Spring Fresh and FREEBIES

Are you ready for spring?  I know we are!  It's coming next week!  We've had gorgeous weather here and had our first picnic lunch of the season outside today.

Dandelion Dust Designs is ready for the new season with "Spring Fresh," released today at ScrapTakeout.

Pick up your copy of the kit exclusively at ScrapTakeout.

Grab a couple of free QPs at Mediafire!  Click on images below.  P/U only.

Happy Spring!!

Disclaimer:  I received a free copy of "Spring Fresh" in exchange for layouts.  No other compensation was given, and all opinions are my own.

Vineyard Music - This Is Your Kingdom Come Now

This Is Your Kingdom Come Now is a Vineyard Music worship album recorded live by Casey Corum and Friends.  The Album Bio says:

This dynamic new album features veteran worship leader and songwriter Casey Corum and a cast of friends recorded before a full house over two nights at Corum's home church. Listeners will also be introduced to the powerful voices of Torri Baker (Vineyard Church - Columbus, Ohio) and Crispin Schroeder (Northshore Vineyard - Covington, Louisiana), as well as a 17-voice gospel choir. Threads of R&B, gospel, and modern rock are woven together to create a fresh sound while, at the same time, being deeply rooted in the hallmark Vineyard worship value of intimacy with God. 

True to Vineyard Music style, the album delivers powerful praise music with talented voices and strong lyrics.  The live recording gives you the feel of "being there."  The songs have a driving beat that is not too mellow.  The album is very similar to other Vineyard Praise albums.  It will make a nice addition to any praise/listening playlist.

For more information, see:

Website: http://www.vineyardworship.com

Website: http://caseycorum.net

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DiscoverVineyard

Twitter: https://twitter.com/vineyardmusic

YouTube Channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/vineyardmusic/featured

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received one or more of the products or services mentioned above for free in hope that I would mention it on my blog. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."

Kyle Sherman - Hear Me

Some time ago, I was given the opportunity to review the album Hear Me by singer/songwriter Kyle Sherman.  Released in October 2012, the album has a southern-soul/folk-music yet contemporary feel to it.  The lyrics are meaningful and heartfelt, not plagued with the mindless repetition that can drag down modern praise music.  Some of the songs are somewhat melancholy for me, and I have to be careful what mood I am in when I listen to them, but they always carry a strong message of hope.  Sherman's strong voice and guitar deliver the message powerfully.  While his personal style is present in all the songs on the album, it is refreshing that the songs each also have their own unique style and do not all sound the same.  

Sometimes I really just love to listen to good ol' southern Gospel music, and I loved "Build It On The Rock," written in that genre.  I also loved the young voice of Caroline Simpson in "One True Friend."  The message of hope and healing runs like a continual thread through all of the songs on the album. 

The Album Bio states:

Fort Worth-based singer-songwriter Kyle Sherman recently signed on as the flagship artist to brand new label RayLynn Records, an opportunity that presented itself during a time period when a record deal wasn't even on his radar.
"It's crazy how God works," Kyle says. 'Five years ago, I pushed pretty hard to do my own thing as a singer-songwriter, but every well I approached would dry up. It clearly wasn't the right time." So Kyle continued on a path of leading worship, taking a full-time role as worship leader at Lifechurch.TV's Fort Worth campus under the leadership of renowned pastor/author Craig Groeschel.
Just 3-years later Kyle made it back to Nashville, pouring his heart into a microphone at Sony studio with veteran producer and country singer-songwriter Mark Collie making his first album. God is faithful. Hear Me, the result of those sessions, is an eclectic and authentic mix of rootsy, southern soul.

I highly recommend this album for anyone who loves this type of music, who would like to listen to contemporary praise music that is just a little different from the norm, or who needs this message of healing.

Find more information at:

Website: http://www.kyleshermanmusic.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kyleshermanmusic

Twitter: https://twitter.com/KyleShermanTX

YouTube Channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/RayLynnRecords

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received one or more of the products or services mentioned above for free in hope that I would mention it on my blog. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."

Ancient Egypt Mini-Lapbooks

People have asked me what the difference is between the free lapbook templates that you can download and the unit-study lapbooks that you can buy.  While some lapbook creators have been extremely generous to offer a full unit as a free download, many of the free downloads contain only templates.  You study the subject on your own, and download the templates to cut and paste into the lapbook.  These are very useful for many subjects, and I have gratefully downloaded a number of them.

