Book Review of Bible Stories for Little Children

Sophia Institute Press sent me a complimentary copy of this book to review.

Bible Stories for Little Children is an excellent introduction to Sacred Scripture. The stories are broken up int bite-sized chunks that are perfect for reading before bedtime or prayers, or what-not. The language is simple but elegant, filled with endearing phrases such as "dear children." It carries a childlike wonder for the events of scripture, told in simple terms. There are a few larger words, but these can easily be explained and could be helpful for expanding vocabularies. There is a in-depth treatment of many of the stories from both the Old and New Testaments of the Bible. Sometimes a sentence or two show up at the end of a story to help connect them with the other stories and other traditions of our faith. The chapters are all listed in the table of contents, along with page number, to make it easy to find a particular story.

The only drawback I have found is that nowhere does it specify for what age group this book is intended. My five-year-old enjoys the stories, but gets a little restless. My younger children (ages 2 and 3 years) do not have the patience to listen to stories this long with so few pictures. However, I am hopeful that as they get a little older, this will become a much more favored tomb in our household library.

This review was part of Sophia Institute Press's Books for Bloggers program.

My Husband IS AMAZING!!

This picture probably does not look like much to you. It is not exactly a fancy new sink or anything but if I had taken a picture of the old one before he ripped it out, you would be just as impressed and excited as I am - trust me! :)




New Sink

New Drain

New Faucet



ONE amazing husband



And this was just one of the MANY MANY projects he got done this weekend (without my asking/nagging/reminding in ANY form). Yes, yes, he is TRULY amazing. I love you, Gordie!! :)

State Fair

We had a REALLY good time at the State Fair. Big THANKS to Grandma and Nana for helping wrangle all the kiddos! We were blessed to have my two nieces, Julianna and Brooklyn, with us as well. Notice the absence of men - they were off hunting pigs in Texas.

Group shot at the very beginning (minus me)

L-R back row: Grandma, Nana

middle row: Paul Brooklyn, Rebekah, Julianna

front (stroller): Jacob, Samuel

Julianna and Jacob playing at the splash park

more Julianna and Jacob playing at the splash park

Rebekah playing at the splash park

Rebekah all wet

my niece Julianna on the Sky Lift

Samuel on the Sky Lift

view from the Sky Lift

more view from Sky Lift

fried oreos

surprisingly not that bad, but I probably would not have ordered them on my own

(someone actually gave them to us - bizzare, I know - don't worry, no one died)

Jacob, happily eating pizza (he gets more happy as he gets tired)

more Jacob

Rebekah enjoying the pizza

going home - grumpy faces

Rebekah would not stand with the others or look at the camera

Paul asleep on the ride home

Jacob on the ride home

Samuel & Rebekah totally crashed out - they all slept the whole way home and then for another 40 min or so as I unloaded the car - I finally had to wake Jacob up to bring him inside.

Small Successes Part 1

Ok, I'll jump on the bandwagon here - I feel like celebrating.

1. I really tried to implement my new schedule today and got my floor mopped on time this afternoon and oh it looks so nice!! Who would have known I really could do that in 15 min? Giving myself a set time to do things really gives me an energy boost - I'm calling it done in 15 min so I better get as much as I can finished before it is time to move on.

2. I have read at least three books with each kid (together or separate - their choice) every day this week.

3. I started up a weekly holy hour again (once again, trying to implement the new schedule this week) and I only wish it could be more like a holy half day, or maybe a daily holy hour because it was such bliss, to just be quiet before the Blessed Sacrament. Oh and bonus, I just happened to still be there when a few other parents get together and pray a weekly Rosary for family life! Could it get any better?

And of course, if you want to share your successes as well or check out those of many many others click over to the successes page at the Faith and Family website.

Blessings!

The Rule. . . part 1

So I finally have SOME of my Rule done. Here is our schedule (daily and by week). It makes me happy, but. . . Paul trumps all, so if he is fussy it goes out the window in a flash. But like all things I guess it is really a work in progress. In any case, it is in the routines where the magic really happens. I gotta get those cleaned up and posted. I'm hoping they will make everything smoother for the kids, too.

More Paul

Almost 4 months old. . .

(our part-Asian baby - just kidding :)

Yes?. .

That's hillarious!

Shhhhhh . . . baby sleeping