Wordless Wednesday–December 7–Making Pizza

 

Guess I’m not needed anymore…

~S

Linking up at:

Book Review–Invasion by Jon S. Lewis

From the publisher:
Colt McAlister is drawn into a war against things he thought only existed in comic books.
After a car wreck takes the lives of his parents, Colt moves to Arizona to stay with his grandfather. There, an informant tells him that his parents were actually murdered because his mom, a journalist, was getting ready to write a story exposing Trident Industries.
Along with Oz and Danielle, his new comrades at Chandler High, Colt vows to uncover the truth. But the more they learn, the more bizarre reality becomes. Mind control, jet packs, and flying motorcycles only scratch the surface of what they discover.
Colt is recruited by a secret organization called the Central Headquarters Against the Occult and Supernatural. But the battle isn't just against an out-of-control giant corporation. A gateway to another world is opening, and the invasion has already begun.
I enjoy a good light sci-fi book. Usually that means I pick up teen fiction when I want this genre of book. Invasion by Jon Lewis definitely fits the bill. Aliens, conspiracy, comic books, yep, definitely teen sci-fi.
This book was an easy read, but also had a lot of depth to the main characters and the story line. It was fast paced and action oriented. It’s classified as Christian, and I enjoyed that part as well. It wasn’t overdone, but a good overview of the main character, Colt’s, struggle to find God in the midst of his difficult circumstances.
I am excited to read the next book, but this book could easily stand on its own.

~S
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book in exchange for an honest review from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

Countdown to Christmas–Day 6

Day 6 of our Advent activities was to go to the mall and see the decorations. Every year, several times a year, Kahlen asks when the mall will have the decorations up so we can go see the monkey. Most people, even local people, would have no idea what she’s talking about. AND I forgot to take a picture of the monkey himself. BUT here’s the contraption that she’s such a fan of:

There’s a little monkey that turns a handle, that turns a chain, that magnetically lifts metal balls to the top so they can go all the way down to the bottom, following one of a few different paths. I think she could watch it for hours! We also saw the big Christmas tree that has several trains going around it

and stopped and saw Santa Claus (a first for us)

Santa comes to our house, but he only fills the stockings. All the presents are from mommy and daddy.

What are your kids’ favorite places to go for Christmas decorations?

~S

SOAP - Luke 1:39-80

 

Scripture: Luke 1:45 ESV
"And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord."

Observation:
Mary was called blessed because she believed the Word of the Lord.

Application:
Do I believe the Word of God? Really? Do I seek out and believe the promises the Lord had made to ME through his Word? Sometimes. Definitely not as often as I should or even as often I would like. God desires to bless me through His promises, I just need to believe and trust him in that.

Prayer:
Lord, I believe Your Word is true and that You speak to me through it. I believe that You have promises to me designed to bless me if I will follow You and Your Word. Thank You for your constant blessing on my life. Help me to look for your promises and truly believe them in my heart and in my head and through my actions. Amen.

Join me and MomsToolbox in reading through Luke in 26 days.

For this week, we will read:

• Monday: Luke 1: 1-38
• Tuesday: Luke 1:39-80
• Wednesday: Luke 2
• Thursday: Luke 3
• Friday: Luke 4
• Saturday: Luke 5
• Sunday: Luke 6

~S

Countdown to Christmas–Day 5

Day 5 of our Advent activities was to make an ornament to mail as part of an ornament exchange we are doing for the second year, hosted by Hi Mamma Designs. I also did a Christmas craft kit exchange locally with some friends, so we had a whole bunch of things to choose from for our ornaments. I picked the bead & button wreath provided in the swap by my friend Robin.

Kahlen did one very pretty and nice, then one very sloppy and ugly, so I redid it, is that bad? ;)

They’re all ready to mail! We’re going to do the Downtown Santas Shopping Quest today, so we’ll stop by the post office at some point and get them in the mail.

~S

Countdown to Christmas–Day 4

Day 4 of our Advent activities was to get a Christmas tree. We have gone to the same place for the last three or four years, it’s a nursery called Harmony Gardens. They have good trees, friendly people, and reasonable prices (they’re willing to bargain, even).

 

They had a horse drawn sleigh (with wheels too) that we got to ride on even! The kids loved it, even though it was freezing.

We got it all decorated this evening. The kids had a blast. No pictures of the actual decorating, of course, but here’s the finished product. They turned out all the lights and danced to our nativity set music box before heading off to bed.

~S

Menu Plan Monday–December 5th

Made nearly everything on the menu from last week, hooray! Found a couple new recipes that look fantastic thanks to Pinterest, so we’ll see how that goes :)

Mix-it up Monday (something new) ~ White Chicken Enchiladas with Green Chili Sour Cream Sauce
Taco Tuesday (Mexican or Oriental) ~ Orange Chicken Stir Fry 
Wow Wednesday (Date night or something like restaurant food) ~ Parmesan Ranch Chicken and Couscous
Simple Thursday (Crockpot or less than 30 min prep) ~ Date Night
Favorite Friday (A family favorite) ~ Basic Casserole 
Lazy Saturday (leftover buffet) ~ Leftovers
Saucy Sunday (Italian) ~ Turkey Tetrazzini

So, what are you having for dinner this week?
Link up at Menu Plan Monday over at I'm an Organizing Junkie or leave me a comment!

I have a recipe index, just for recipes that you can find on my blog. You can also get to it by going to the food tab above.

~S