Happy Mother's Day 2013

With all four of the kids in school now, I got treasures from all of them ☺

From Sarah

Emily made me a banner

Card from Emi

Emily LOVES mac-n-cheese, so it is a big thing to thank me for!

Pink flower (made from a cup) and a necklace (made from a washer)

Showing the back of the envelope (Emi never goes easy on decorating)

William's "cards"

He's started writing "Mom Dempsey" on pictures for me.
Like he has more than one mom or something!

Shrinky Dink necklace

Laminated poster from Andy

Flowers from Dan 

William with the card he made for me

Wearing my new jewelry 

Review: Waterproof Bible by Bardin & Marsee Publishing

When my package from Bardin & Marsee Publishing arrived, I tore it open in excitement!  My review Waterproof Bible ESV New Testament with Psalms and Proverbs had arrived!  It was even nicer than I expected.  I riffled the pages and enjoyed the way they moved just like any other book.  The pages didn't seem plastic but rather like ones from a children's picture book (I have a lot of those around with which to compare!) and much nicer than a paperback. The pages are about 3 times as thick as a regular Bible's pages.

I stuck it in my purse and carried it with me.  I would pull it out and admire it.  I loved the smoothness of the pages and how you can't see the backside print through the paper.  I wrote my name in the front in pencil (and I could erase it, too), underlined my favorite verse in ballpoint pen, and another favorite verse with a "pencil crayon".  I tried using a regular highlighter but it washed right off. 



But I couldn't bring myself to do anything else to test the Bible out!  I am so used to taking extra care of my Bible, I mean it's the BIBLE!  Then we had a nice rainy day and I forced myself to take the Waterproof Bible outside.  I was supposed to be testing it out for my review afterall!

Andy looked at the Waterproof Bible in the rain while we waited for his bus:

I tossed the Waterproof Bible in a puddle:

Then put it into the muddy leaves and muck from the rain:

It washed right off under the running water!

 I set it on it's spine infront of the heat vent:

As good as new:

It gives the information about how to care for the Waterproof Bible on the bottom of the Table of Contents:

When it came time for the boys' bath, I wanted to test out the Waterproof Bible's ability to float:

It floats!

Andy enjoyed reading the Waterproof Bible in the bathtub and holding it under the water and then letting go to watch it rise to the surface ☺

The Waterproof Bible is very sturdy and well made.  It is made of synthetic paper that is stain and tear resistant which is first sewn with synthetic thread and then glued with waterproof glue.

It is sewn with synthetic thread before being glued

The Waterproof Bible is available in 5 translations with 3 cover choices in both the full Bible or New Testament with Psalms and Proverbs.

Translations available include

1. King James Version (KJV)
2. New King James Version (NKJV)
3. English Standard Version (ESV)
4. New Living Translation (NLT)
5. New International Version (NIV) (2011 version)

The available covers are blue, pink, or (tree bark) camo:

  

The New Testament with Psalms and Proverbs is 4 1/4" x 7" x 5/8" thick and weighs about a ½ pound.  The full Bible is 6" x 9" x 1" thick and weighs about 2 pounds.

I loved the Waterproof Bible ESV New Testament with Psalms & Proverbs so much, I bought a full version!

Having both the full Bible and the New Testament with Psalms & Proverbs, I decided to compare the two:

They both have cross references, foot notes, and section headings but the full Bible adds book intros before each book of the Bible.   The full Bible's section headings were bold print and the New Testament with Psalms & Proverbs had italicized section headings. 

I have been leaving my New Testament with Psalms & Proverbs on the table where my kids do their Quiet Time Bible devotions.  Spills seem to be a common occurance on this table, and now I don't have to worry about my Bible getting ruined!  I think that the Waterproof Bible would work great for baptisms and for members of the armed services. I can also see it being great for camping or for our Civil War reenactments when it tends to be quite damp in the mornings. 

I think that at $24.95 for the New Testament with Psalms & Proverbs and $44.95 for the full Bible, the Waterproof Bible is a good price comparable to the price of regular Bibles with the added benefits that come with having a waterproof Bible!

Bardin & Marsee Publishing also sells accessories like waterproof Bible jackets, all weather journals, dry highlighters, bookmark magnifiers, Bible index tabs, and hats.

To read what other reviewers had to say about the Waterproof Bible, click here.

