the stories, and sometimes you can't tell who is talking. I do not like that she used the exclamation "shoot". The wording is simple, fun, and engaging, and yet they throw in vocabulary words like "capable", "faith", and "reunion", which is great! Not only do the stories help children to worship God because of His goodness, but they also teach other godly traits like kindness, selflessness, stewardship, love, and wisdom.

I would recommend the book "God Gave Us the World." You can find the treasury or the individual books on amazon.com. They make great gifts!

*I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review