I'm sorry I missed posting last weeks giveaway. Things just didn't work out very well for us throughout the week, with having to spend several hundred dollars at the garage for maintenance on our van that we didn't expect, but we are back on track now I pray :-) To make up for missing last week, we will have our final giveaway next week.

This week we have four shops again: 3 are Etsy shops and 1 is a small family run online shop.

First, is Kim and Perry's Geneva Bible Pages Shop. Many of you may know their family of 11 from http://www.inashoe.com where they blog but they also run a family business selling framed original Bible pages. You now have a choice between 400 year old Geneva Bible pages, or King James pages. Now, don't think they just rip pages out of perfectly good Bibles to make a profit. They don't. These pages come from Bibles that are so damaged that they are really just fragments of Bibles now. Kim and Perry frame the pages and sell them as unique gifts. I love it! They also make bookmarks out of the pages that are beyond damage for even framing and Kim has generously donated a set of two of these preserved pages bookmarks for this giveaway. Please take a look at their store, Geneva Bible Pages, and tell them Sallie sent you :-) 

Next, are my Etsy store donors :-) 

The Crocheted Baby has made a great donation this week as well!! I just love these little camo baby socks so Pam donated a set of socks AND a hat in your choice of pink camo (for girls, of course) or regular neutrals (for the little men in your life). Pam likes to use natural fibers in her work (superwash wools, cottons, and bamboo blends) and she has a blog at http://www.daley-travels.com/crochet-blog/. Take a look at her store and blog and just let her know you stopped in to say "HI" from over here at the contest!!

Next up is Debra Linker Living in Full Color. Debra has b-e-a-u-t-i-f-u-l original artwork over at her store!! Debra has a blog (http://debralinker.blogspot.com)
 and a website (http://www.debralinker.com
) where you can also see more of her work. She left the corporate world after 20 years and started painting. She also spends her time mentoring others! I love stories like that... they are just awesome :-) Debra has donated a set of custom print Christmas cards from her original paintings, as well as an 11x14 mixed media collage painting titled Stay Free!! She painted this collage as she contemplated our 2008 elections. It is so patriotic and lovely!! Make sure you look around her shop and say HI to her as well!!

Last, but never least, we have a $10 gift certificate from EBSpider. This shop has ornaments, scarves (I love this shrimp cocktail one), blankets, totes, and anything crafty that she can imagine PLUS it is run by a stay at home mom of a sweet little 17 month old. I can totally agree with her statement in her profile that says "sometimes those paychecks are just too far apart", especially after last weeks garage visit for our family!!

So, for the contest just look around at the shops and try and say HI to the owners through blog/website comments or an etsy convo. You don't have to list your favorites this week -- I know ya'll are looking and enjoying the shops by all the outgoing stats!! Just leave a comment here and I'll enter you in the contest!!  

Sallie

Most of our family loves history books, and mystery books (probably one reason why Noah liked Missing Link that I talked about last week so much) best of all. For our homeschool we read many OLD books that we find on Gutenberg Press website or other old book websites. We have a nice collection of old books in our home library as well :-) I think historical fiction is probably the best fit for our family as it sort of kills two birds with one stone, you might say!

I always pay close attention when I find companies that are in the business of reproducing old books and one such company is Salem Ridge Press. Daniel Mills, a homeschooled graduate, began his company in 2005 and is dedicated to bring back books worth reading!

We have recently read three books from this company and I will share a bit about them with you here.

The White Seneca is a story about Henry, who is 15 and captured by the Seneca tribe. Henry comes to love the Indians he is living with and adapts their ways. However, when he is captured by an enemy tribe, he must use everything he has learned to escape, and be courageous and brave as well as he also rescues a fellow captive named Constance. The White Seneca was written by William W. Canfield and is set in early colonial American history.  My boys have already asked me to buy the sequel to this story so they can follow 18 year old Henry's newest adventure!!

If you are studying church history, instead of American history, then maybe you would be more interested in reading Glaucia The Greek Slave. Glaucia is a young female who is sold into slavery to pay her fathers debts after his death. This book lays out the plan of salvation simply through this story and kept each of my family members enthralled in the story until the end. This book takes place in Athens in the first century and is full of church history. Emma Leslie (actually Emma Dixon) wrote over a hundred books while she was alive during the Victorian era and most of her books are strong with church history.

