A Little Faith Can Move A Mountain

"I've seen dreams that move the mountain,
Hope that doesn't ever end,
Even when the sky is falling.
I've seen miracles just happen,
Silent prayers get answered,
Broken hearts become brand new!
That's what faith can do!"

-Kutless

My oldest daughter, now seven, was picking out this tune on the piano this morning and it hit me again, SHE is my dream come true! I remember after my tubal reversal and suffering a miscarriage hearing this song by Kutless and it brought me so much more hope. I would work hard to raise the three amazing boys God had already blessed me with but I would not give up on my dream to have a daughter. I remember looking out at the White Mountains of New Hampshire as I drove my son to another baseball game.

     I was thinking about how this song tells us our faith can move mountains.

Well, I don't think my faith actually moved THIS mountain but it did overcome fear and doubt. The day God gifted me a precious baby girl I had prayed so hard for was a dream come true for me.

Every baby is a precious miracle and gift from God. Some gifts arrive, however, after a long walk in the desert of the unknown.

What dream has God placed in your heart that you have yet to see fulfilled? I believe if it is your dream and doesn't go against God's will, your dream is God's gift to you and only He will fulfill it when He knows you are ready to receive it! Often we are the ones standing in our own way of receiving the very thing we are longing for! 

"But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well."
                                                                                                                                      Matthew 6:33

Clothed With Thunder by Vicki Watson Book Review, Gift Ideas, and Lapbook Horse Study

I had the chance to review one of Vicki Watson's new books Carrie and Bandit and I couldn't wait to read the next book in the Sonrise Stable series with my girls.

INTRODUCING.....

Sonrise Stable: Clothed With Thunder

This is Book 3 in a Series of 4 from the Sonrise Stable series.

A little bit about the book from the website...

"After sitting through a 4-H demonstration on the evolution of the horse, Rosie and Carrie are determined to present the arguments for creation at the club’s next meeting. The demonstration proves harder to put together than they imagined as everyone offers the girls their opinions. The lessons Rosie learns about creation extend into her life in surprising ways as she faces her old adversary, Billy King, who cheated her out of her first trophy with her pony, Scamper."

About the Author: Vicki Watson

My love of horses began when a teenage neighbor offered me my first ride, on the back of her horse. From my 8-year-old perspective, it seemed like the biggest horse in the world. From that moment on, I was addicted. Horses were to become a very important part of my life, although I never could have imagined, at the time, how much God would teach me about Himself and my relationship to Him through these wonderful animals.

The Sonrise Stable series combines my love of God and horses in stories that I hope will help children learn more about both. I have a vision for ten initial books in the series, taking the main characters through one year. Beyond that I'll see where God leads me.

I have been blessed with three daughters and homeschooled each of them through high school. I enjoy trail riding my Rocky Mountain mare, Nikki, hiking, photography, and playing guitar. I work from home as a computer programmer and enjoy the variety and flexibility that allows.

Here is a fantastic trailer to the book. It is very informative and presents wonderful illustrations on the design of horses and how they could not have evolved.

                                    

My Thoughts:

My girls and I were excited to receive the next book in the Sonrise Stable series. This book picks up where the last book left off leaving us delighted to learn how the grandmother was healing from her trail riding accident. This book also jumps right into a heated discussion when the two homeschooled girls, Rosie and Carrie have to sit through a 4-H presentation that focused on evolution. I thought the author did a wonderful job weaving truth into the story as we follow the girls and their progress in presenting their own clever 4-H presentation. There are several life lessons learned as the girls are involved in their parent's decision to attend an auction to buy a new farm and Rosie learns to overcome some hard feelings against an old enemy. The end of the book gives great definitions to dive deeper into the topic of horses and how they are clearly designed by God. The author also gives a website where the reader can learn even more about creation truths. I would recommend this book for any young girl who loves Jesus and horses! Such a great little book!

Oh, and if you check out the Sonrise Stable website you'll see they sell t-shirts and jewelry to go along with the books! Last year I bought their heart shaped locket like the one in the Carrie and Bandit book. I think this necklace would be a great gift to go along with this book if someone were to gift the book to a young girl.

It's labeled as "Blue Ribbon Necklace" and you have to get to the end of the story to know why it is such a fitting necklace to go along with this book! Sorry, I just can't give you anymore details...you have to buy the book yourself! 

Or this t-shirt would make a great gift too!

Purchase your copy today directly from Sonrise Stable here or Amazon.

Like Sonrise Stable Books on Facebook here.

Follow on Twitter here.

You can also subscribe to Vicki's Youtube channel here.

