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Summer's Promise -- a Mommy Time Christian Book Review

Disclosure: I was sent a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Today I am participating in the blog tour for Summer's Promise by Barbara Cameron. As Hazel has gotten older I decided to spend some time with adult books and have enjoyed the Christian themed novels. This is one of those kind of novels. It is the third book in the Harvest of Hope Series, but is the only one I have read in the series. 

Sleeping Beauty of Chile - Fairy Tales in Different Cultures


I have been MIA for a couple of weeks. I have decided to put an end to Crafty Weekends since there was not much participation in the link parties, but keep an eye out for all my fun crafts and craft reviews in the future. A few weeks ago I promised to bring back Fairy Tales in Different Cultures and since today is the last day of Hispanic Heritage Month I thought I would share a Hispanic version of a fairy tale. We decided to focus on Sleeping Beauty so today we are sharing a Sleeping Beauty tale from Chile. I have shared various stories, information and crafts related to Chile previously. Including two fairy tales from the same book which I found today's. It is Folktales of Chile edited by Yolando Pino-Saavedra. I took it out of the library, but it available used on Amazon.

Hello Fall & Sunday School Crafts


Fall began and I started thinking of some fall crafts. I had those frames I bought ages ago on clearance and had made some spring themed décor. To make a fall one I pulled out my Cuttlebug. I have an apple embossing folder and used it for the background paper. Then I used the die to cut out "Hello". I found an apple shaped Post-It Note pad and traced it to cut out an large apple and wrote fall on it. Then I used some leaf punches for the small leaves. I love how it all came out.

Easy Knitted Fingerless Gloves -- a Crafty Weekends Review & Link Party

Disclosure: I was sent a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Fall begins tomorrow and soon the weather will catch back up with the seasons. It has been rather warm here this weekend. It is time to start thinking about the cooler weather and getting ready for it. Today I am going to share a book about knitting fingerless gloves. They are perfect for those cool days when your hands just feel cold but you still want use of your fingers. 

Changes at Crafty Moms Share

With my new business of selling Thirty-One Gifts as an Independent Consultant I have not had as much time and energy to put into Crafty Moms Share. Over the summer I thought and prayed and discussed what to do. Hazel really wants me to keep it going. I considered stopping it. When I started this blog in 2011 I was sharing things I was doing with Hazel and she was only 2.5 years-old. Now she is 10.5 and does a lot on her own. We stopped Sharing Saturday because of the low participation and Crafty Weekends is also dwindling. I love having others share their crafts and ideas but link parties seem to be a bit of a thing of the past.  Then I also feel pressure to work on book reviews and I realized I have been getting too many books to review and many do not motivate me to review them, so we decided to cut back on book reviews as well as how many we accept. We also discussed what we would do with Crafty Moms Share. One of our most popular series ever has been Fairy Tales in Different Cultures. While we looked at a few fairy tales we really focused on Cinderella. She was Hazel's favorite princess at the time and there are so many different versions easily available and most are in picture books which were perfect for Hazel at the time. Now she has a few different favorite princesses. Sleeping Beauty (Aurora) and the Frog Princess (Tiana) are among the top ones. So we are going to restart this series and look at some of the other fairy tales a bit more. I even gave our button a new look for it. What do you think?

The Colors of Nature -- a Crafty Weekend Review & Link Party

Disclosure: Leisure Arts sent me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Did you know yesterday was National Coloring Book Day? After I found out I spent the day coloring!! I was going to write this review as well but I got engrossed in coloring. In honor of the fun day I want to share with you a new coloring book. It is The Colors of Nature: A Color, Draw & Sketch Book for All Things Wild & Free by Lindsay Hopkins. 

Fun Edcuational Books for Back to School

Disclosure: I was sent these books in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

I have been gathering all summer some amazing educational books. And now that school has started again, I think it is beyond time for me to share them with you!! These books are for various ages and are for various subjects. There is English, history, geography, science and more!! Talk about a fun mix. I even have some educational game books!! Hazel has been loving these. Let's start with Shakespeare!!

Origami Bible Stories for Kids Kit -- a Crafty Weekends Review & Link Party

Disclosure: I was sent a copy of this kit in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Well school has started here and Mother Nature has turned the switch to fall weather. But after a few weeks off from Crafty Weekends we are back!! Today I am sharing a fun origami kit perfect for Sunday School and Bible lessons for kids. It is Origami Bible Stories for Kids Kit by Andrew Dewar. 

A Must Read Novel for every tween, teen, and their parents and teachers #nationalreadabookday

Disclosure: I was sent a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Did you know today is National Read a Book Day? Well that means we should all be reading a book instead of being on our computers!! However before you log off let me tell you about an amazing book that everyone needs to read.

This book helps touch on the issues of sexual harassment, the #metoo movement, and bullying that plagues our society. It does it in a very every day manner for a seventh grader, Mila. The book is Maybe He Just Likes You by Barbara Dee. It is being released on October 1st and I have to say I hope every middle school and high school add this to their classes (perhaps summer reading list). The lessons in this book are important for everyone from the young woman who may be harassed to the young men who are playing a game or fooling around and do not realize the true trouble they are causing. Parents and teachers should be reading it as well to help with how to deal with it and how to react when a child approaches them with issues. 

All the Impossible Things -- Book Review

Disclosure: We were sent this book for free in exchange for a review. All opinions are our own. 