The difference, however, between those and lapbook unit studies purchased from places like Knowledge Box Central, Homeschool Legacy, and Amanda Bennett's Download 'N' Go is that the unit studies contain what you need to teach that unit.  The unit study itself takes the place of a textbook, or complements a textbook. They usually include book suggestions and links for more information, which I find very helpful.  I am using these types of studies more and more in our homeschool.  I will be explaining more about how we are implementing these in future posts.  For now, I wanted to share our Ancient Egypt Mini-Lapbooks from Knowledge Box Central.  KBC offers a full lapbook (3 folders) and a mini-lapbook, which both contain the same unit study.  There is also a Who's Who in Ancient Egypt Booklet and Notebooking Pages for Ancient Egypt.  I purchased all of these in a bundle with similar resources for Ancient Rome, Ancient Greece, the Middle Ages, and Colonial America.  My 9th-grade son (who has NO interest in doing lapbooks whatsoever) used the high-school level notebooking pages, while my other three kids made the mini-lapbooks.  Rather than taking time to do the full lapbook, we decided to do mini-lapbooks for each of these unit studies, and then put them all together.  We were all able to use the same unit study, along with several library books we had checked out on Ancient Egypt, and do the unit together.

Here are our mini-lapbooks:

Click to download this cover to use with your own lapbook of Ancient Egypt.  Personal Use only.  Elements from "Temples and Tombs" digital scrapbook kit by Scraps-N-Pieces, "Landmarks" by Albums to Remember, and "A Touch of Egypte" by Efie, all S4H/S4O friendly.

The World History Ebook Package is, as of this date, on sale for $46.00, which is a fantastic deal for 13 lapbooks with unit studies plus several other resources.  Click on image for more information.

Happy Lap-booking!  :-)

The Reunion by Rachael McIntire

Four-year-old Rebecca opened the door further to get a better look.  It was then that she noticed a tiny bundle cozily nestled in a wicker basket, the baby's enormous blue eyes peeking through the folds of its blanket into the equally blue skies of the morning.  Rebecca began once again bouncing up and down, clapping her hands together and shouting, "Mommie, she's here, she's here!  Jesus has sent me my little sister!"

The teaser from the back of the book grabbed my attention right away.  You see, when I was 8 years old, I was the child anxiously awaiting the delivery of my own baby brother or sister.  I prayed for it every day, wished the same wish every birthday, and dropped coins in the Wishing Well at Luray Caverns each year, always with the same hope.

This photo of the Wishing Well at  Luray Caverns is courtesy of TripAdvisor

I vividly remember the cold February morning when my parents told me that we were going to take a long drive and pick up my new baby brother!  What an amazing gift from God!

As I continued reading, I had a difficult time continuing to relate to the characters in The Reunion.  I do not know whether or not the author had any actual experience with adoption, but it all seemed too simplistic to me, I think.  I've had many people ask me about how to share information about the experience of adoption with their children - since my brother and I were both adopted - and I do not know that this is a book I would recommend for that purpose.  Obviously, however, the experience is different for everyone.

That said, the little 134-page novel with its strong theme of redemption is a pleasant and quick read that is suitable for the entire family.  Rachael McIntire is a former English teacher who wrote several books for the homeschooled children in her life to enjoy, to give them additional practice reading, and to enforce the family's Christian values.  She enjoys writing, and she has recently begun taking out some of these stories and dusting them off for publication in order to share them with other families.

Writing for my own children and then wanting to share my stories is another theme to which I can definitely relate!

Learn more about Rachael McIntire and The Reunion at Elisha Press.  

Softcover Edition $9.99, free shipping in the USA

Free E-book download for Kindle, tablet, or other e-book reader, free registration required.

Also available at Amazon.

Disclaimer:  I received a copy of The Reunion free of charge in exchange for an honest review.  All opinions are my own.

And the winner is. . .

CONGRATULATIONS to Rochelle for winning my blog giveaway for The Little House That Stood DVD from VeggieTales!!!

Keep checking back for more reviews and giveaways!

If you haven't picked up your own copy of The Little House That Stood yet, here is the information again:

Website: http://veggietales.com/littlehouse/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/veggietales

Twitter: https://twitter.com/veggietales

Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7K65sINFgro&list=UUhddokv0fxIN3BS-KZpxFfA&index=2

Read the DVD review.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received one or more of the products or services mentioned above for free in hope that I would mention it on my blog. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.

The March 2013 Issue of TOS Magazine is available!

Get your FREE digital copy at TOS Magazine.