And a homeschooling side note: (because we homeschoolers are always ready to take this to the next level), I found this great little lapbook on sale at Currclick through Free Homeschool Deals just as we were finishing this book. The discount may have expired but at $8 it is quite an in depth lapbook study of horses and worth the price.

Topics include:

All About Horses, Safety on Horses, The Colorings of Horses, Weaning a Foal, Caring for a Horse, Measuring a Horse: “Hands,” The Stall, Accessories For A Horse, Branding, Cowhands, Roundups, Horse Fun Fact, Requires 2 folders.

  Just click this link to get your own!

I received a free copy of this book to review. I was not required to write a positive review nor was I compensated in any other way. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the FTC Regulations. I am part of The CWA Review Crew.

Carrie and Bandit by Vicki Watson Book 2 in Sonrise Stable Series

Christian Horse Books For Children

I have been reading and reviewing a lot of great inspiring Christian books recently but when I found that I had the chance to review a Christian book written for homeschooling families about horses I jumped at the chance to be on the review team!
I had the opportunity to review the second book in the series of Sonrise Stable: Carrie and Bandit by Vicki Watson.

"The Sonrise Stable series is the heartwarming, continuing story of an extended homeschooling family as they live, learn, and love together. Mixing adventure, life lessons, and realistic horse experiences, the series is a must for readers who enjoy family values, Christian faith, and, of course, horses!"

Carrie and Bandit continues where Rosie and Scamper left off.

Carrie can't believe it—she has a horse of her own and is only weeks away from being adopted by the most loving family she's ever known. But Bandit is harder to manage than she first imagined—and the adoption might not go as smoothly as she thought either. When a bad decision jeopardizes everything, Carrie learns what it means to be forgiven and truly loved.

Scriptural themes: Our adoption as children of God, Romans 8:14-17

Read an excerpt from Carrie and Bandit

My Thoughts:

My daughters and I really loved this book, the second in the series. I loved the fact that the girls in the story were homeschooled and my own daughters could relate to them. My daughters also love horses but we do not own a horse. The author, Vicki Watson weaves her real experiences with riding and training horses right into the stories so we found it was a lot of fun to learn more about horses as the story unfolded!

I also loved the story line in this book. Carrie is preparing to be adopted into a new family. Just as Carrie can compare adopting a new horse to her own adoption into a new family, we could compare the book and being adopted into God's family through the shed blood of Jesus Christ!

There is an important part of the story that occurs, I won't give it away here, but this really impacted my daughter. She is only five but could relate to the sin that was committed. Being able to read about a character's flaws and how the circumstances are resolved Biblically and lovingly really helped my daughter to see that everyone makes mistakes but we can be forgiven!

I was checking out the Sonrise Stable website and I saw that there were some fun contests my daughters could enter and that they also sell jewelry to go along with the books!

I am thinking of purchasing this necklace to go along with this book for my daughter. This necklace plays an important part in the book and I know it will have significant meaning to my daughter as she was really impacted by this story.

This book is a great read. Young girls ages 8-12 would have a wonderful time reading this on their own. My girls are five and three so I read the book to them but it this made our reading time all the more enjoyable. A good Christian, homeschooling tale about horses and adoption into God's Kingdom!

Here we are reading Carrie and Bandit.

I think this book would make a wonderful Christmas gift when bundled with a piece of jewelry too!

Sonrise Stable Website

Follow Sonrise Stables on Twitter.

Purchase the book here or at Amazon.

ISBN: 978-0984724215 | List Price: $9.95 | Format: Softcover | Page Count: 149

I received a free copy of this book to review. I was not required to write a positive review nor was I compensated in any other way. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the FTC Regulations. I am part of The CWA Review Crew.

Why I Like To Wear Skirts and Some Thoughts on Modesty

Here I am in my lovely new skirt, compliments of my Mom.
This was taken back in May.
I've lost about 18 lbs of pregnancy weight here.
The skirt is light weight and a fun color. My son thought I should start doing a Hawaiian dance when he saw me wearing it!

Whenever my mom is out and about she searches and often finds the most lovely skirts for me! I love to wear skirts now. They have been the perfect transition during and after my pregnancy. Because I have been breast feeding for nearly five years straight I also wear shirts that I can easily breastfeed in.

With a houseful of boys I also have been becoming increasingly more aware of how I dress around my teenage sons. Along with the fact I have two little girls watching every move I make. My girls love to wear dresses too!

We put on our dresses and head off to run errands. Almost every outing lends a wonderful compliment and a question as to why we're all dressed up! No reason, we enjoy being feminine! We are girls so we want to dress like girls! My husband loves it when my girls and I are all wearing our dresses!