I recieved a free copy of an ESV Waterproof Bible New Testament with Psalms & Proverbs in exchange for my honest review.  I did not recieve any other form of compensation.  Each person is different, so your opinions my differ from mine.

Review: Ooka Island Adventure

We were given a 2 month trial subscription to Ooka Island Adventure reading game to review.  Since the girls both read above grade level already, I set William up with the account.  He was so EXCITED!   The other 3 kids really wanted to try it out, too, but since it tracks each child's progress, I didn't want to let them use Will's account as it wouldn't accurately show how he was doing.  But Joelle MacPhee from Ooka Island extended our account from an Individual account to a Family account!  When I had a couple of technical questions/issues, the support people were quick to answer and were great to work with.  

Ooka Island is a self contained program, not a web based program, so it runs faster and without having to buffer all the time.  It is geared for Pre-K to 2nd grade. It keeps track of the child's progress and starts them right where they left off the time before.  I really liked the Ooka Lighthouse on the website.  It is an online progress report and lets you know how each child is doing.  It lets you know their current level, the level score, and the Average Percentage.  You can also see what they actually answered versus what the correct answer was for the Cake Factory, Cave of Sounds, and Bubbly Trubbly.   I also get an email when they read another book.  

Ooka Island tailors the game play to the child and lets them work where they are at in their abilities. 

Using Ooka Island Adventure gives the child skills in  phonemic awareness, phonics, vocabulary, fluency, and comprehension.

They are having fun and playing a game and Ooka Island helps them learn to read without realizing they are learning to read!  

The girls started with the Ooka Compass Assessment to find out where they should start in the program rather than just starting everyone at the beginning.

The child is guided through learning a new sound and then reading a book, followed by free play where the child is able to "buy" things with the Ooka mist that they have accumulated for playing the games. 

William was thrilled when he made it to the top of Alphabet Mountain and earned his Zopet.  He likes feeding snacks to the Ooka Elves he rescued by reading the books.  One time, he was doing Clumsy Wacky and he was just sitting there.  I asked him what he was doing and he said he was waiting for the toys to go over the waterfall!  

William also liked having the book path to follow which books he's already read and seeing which books are coming up next.  There are also 2 reward books and certificates of completion here. 

I was glad that you can control the volume level of the music, sound effects, and speaking separately.  I turned the music almost all the way down as it was hard to follow the books when the singing was at full volume.  I thought it would be nice for the music to default off during book reading times.  

Ooka Island is a great program and gives the child both the visual and auditory learning of skills needed for reading all while they are playing a game.  My 3 ½ year old struggled mostly because of mouse handling skills, so I would have him tell me what the answer was and I would click on it for him.

For an Individual account (1 child) it costs $12.95/month or $124.95/year.

For a Family account (up to 4 children) it costs $19.95/month or $149.95/year.

Not only do they have the online books, you can also buy actual books as well!

Want to try it out for yourself?  Here is a code for up to 30% off!  It is good until June 1, 2013

I received a 2 month trial subscription to review in exchange for my honest review.  No other compensation was received.  Each person is unique so your opinions may vary from mine.

Kids Clothes Week: Day Seven - Jumpin Jungle Sun Dresses Finale

I had picked out a pre-cut knit t-shirt from the blue bag of Day 2, but decided to just finish Day Five's sun dresses instead...

Front

Back

It was supposed to be lined, but I decided to just do facings with bias tape around the rest.

Sarah changed so she could wear hers to evening church ☺

Kids Clothes Week: Day Six - Jumpin Jungle Sun Dresses con't

For today, I had planned out another pair of shorts from the pre-cut items in the blue bag from Day 2, but I did laundry and got groceries and once I finally got to sewing, it was late and I did my hour working on the sun dresses from the day before and went to bed!

I got the arm holes faced with bias tape and gathered Sarah's dress to her bodice:

Kids Clothes Week: Day Five - Jumpin Jungle Sun dresses

While I was pregnant with Sarah, I got a fabric panel for a "Jumpin Jungle" sun dress as it matched the fabric I used in her nursery.  It still was unsewn, so I decided to use some scraps and left over fabric to make a 2nd sun dress so both girls could have one.

Partway through the day, I just didn't feel like sewing anymore.  I had hit a wall!  So I stopped ☺
I still need to put bias tape around the arm holes, and gather the skirts to the bodices, then finally the buttons and button holes: