THE RIVER BY: MICHEAL NEALE REVIEW

Thank you to Thomas Nelson for letting us review The River A Novel by Micheal Neale. 

This amazing narrative of Gabriel's life and powerful allegory of God. The River pulls you into the book as if you were there. 

It was well written and a refreshing story. The River is a easy read, a time to sit back and relax. 

The River is a allegory. 

What is a Allegory?

A story, poem, or picture that can be interpreted to reveal a hidden meaning, typically a moral or political one.

From the back cover :

"You were made for The River..."

My own words: You were made for God and to experience his goodness in your life. 

Gabriel Clarke is drawn to The River, just like we are drawn to Our Father. This river is a ribbon of frothy white water carving its was through steep canyons high in the Colorado Rockies. The rushing waters beckon him to experience freedom and adventure. 

But something holds him back-the memory of the terrible event he witnessed on The River when he was just five years old-something no child should ever see. 

My own words: Our own past has been a challenge but knowing we can rest in His plan and purpose for our lives. The River brings this to home through the pages of this book. 

Chains fear and resentment imprison Gabriel, keeping him from discovering the treasures of The River. He remains trapped afraid

to take hold of the life awaiting him. 

My own words: I know for my personal life I had a lot of fear and chains that needed to be broken and Jesus has done that.And he will do that for you. We need to just trust and rest in him. I'm thankful for The River to give me a visual picture. 

When he returns to The River after years away, his heart knows he is finally home. His destiny is within reach. Claiming that destiny will be the hardest and bravest thing he has ever done. 

My own words: Your destiny is before you. The River shows you how to be brave and strong like Gabriel, Its as if you are there with Gabriel going through the same trials. I felt empathy for Gabriel as if I was his friend. Jesus carries our burdens and that exactly what Jesus was doing in The River. Gabriel makes peace with The River. We have to rest in His Peace on a daily basis. 

I was inspired to read The River because Micheal Neale is part of our church and He did this Allegory show at our church of The River. It was awesome to see this book in real life. It inspired our son(10 years old) to read the book too. I'm thankful for reading The River. 

God is so good!!!!

If you are looking for a loving read, then you would enjoy The River. 

I received this book from Thomas Nelson through Book Sneeze in exchange for my honest review. The opinions in this review are entirely my own. 

SS AMERICAN VICTORY

This is the American Victory which is located in Tampa, Fl. 

I like to go to these museums because they teach our children and ourselves about our history. We have also been to the USS Alabama.  To learn more about The 

American Victory

D Man and Ducky inside the front of the American Victory. 

This is a map of there voyage. 

DMan I don't think you can lift that,lol. This was a massive anchor. 

Ducky sitting where they sat to fight for our freedom. 

DMan ringing the bell, During the war they rang for each hour, to keep track of time. 

This was inside the engine room. 

DMan loves the guns, of course this was our children's favorite. Being able to touch is part of learning and they don't realize they are learning, I love that. 

Thank you to all of you out there that are fighting for our freedom. 

May God keep you safe and May his protection be upon you and your families. 

SUPER CHARGED SCIENCE REVIEW

My friend Suzanne is our guest post, she has written about her experience with Super Charged Science.

Aurora Lippora's Super Charged Science really inspires my 12-year old son, a budding scientist and hands-on learner.  He thrives on being in an independent learning environment where he uses his keen auditory learning skills through video instruction.  Luke has participated in some of Aurora's free monthly science experiments recently, one of which was a rocket project.  The rockets immediately caught his attention and his interest in Aurora Lippora's programs has grown.  Luke is enrolled in the summer e-camp of Super Charged Science and is loving his freedom to  conquer the lessons alone with the supplies I provided and the seamless video instructions that Aurora provides.  I'm impressed to see how long he spends on his science spiraling off into his tangents or modifications of Aurora's experiments.  I've been looking for that constructive thing to replace the adrenalin rush from video games.

Thank you Aurora Lippora! 

Luke is doing the ecamp this summer and this is the propeller car. 

Your kid can easily learn and do real science and be excited about it!

Are you a homeschool parent? You're a stay-at-home parent, working professional, or somewhere in between, who places a high value on education for your children. You want to make a difference in your child's life but struggle with teaching science and don't want to sell your child short.

Can you relate to any of these?

• You don't have time to teach homeschool science, but really want your kids to learn it.
• Science is just not your forte.
• You get frustrated when you can't answer questions and wish you knew more about teaching science as a homeschool parent.
• Your child is thirsty for more science, but you don't know where to start.

You know you want to...

• Provide your child with an amazing science education they can't get anywhere else

• Avoid spending hours learning all the material yourself?

• Be able to provide your child with an exceptional homeschool science experience even though you have a limited science background or don't have the time.

• Ignite your child's interest in science in a way that can last their entire lifetime

This is why I created Supercharged Science.

Because teaching Homeschool Science should be fun, not hard.

This is a close up of the propeller car. 

Luke created it enthusiastically alone and quickly ran to explain and show his completed work to mom and dad and sister.  

Luke created a spin-off of the propeller car. 

Created with a creative mind and the help of Super Charged Science. 

Super Charged Science  offers a Summer E-Camp and E Science. She offers science for all grade levels right from the convenience of your home. 