In the summer months, skirts and dresses are the only way to dress!

So lest you think we are of some strange religious homeschooling order where I am forced to wear skirts by my church or my husband, I wear skirts because I like them! I don't feel fat in them, I can move about rather easily in a skirt, and I'll tell you a little secret....

The number one reason I found to where a skirt....

I respect myself! 

(It also can bring out the chivalry in old men. Sometimes when they see me approaching a door wearing a skirt, they will stop to open it for me. If you ever wanted to try this as an experiment for all of you who don't wear skirts, I dare you! It's quite delightful to see a man take a few extra quick steps to grab a door for you! Now this is not done in disrespect to my husband or with total disregard for my marriage, this is about RESPECT.)

Take a listen to this video below, it explains what I'm talking about.

(Here is a little background on it.)

He begins with a recent study done by Princeton of what happens to men's brains while viewing women with little clothing on. The study done is very revealing (pun intended) that women who dress modestly allow men to see them for more of who they are and not just for their bodies. Something in a man's brain actually turns off when he sees a woman wearing little clothing. Take a listen, it's less than four minutes long but definitely worth viewing.

 

When practical, wear pants. As often as I can, I wear a skirt!

Moving into the colder Fall and Winter months, I've lost more of my "baby" weight and can fit back into my jeans and pants again. You can read about my journey here.  Even though I can fit back into my jeans better than ever I still long to wear my skirts. Raising Homemakers has a great blog post on how she wears her skirts year round. Adding long socks and fun leggings are great ideas. I think I will try using some of her techniques!

 

"I also want the women to dress modestly, with decency and propriety, adorning themselves, not with elaborate hairstyles or gold or pearls or expensive clothes, but with good deeds, appropriate for women who profess to worship God." 1 Timothy 2:9-10

Just some thoughts to ponder!

3-Ring Binder Fairy Dollhouse

Homeschoolers LOVE binders! They are the heart of homeschooling and keeping track of our kids' work. But this is one of my favorite uses for a 3-ring binder yet!

My almost 5 year-old daughter was recently invited to a birthday party for her friend. My daughter bought a little fairy doll from the dollar store (with her own money) and I made a fairy binder dollhouse for the fairy doll!

I first got the idea for this binder dollhouse from Southern Disposition. Click on over there for the whole tutorial on how to make this. I will show you what I came up with though.

I started with a plain white 1 inch binder from Wal-mart.

Next I glued some green colored scrap booking paper right into the binder using my hot glue gun.

This is to cover the 3-ring binder and hide the rings from view.

(My last binder dollhouse I used fabric to cover the rings. I thought I would try paper this time and I thought it worked just fine.)

Here is a photo of one side glued down.

Here is what the front of the 3-ring binder dollhouse looks like personalized!

I let my daughter help place the letters for her friend's name as well as add some stickers.

I finished the binder cover by adding marker outlining and labeling.

Then I just placed the 8 1/2" by 11" paper inside the front binder pocket!

For the back I used some scraps of scrap booking paper and a photo of a fairy tree house just for fun!

And now the view of the inside....

"Fairy F'ee" now has a lovely home!

On the left is her bedroom made from a "bird's nest". I used scrap booking paper that looked like hay layered underneath sheets of colored tissue paper I cut into leaf shapes and glued on. A scrap booking "stamp" makes a nice wall hanging and another scrap booking paper makes a nice "clock".

A friendly bird (another sticker) watches over the nest. An acorn makes a nice pillow for Fairy F'ee and a leaf is a great blanket!

On the right is Fairy F'ee's dining room as she looks out onto the open meadow through her fairy tree home! I made a table out of a postcard and chairs out of keys and button scrap booking stickers. Some other fun stickers for silverware and other natural elements to decorate the rest of the room and the fairy dollhouse binder is complete!

If you missed my other post on 3-ring binder dollhouses, you can read here my first attempt!

Let me know if you try this, I'd love to see how others use their binders to make dollhouses!

Growing Great Kids By Kate Battistelli-My Review

When I first joined the CWA Review Crew, one of the first book titles that jumped out at me was this book by Kate Battistelli, called Growing Great Kids. The title indeed caught my eye at first, but it was the subtitle that made me sign up to review it, "Partnering with GOD to cultivate His purpose in your child's life". As a mother of six children ranging in age from 16 to 6 months I am always on the look out for great reads to help me be a better mom to my blessings! When the book finally arrived I was really excited to begin, until I shared it with a couple of friends. They were skeptical. "Growing Great Kids? How does this woman think she can write a book on growing great kids when she only had ONE daughter who just happens to be the one and only Dove Award-winning, Grammy-nominated recording artist, Francesca Battistelli?"

