Jonah and the Great Big Fish

::Book Description::
"God told Jonah to obey, said, 'Go to Nineveh this day.' But, stubborn Jonah fled instead. Didn’t do just what God said." Jonah’s disobedience landed him inside a big fish! And there he had time to think and pray. Children will feel the waves and hear the splash as Jonah sinks “down and down and down” into the belly of the fish. This story serves as an excellent reminder of how important it is to listen to God.


::My Review::
This is a well-known bible story, but unlike the traditional version this book puts this story in rhyme form.
This book does not deviate from the original retelling, but rather makes it easier for children to understand. Rather than just tell a story of Jonah getting swallowed by a whale it tells how he came to be in that situation, and how he gets out of that situation.
The pictures are all very wonderfully illustrated and vivid which makes it that much more fun and engaging for children of all ages. While this book is meant for younger children I think all kids of elementary grades would have fun reading this book. It is even a spectacular book for beginning readers due to the rhyming form it's in. It is easy to remember, and understand. Not to mention fun while telling the story in it's exactness.
I would have liked the story to continue a bit, but overall this gets the important point of always obeying God across as it needs to be.
It's not often you find a book like this that can be so simple yet stick so close to an actual Bible Story. But this one does just that, plus adds a wonderful visual experience to keep children engaged and focused. I highly recommend this. My kids are 7 and 3, and both greatly enjoyed this book very much.

::Buy this book::

::Product Details:: 

• Age Range: 4 - 8 years
• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Zonderkidz (July 29, 2014)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0310732190
• ISBN-13: 978-0310732198

Disclaimer: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher. All opinions expressed are solely my own.

Happy Homemaker Monday - 09/15/2014

Well, it's Monday again. They always come way to fast, and I never quite adjust to how fast the weekends fly by. lol
I hope everyone is having a good Monday. Mine started out rocky, but is going okay for now. Hopefully it continues.
I know I'm getting started on this a bit late, but my whole morning has been a bit behind and I have been battling an annoying headache today.
If you would like to join in Happy Homemaker Monday please click the link in the caption under the photo below and join in from Sandra's page. :)

Image Credit: Sandra @ Diary of a Stay at Home Mom
If you would like to join in with HHM just click the above link. :)

::Breakfast time - what is on the plate this morning::
I had a glass of milk and some toast with cream cheese. 


::Looking around the house::
My little one is watching Blue's Clue's getting ready for his afternoon nap. The kitchen needs tidying up, my counters look horrid right now. People have placed papers and stuff just wherever on them. The living room needs vacuumed and a quick pick up. Bedrooms need vacuumed. Laundry needs ironed and put away. Daily cleaning of bathrooms needs done. (I have two boys so cleaning the bathrooms every day is a necessity in our household lol)


::On today's to do list::
Iron, fold, and put away clothes. No washing today thankfully.
Cleaning - kitchen, living room, bedrooms and bathrooms.
Cooking - dinner is all that's left to cook for now, lunch and breakfast is already done.


::Currently reading::
nothing at the moment


::On the TV today::
I honestly cannot think of anything that is on today. I haven't had a whole lot of time lately to catch up on any of my missed or favorite shows and I haven't really missed it all that much. I may just watch the nightly news, and that's it today. Unless of course my husband has a show that comes on and I forgot about. Then I'll watch that with him.


::The weather outside is::
67 degrees. It's sunny but not too hot. There's a bit of a breeze going, and it's a beautiful day really. I'm getting ready to pop open all my windows and let that fresh air and sunshine go through the house. I love this time of year when it's not too hot, not too cold, and the fresh air is just comforting.


::On the menu this week::
Hubby's hours have been cut at his work so our budget isn't very friendly, and won't be for awhile. We will have what we need but I won't have a lot of extra to work with and you may see some repeats of some meals from a week prior or so for awhile.

Monday- Spaghetti and garlic bread
Tuesday- Cheeseburger Macaroni, mashed potatoes, corn
Wednesday- Baked chicken, rice, broccoli
Thursday- shopping day
Friday- see above
Saturday-
Sunday-


::If I have a few minutes to myself, I will::
Read and visit some blogs


::New recipe I tried, or want to try this week::
I would like to try a new chicken casserole recipe. Lately I am all about casserole dishes, and crock-pot meals. I have been extremely tired lately so maybe that is why. LOL Stuff that is easy, cheap, but yummy.


::One of my simple pleasures::
Watching house hunters, and love it or list it. I like seeing people search for new homes, seeing what they are like after they have put their personal touches on things. I also like seeing old houses fixed up into something new and beautiful.


::Favorite photo from the camera::
Nothing this week


::Visiting with Blog friends (blog you want to share, blog post that caught your eye)::
No blog visiting this week other than Diary of a Stay at Home Mom. I just haven't had much time to really stop and chat sadly. Hopefully I can do so this week though. :)


::Praying for::
Finances, friends, family, ourselves.


::Bible Verse, Devotional that is resonating with me at the moment::

Quick Update...

Well, it's been awhile since a regular post update. I just needed to take a bit of a break from the blog. Sometimes I get a little frazzled trying to keep up with everything, and when I get to that stress point it's just good to "un-plug" for awhile. 
I will try to be back here regularly because I have missed blogging, joining in on group posts/blog hops, etc.
Here's some info on what's been going on lately:

The hubby and I wrapped up our summer business at the end of July. We sell novelty items at festivals and parades. It's a lot of fun, but also very much hectic. It's more of a hobby really although the extra income is nice to do. It's something we have done the last couple of years.

The kids are back in school for the year. It's been a crazy time getting them both adjusted, especially my youngest who has started for the first time ever. There have been some ups and downs, and we have been considering homeschooling. However, our minds have not been made up officially yet. The kids love school, seeing their friends, etc. While I would love to have them home all the time I have to worry that I'm taking away their daily social experiences. I know I can teach them just as good if not better than the public school system, the socialization part is very important, and there are a few things they get to do at school they would not get to do at home. Still it works the other way too so a pro and con list is in the making, and it's being discussed but no decision has been made yet.

We are gearing up for fall in our little neck of the woods. I am thrilled because fall is one of my favorite seasons. I love the changing of leaves, the crisp cool air, fall festivities and holidays, etc. It's a lovely time. Especially since usually in our part of the world summer's are scorching and winters are frigid. Fall is a nice in-between most of the time. 
Plus I honestly love decorating for fall.

I have a surprising bit of news to share, although I'm not ready to just yet. Waiting for the right time so stay tuned on that! :)

I am still doing book and product reviews. I plan to continue with those, but I don't want my blog to be ALL about those. I do hope to introduce some fun giveaways here soon though, and hope to be able to get the time to come back and at least update weekly on our lives around here.



I hope you all have been doing great! I've so missed personal blogging, and I look forward to be back to it! :) Don't be shy to drop a comment or two. I would love to connect with some of you, and if you have a blog of your own leave the blog address in the comments and I will gladly follow back! Let's show some blog love here! ;) lol

Well that's all for right now, the household is waking up. (They all actually slept in today, go figure this is the day I would get up early when I have the chance to sleep in lol).


Goodbye for now...until next time. :)