You might also have a young reader in your house that you want to try a different type of book with... a book that will encourage a love of reading just to read. Clara Ingram Judson created just a set of books called the Mary Jane series, the first of which was published in 1918. There was a whole set of books with different titles such as Mary Jane: Her Book, Mary Jane: Her Visit, Mary Jane's Country House, Mary Jane Down South, Mary Janes goes to New England, and so forth. Any little girl will enjoy following 5 year old Mary Jane around as she helps her mom with laundry, and planting a garden, and learning to sew, etc.. This truly is a sweet little book, plus Salem Ridge has republished book two in the series as well. I'm excited to see if they complete the series :-)

Sallie

I had a new article up at HOTM this week:

Reading the history of this nation is always a good reminder for me and for my family of what we have to be thankful for. Experiencing history is even better! This week we will be in our nations capital, Washington D.C., where we will be surrounded by the history and monuments of our great nation. On our drive back home to North Carolina we will be stopping in Virginia at Berkeley Plantation and at Jamestown Settlement to experience even more history. 1 Thessalonians 5:18 reminds us that in everything we should give thanks.

I wrote the article before the 1st of the month and we were supposed to be in DC this week. Unfortunately, $600 and two days for our van in the garage didn't allow for that. We do plan to drive up to Jamestown and Berkeley Plantation though as they are only a few hours away. Anyway, the principles of the post still fit :-) 

click here to read the rest and you can also make comments on it over at Heart of the Matter Online: http://heartofthematteronline.com/2008/11/20/thankful-for-history-2/

Sallie

It has been like Christmas around here since late September/early October as I am doing a lot of product reviews for homeschool companies through the TOS Crew. Nearly everyday finds a new box, or two being delivered by the postman. There are no strings attached and the companies truly do want honest reviews from the crew.

One product I recieved was a nativity set from a company called One2Believe.

Now, the first thing I noticed on the package was it was made in China. I was torn... how do I review a product made in China on my blog when I talk a lot about NOT buying anything from China?! I decided the best route was to go to the company owners and quiz them about why they chose China, how often they visit their company, how can they be sure they don't persecute Christians, etc.

I believe Josh and Dave never thought getting their product reviewed by a homeschool mom would put them through the ringer but I asked them tough questions. I was afraid they would get sick of seeing my name in their inbox as many times as I sent new thoughts but they answered me promptly and honestly everytime. I have great respect for them and their company now that I know more about it. I also have a greater understanding of why some companies using China as a manufacturing base, especially Christian companies, can make a difference just by being who they are, where they are!!

The One2Believe company focuses on creating toys that will fill your toy box and your childrens minds with godly thoughts and lessons. The nativity set is sweet and simple and will give your child countless hours of imaginitive play as they relive the greatest story ever told during their playing . My oldest son is 14 but on the autism spectrum and he spent several hours just sitting and lining the folks up, putting the sheep and shepherds out in a "field", and moving the wise men out into another room of the house because they were supposed to be "far away" :-)

Because of my conversations with Josh and Dave, and actually seeing the toy set myself (and playing with it... shhh, don't tell any of the grown-ups), I feel comfortable that your children will enjoy this set, too!!

Other toys in their series are:

• Messengers of Faith: with characters such as Mary, Jesus, Esther, Peter, and Paul
• Proverbs 31 (P31) Dolls: different girl dolls to counter-balance negative secular dolls we see in stores today; each provide encouragement to be a Proverbs 31 girl!! 
• Tales of Glory Sets: larger complete groups like the nativity; each sets has several 3" pvc figurines, a story book, and many come with a playmat (or other item such as the stable included in the nativity set)
• Spirit Warriors: with characters such as goliath and samson.. each figurine is a whopping 13" tall!!
• and, the Jesus Loves Me Bear: sings and dances to Jesus Loves Me :-)

If you have any questions about my conversations with Dave or Josh, please email me at anderklan@yahoo.com and I will try to answer your questions as best as I can.

Sallie

I have four children who have differing love/hate relationships with books. The two oldest can not get enough of books and would stay in a nice comfy chair or propped up with pillows in their beds all day long while they read. The middle child hates books and will read them only if they capture his attention and can hold it. The youngest likes books as long as they aren't too big :-)

Sometimes doing book reports for homeschooling can be a challenge, especially with my middle one. However, a few weeks ago I recieved The Missing Link: FOUND in my mail box and asked Noah to try and read it. The next morning I emailed the author of the book and told her she had a winner because THIS CHILD LOVED THIS BOOK!!! As a matter of fact, he would not let anyone else read it until he was finished :-)

This book is the first in a series of mystery novels (written by a homeschooler and published by the mom...bonus points!!) and this is a short description via the Media Angels website:

Join the Murphys as they face a deadly illness, mistaken identity, rare coins, and a startling discovery that could have devastating results!

We can't wait to get the other books in the Truth Seeker series!! Media Angels goal is to spread the TRUTH of creationism and they do it in an awesome way with books and classes!! Their Creation Camp in a box looks really interesting and I'm looking at it for my kids.  

So, if you are looking at books for your kids for Christmas, then take a look over at Media Angels, and especially their Truth Seeker series. If my Noah liked it, then I bet your kids will to!!

Sallie