 Okay, those weren't their EXACT words but I knew what they were thinking. I was thinking it too...I've even been found saying this a time or two...
"Back when I only had ONE child I was certain that I was THE perfect parent! Thank the Lord my second son came along to put me in my place!"
Raising children is not easy, but raising only one child is A LOT easier. You have more time to devote to that one life. I have to share myself with seven other souls (including my husband). Well, if you are like me, thinking what does this Kate Battistelli have to teach me about growing great kids because she only had one child?, then you would be WRONG. I thoroughly enjoyed this book!

Kate Battistelli offers wonderful insight, humor, and inspiration to dream big dreams for each one of the children God has gifted us with. She explains, "Successful adults don't happen by accident. It takes wisdom to raise your children with a strong sense of their destiny in God and a deep knowledge of their gifts and callings".

 I really enjoyed how Kate wove stories of raising her daughter Francesca to become the amazing Christian singer she is today to share her points in growing great kids. She even shares some of the stories behind her daughter's songs that came from real life incidents where Francesca learned some life lessons. "Got a couple dents in my fender..." I was impressed how much Kate would press in and pray for specific things for her daughter, including for her daughter to win a Dove award and Grammy nominations. She covered her daughter in prayer! When Kate needs more support for her advice she relies heavily on quotes from friends who parented more than one child. This makes for a wonderful read as she reveals her own shortcomings and failures and becomes very vulnerable with the reader even as she encourages us to dig in deeper and do the hard task of raising up kids for God's kingdom. She quotes many scripture verses, but I loved this particularly, 1 Corinthians 15:58 "Therefore, my beloved brethren, be firm (steadfast), immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord [always being superior, excelling, doing more than enough in the service of the Lord], knowing and being continually aware that your labor in the Lord is not futile [it is never wasted or to no purpose]."

My favorite chapters were "Gifts and Callings", "The Power of a Parent's Words", "Prayer, the Essential Ingredient", and "Common Parenting Traps". If you are looking for a wonderful parenting book to inspire you to be a better parent in order to grow great kids you need to own this book! Kate has written prayers at the end of each chapter to pray for our kids. They are, in my opinion, worth every penny of this book. She has inspired me to get a notebook and to begin praying BIG dreams for my own children, to be diligent in prayer, purposeful, specific, relentless, ever pursuing God's calling, seeking after God with all my heart for my kids! You can purchase your own copy over at Amazon or Barnes and Noble ISBN: 967-1-61638-654-2 | List Price: $14.99 | Format: Softcover | Page Count: 238

Here is Kate's interview talking about her book.

 Disclosure:  I received a free copy of this book/Ebook/Product to review. I was not required to write a positive review nor was I compensated in any other way. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the FTC Regulations. I am part of The CWA Review Crew.

TITL Apparel, Christian Boutique-My Review!

I recently had the pleasure of reviewing a fabulous company called TITL! TITL apparel exists to bring honor and glory to God and our savior Jesus Christ. TITL stands for Trust in The Lord and is more than a company to its founder, Stephanie Osborn, it is her ministry. She followed God's leading to recognize that there was a market for Christian apparel that had the high quality, feel and look of a designer, that also provides a platform for ministry. TITL, Christian Apparel was born!

For my review, I first had to head over to their website, TITL Apparel. I found the website to be quite easy to navigate. I found you can browse their products by scrolling over the word "Menu". Here the website has the products categorized by men's and women's clothing, jewelry, and even women's handbags! I was asked to choose either a shirt or a necklace and so I found a necklace I fell in love with, the Sterling Silver Christian Cross.

When my package arrived I could tell quite a bit of care and devotion was put into this necklace for delivery. It came wrapped in lovely purple tissue paper inside a special little bag made of shimmering tulle with drawstrings. A beautiful handwritten card from Stephanie really made me feel special and I knew instantly that this piece of jewelry was precious to her as well!

The TITL website describes this necklace as "Sterling Silver Christian Cross adorned with Amazonite and Sterling Silver Beads. Sterling Silver Long and Short Chain. Sterling Silver Toggle closure. 32”. Assembled with love in Nevada. Style 01-007." When my necklace arrived I could tell how this was "assembled with love." There are so many special details in this necklace! I love the sterling silver toggle closure with it's mini TITL tag.

Here is a picture up close.

The Amazonite stones are just gorgeous! I also love toggle closures. Once you know how to use them they are so simple and when I wore this I never had any fear that the necklace would come unclasped. Because of the size of the clasp I found it fairly easy to find when readjusting the necklace, although it never bothered me and I never felt it was there.