Today we get to share a new novel by Lindsay Lackey called All the Impossible Things. This book is being released today! It is recommended for ages 8 to 12 and since Hazel is in that age, she is sharing the book today.
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A Picture Book for Kids When Someone Is Really Sick

Disclosure: I was sent a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. 

How do you explain to a young child when someone close to him or her gets really sick? Perhaps it is a grandparent or a parent or maybe it is even a sibling or a friend. No matter who it is a young child may have trouble really understanding and may not know how to deal with it. Today I am going to share a book with you to help you explain and to help the child cope with what is going on. The book is How Do You Care for a Very Sick Bear? by Vanessa Bayer and illustrated by Rosie Butcher. 

Board Book Round-Up

Disclosure: I was sent copies of these books in exchange for honest reviews. All opinions are my own.

Today I am sharing some six board books for through preschool. These books range in what they cover from fun stories to educational to Halloween. Plus one of our favorite bedtime stories from when Hazel was young. The first book is for babies. It is Look! Babies Head to Toe by Robie H. Harris and illustrated by Anoosha Syed. 

Picture Book Round-Up




I need to do some clearing off of my shelf of books to review, so today I am going to share seventeen picture books. These books are for toddlers through kindergarten. These books range in subjects!

Animal Books & Activity Round-Up

Disclosure: I was sent a copy of these books in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own!

We are a family of animal lovers. Hazel from a young age was interested in animals and learning about them. She has always seemed to love books about them and today I'm sharing some fun books and an origami kit all themed about animals. These books range for kindergarten and up. Starting with books for the youngest we will start with Hummingbird by Nicola Davies and illustrated by Jane Ray. It is recommended for kindergarten through third grade.

Crafty Weekends Link Party


Let's party!! It was a small party (after all it is summer), so there are only a few!! Since our numbers are dwindling and my focus is on back to school for Hazel, I'm going to have this the last one until the week after Labor Day! Thank you to everyone who shared with us at our last party.  Just a reminder that we do not feature any of the food/recipe posts and ask you not to share them here. There were some great ideas shared. Below are a few of the features from our last party, but be sure to go back and check out the many great crafts shared! Please remember Creative Kids Culture Blog Hop is a place to share all your diverse and cultural posts there. 
 I can't wait to see what your latest creations are!!


Origami Fun -- a Crafty Weekends Review & Link Party

Disclosure: I was sent these origami paper sets in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. 

Here is my long over due craft review. I now have a new computer but was able to get my photos back!! In the spring my math club group asked for a lesson involving origami. I pulled out some lessons that talk about geometry while making origami stars. I however forgot to take photos of the girls' projects. So I came home and made some more. 

We used six different packages of origami paper and then I made some other projects with Rainbow Patterns

Where are you from? A Diversity Discussion & Activities

I have to admit I have been disgusted reading much of my Facebook feed lately. I have friends on both sides of the political view and to be quite honest I can't stand posts from either side. I identify myself as a liberal but I also can see some of the conservative side--after all I'm married to a conservative. Awhile ago the discussion turned to President Trump's comment about the four female senators going back to where they came from. As a woman most of the president's comments bother me. As a Christian woman, they really bother me. But truth be told, the man bothered me long before he became our president. That said he is our president so I pray for him and our country and wish him well. But when he says things that insult other leaders of our country I do think he needs to be called out. But this is getting away from where I want this post to go. After that comment a friend from middle and high school posted on her Facebook page her own feelings about being asked "Where are you from?" She is a woman of color. She expressed how hurtful that question can be. After brewing over it all and seeing more than I wanted about politics on both sides in my newsfeed I started thinking about the question.

Crafty Weekends Link Party



We had a late start to the party last week and thus it was a small party! Unfortunately my photos for my review is on my computer as well so no review this week. Let's go straight to our party! It was a small party (after all it is summer), so there are only a few!! Thank you to everyone who shared with us at our last party.  Just a reminder that we do not feature any of the food/recipe posts and ask you not to share them here. There were some great ideas shared. Below are a few of the features from our last party, but be sure to go back and check out the many great crafts shared! Please remember Creative Kids Culture Blog Hop is a place to share all your diverse and cultural posts there. 
 I can't wait to see what your latest creations are!!

Underestimating Miss Cecilia Mommy Time Review

Disclosure: I was sent a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Today I get the pleasure of sharing the second book in the Regency Brides: Daughters of Aynsley series by Carolyn Miller. The second book, Underestimating Miss Cecilia, gives the reader a look at the middle Aynsley daughter, Cecilia. It gives us a very different view of Cecilia than the first book which focused on her older sister. 

Crafty Weekends Link Party



Sorry for the late post. My computer is acting up and will be at Staples this week getting fixed. So I am on Steve's computer and it acted up on  me last night so I decided to take a break and try again today. And it is working!! Unfortunately my photos for my review is on my computer as well so no review this week. Let's go straight to our party! It was a small party (after all it is summer), so there are only a few!! Thank you to everyone who shared with us at our last party.  Just a reminder that we do not feature any of the food/recipe posts and ask you not to share them here. There were some great ideas shared. Below are a few of the features from our last party, but be sure to go back and check out the many great crafts shared! Please remember Creative Kids Culture Blog Hop is a place to share all your diverse and cultural posts there. 
 I can't wait to see what your latest creations are!!