God Gave Us... Book Reviews!

We were recently sent God Gave Us Love and God Gave Us Christmas by Lisa Tawn Bergren to review and I cannot deny that I really like these books!  We have always been a fan of God Gave Us You and these two books are wonderful additions to our God Gave Us collection!

One of my favorite things about God Gave Us Christmas is that it addresses the Santa issue without bluntly ruining a child's wonder in the magic of Christmas.  Instead it simply redirects children's attention to God and His all-important role in the holiday.  The story is tender and loving- a wonderful book to read before bed and may even make you want to set aside a special time for each of your children to have some one-on-one moments with you this season.

God Gave Us Love is equally as wonderful and a true joy to read.  I think this book is especially good for children with younger siblings (or any siblings at all for that matter) as it emphasizes not only God's love for us but the importance of us showing love to others.  I am really looking forward to using this book during the month of February for a study we are planning to do on the Fruits of the Spirit, but it's theme obviously applies to our whole lives!  I think the message this book imparts can be beneficial for the whole family and could also be used during a family devotional time for little ones.

To grab a copy of these books for yourself you can visit the following pages on Random House:

God Gave Us Christmas

God Gave Us Love

This book was provided by the publisher for honest review.

To find out more about reviewing books for Waterbrook Press, you can go here.

Thanksgiving Weekend!

What a weekend!  To start with, you loved going over to Aunt Michelle and Uncle Rick's house for Thanksgiving!  You and J ran around the house like maniacs and had a blast!  You had so much fun, even if you were not a big fan of the dinner (you don't like "batatoes")!  Here are some picture from the day:

Uncle Broth, just loungin'!

Nana on the computer!  In truth, all of the adults spent a little time on the computer checking out the Black Friday sales!

Papa and Lion Cub just snoozin' away!

On Friday we broke out the Christmas music and decorations and started the festivities!  You were especially excited about the little light -up, ceramic houses and fake snow!  Come to find out, you wanted to make a little village for your trucks to drive through, at which point I had to tell you they were only for decoration.  Sorry to burst your bubble!  You still keep getting out the extra snow though and stuffing it in your trucks!

You espeically loved trying on all of our different Christmas hats!

Here are my other favorite pictures of you over the weekend!

Sweet Brothers!

Your little brother being... well, a little brother!  Or should I say bother?

You and your toy truck.  You insisted I take this picture!  Why, I am not sure!

It was a fun weekend and we are looking forward to many more fun adventures this holiday season!

Tiny Talk Tuesday- December 1, 2009

"Mom!!  "Lion Cub" hit me in the face!!" 
...And so it begins!
(Keep in mind, Lion Cub is 5 1/2 months old!)
  
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In our house we like to focus on the true meaning of Christmas and not focus on Santa bringing gifts.  R-Man has been seeing movies, however, and talking to friends about Santa so he told us the other day that Santa would be bringing him gifts.  Daddy explained that he would be receiving his gifts from mommy and daddy instead and that Santa wasn't real. 

In response he looked at me, rolled his eyes and gave me this look like "Wow- he has no idea what he is talking about!"  Ha!!  His innocence is preserved and his belief in childhood wonder cannot be thwarted!  (Don't tell, but I'm kind glad!  What's a little belief in Santa going to hurt for a three year old?!)

Our Thanksgiving Lapbook

 I know it is a little after the fact, but we had to actually finish our lapbook before I could bring myself to post on it!   It turned out to be a great learning experience (for both of us) and we really enjoyed creating it throughout the month!  I have included photos and a video walking through all of our different components.  There is also a list at the bottom of the post with the resources I used!  Enjoy and please feel free to share any feedback!  I would love to hear your comments and suggestions!

 

 

 

Here is a list of the sites where I found our wonderful resources:
A very comprehensive list on Squidoo
A great little Bingo game on Mes-English.com
Verse cards and other printables on ChristianPreschoolPrintables.com
Dot-to-dots and more at edHelper.com

I found all of our resources through a basic Google Search, so if I left anything out I am sure you will be able to find them easily!  Thanks for taking a gander at our Thanksgiving lapbook!

What I love About You- November 27, 2009

There are so many things I love about you, R-Man, but here are just a few!

-The silly stories you tell!  You have such a wonderful imagination!

-The way you spontaneously tell us that you love us!  It makes everything worth it!

-How much you love trucks and construction equipment!  You know what everything is called and how it works!  You amaze me!

-Your love for hip hop!

-What a snuggle bug you are!   I will never tire of your hugs, kisses and cuddles!

Tiny Talk Tuesday- November 24, 2009

 

R-Man went to Disney on Ice with Nana this past week and on their way home this is what he told her, "Nana my daddy can build ANYTHING!  He can even build a house!!  It's because he has so many tools!"

What I Love About You- November 22, 2009

R-Man I love how generous you are!  You are always sharing with others and it just warms my heart! 

Case in point, this morning you brought me chocolate!  Now granted, I was in the shower and you had snagged a few more chocolate chips than I said you could have, but none the less, you brought your mama chocolate and that will always earn you points!

Keep up the good work little man and never stop being generous and selfless with what you have been blessed with!

PS- And when you are married ALWAYS give your wife chocolate- it is the key to her heart!  :-D