The sterling silver cross is beautiful. I found it to be a bit larger than I was expecting but as I wore the cross I loved to grasp it and hang onto it and let my fingers run over the intricate silver design, remembering how much it cost God to send His Son to die on the cross. I really treasure this piece! Here it is close up!

In my card, Stephanie described this necklace as having an asymmetrical line. I was a bit unsure about this design as I generally like my jewelry to be symmetrical! 

Here it is on me, asymmetrical.

Another view!

I wore the necklace to church yesterday and got some wonderful compliments! The ladies that complimented me wanted to touch the beautiful Amazonite stones and one wanted to see the clasp and how it worked. 

Another photo with the cross in view.

As you can see this is not a simple necklace! It is more of a centerpiece! My daughters LOVED it too! They wanted to know where I got it from and if it was my birthday! They took turns wanting to wear this necklace until I told them it was not a toy but "very special" and I had to put it away! I shared this with Stephanie on her Facebook page and I loved her comment:  " It is so nice to hear the special effect of that necklace. Purity of children is amazing...purity attracts purity. Have a happy day." 

That is what I really love about this company! Stephanie's blog is such a source of encouragement that goes way beyond her products. Her products are her tools to spread the message of Christ! I never would have connected "purity" with my daughters fighting over a necklace! But she is right, the necklace is special and when we keep our hearts for God we are setting ourselves apart and keeping ourselves pure before Him. Special equals pure and God is so worthy of our efforts to learn more about these qualities and teach them to our children.

So I've gone way over my review of this necklace, but I was completely moved that this was way more than just a necklace! It is a truly special work of art, from the heart of Stephanie and her company!

When I learned how much this necklace cost I was not surprised. It is well worth the $164. Knowing that a significant portion of the proceeds goes toward "seeking and saving the lost" makes this so much more worthy of my money as there is added value to the purchase! 

In her own words, Stephanie shares on her BLOG, 

"Please know that product pricing for TITL Apparel is at or below secular retailers pricing for like or exact items.  I take great care and invest much time verifying TITL Apparel is a great value."

If you are looking for a special gift for a special someone, head on over to TITL Christian Apparel! You'll be glad you did!

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not to your own understanding"

Proverbs 3:5


 Disclosure: I received a free product to review. I was not required to write a positive review nor was I compensated in any other way. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the FTC Regulations. I am part of The CWA Review Crew.

3-ring Binder Dollhouse Complete! "Camp Dobsee"

Southern Disposition had this wonderful tutorial on how to make a little girl's portable dollhouse out of a 3-ring binder. This looked like the perfect summer project for my daughter and I as we head for our annual family vacation to a family camp! My daughters love to play with their little dolls, this is a fun, creative, and portable way to enhance their fun! (Inexpensive too! We just used stuff I already had on hand!)

We started with a plain white 1 1/2 inch binder.

We cut out the binder cover from some leftover lace. When I say left over, I mean, left over. This lace is from when I used to make bunnies back in eh hem... 1995. I found it in a box and it is in perfect condition!

Here is the 3-ring binder covered with lace. I used hot glue instead of taking the time to sew seams. It worked pretty well.

We then just decorated the inside with left over scrapbooking papers and stickers.

My daughter got a little carried away with the stickers, but I figured it was her book anyway I would let her do what she wanted with it! The left side is the lakeside at my mother-in-law's camp. Here we go fishing, swimming, canoeing, roast marshmallows, snorkeling, and have picnics as seen by all the stickers! The right side is the inside of my mother-in-law's camp. I even had a piece of scrapbooking paper that looks like the particle board walls of camp! It's supposed to look like the kitchen with mirror on the wall, cabinets, sink, and even storage hidden under fabric curtains, just like at camp!

Here is my  4 year-old daughter setting up her dolls to play with her new dollhouse "Camp Dobsee".

And here is her younger 2 year-old sister getting in on the fun too!

They have to share for now, but I can see more binder dollhouses in our future!

3-Ring Binder dollhouse

Southern Disposition has this wonderful tutorial on how to make a 3-ring binder dollhouse for your little girl!

I want to make one for my girls to take to camp next week. We often end up recycling card board boxes while we are at camp, this looks like so much fun!

We Call It "School"

Our back yard is nice...

But their back yard is more fun!

You can fly a plane!

Or drive a truck!

Or a tractor!

Make a friend!

Stay awhile...

And sit and and talk with some chicks!

Have a picnic lunch...

Savor every bite!

Have a special treat!

Smile!

These are the moments..

we cherish.

And then go home and talk about our day and call it "school"!