This project is called "The two versions of the catamaran".
Luke was fascinated by electrical components being able to work underwater in his bathtub test run.  And his home schooling mom was learning right beside him.  

He was so excited again that he incorporated this model idea into his own again modifying project, the "two versions of the catamaran" model cat by using a clear clay set container that snapped shut and sealed the motors keeping them from getting wet.

Our son was thrilled to experiment and learn with Super Charged Science, Thank you Aurora Lippora for blessing us:)

YUMMY SEVEN LAYER DIP RECIPE

This recipe I got from my friend's blog

Homegrown Families

Ours was a little different:

Ingredients used:

1 can of black beans

1 can of refried beans

Walnut meat with taco seasoning packet

Tomato

Lettuce

Onion

Fresh Guacamole

You just layered it starting with the Black beans, refried beans and walnut meat. Then add the guacamole and then the rest of your fixings. This was our dinner one night and it was very filling. 

We used Corn chips to dip. It was so good, Thanks Melissa:)

THE FLORIDA AQUARIUM

We were in Tampa for the day and decided to check out The Florida Aquarium. I was very happy with this aquarium. 

They had lots to explore. The Wetlands Trail had many animals from the wetlands such as turtle's, fish, and snakes. They had a program that was very educational about an owl,hawk and alligator. 

Ducky is standing in front of an aquarium with fresh water fish from Florida. 

The Burmese Python's are invading our everglades and killing some of our species that are native to Florida. One of our sons favorites!!!

They had a panoramic view tank that had sharks,turtles and fish in it. They had a program that they had divers in the aquarium with the sharks and fish. 

I thought this fish was very interesting, its a bat fish. I have never seen one of these fish. Amazing, it doesn't even look like a fish. 

These pictures were taken in front of the shark tank. 

This sting ray would come right up to the tank and say hello:)

They had a sting ray touch tank that you could touch the sting rays. This was our children's favorite part. They love touching these gentle creatures. 

They had a No Bone Touch Tank which had star fish, sea anemones and sea cucumbers that they could touch. 

They had a whole area of Ocean commotion. This area was filled with all kinds of fish,octopus,seahorses and much more. This was end of our adventure at The Florida Aquarium. A delightful day of learning. I love these opportunities to learn and have fun with each other. I was excited to get science in for the day:)

DR. LUCY'S SNACK N GO PACKS/ COOKIES

Thank you to Dr. Lucy's for letting us review these Snack N Go Packs. 

No Peanuts, Tree Nuts,Milk,Eggs 

Gluten Free

Dr. Lucy's cookies don't have eggs, or milk. Our son gets very stuffy from milk products. I love that he can have a snack and not feel stuffy after. Also it's definitely a plus that its gluten free, I know our son has a allergy to gluten and wheat, and I'm trying really hard to stay away from gluten. Thanks to Dr. Lucy's that offers a cookie that they can eat:)

Dr. Lucy's Chocolate Chip

These little Snack ’N Go Packs are perfect for lunches, picnics, or a snack! Each pack has three of our award-winning Chocolate Chip cookies – savor the organic cane sugar sweetness and our fancy dark chocolate chips!

Ingredients

All ingredients are from natural sources:
Dr. Lucy’s Flour Blend (Gluten-Free Oat, Garbanzo, Potato Starch, Tapioca, Sorghum And Fava Flours), Organic Cane Sugar*, Vegan Chocolate Chips, Soy Milk*, Molasses*, Palm Fruit Oil, Canola Oil, Olive Oil, Filtered Water, Flavoring And Citric Acid from Non-GMO Corn, Sunflower Lecithin, Non-dairy Lactic Acid, Baking Powder, Baking Soda, Potassium Bitartrate, Vanilla Extract*, Salt, Xanthan Gum, Calcium Carbonate, Annatto Extract Color, Cellulose Gum.

CONTAINS SOY, OATS and FAVA | * INDICATES ORGANIC

Dr. Lucy's takes pride in there gluten free cookies. There ingredients are all laid out for your convenience. I love that they now offer a snack n go packs, us busy moms need healthy snacks to share with our children. When I eat a cookie I try to make sure I'm eating a cookie that is gluten free ,offers great taste,has healthy ingredients and craves that sweet tooth. Dr. Lucy's does all of these and I'm very satisfied with there product and I would recommend any of there products to my friends and family. I care about what goes in our children's mouth and thats why I choose to buy quality products like Dr. Lucy's Snack N Go Packs.  

CREATION MUSUEM AND PEACE RIVER FIELD TRIP

Our field trip first started out in this home that we sat and listened to a world renowned paleontologist. He explained about Creation,Corruption, Catophophe, and Christ. 

This was a fossilized teddy bear, really cool!!!

 Then we went into another room and our leaders went over different animals and what and how to look for fossils in the peace river. This was Ducky's birthday too!!! She is being silly with the teeth. 

Ducky with the megalodon tooth. It amazing to think that animals this big lived here. 

DMan identifying fossils before we go out look ourselves in the peace river. A practice run!!

Gearing up for our trek to the river. 

Ducky finding fossils in the Peace River. 

Ducky and Daddy spending time together in the Peace River. 

My husband and I:)

I know DMan would have loved to spend days at the Peace River, He had a blast!!! All around we all had a blast at the Peace River. Great family time!!!!