Faithful Homestead | Sharing our journey of farm life and family.

All Things Bright & Beautiful ~ Review and Giveaway

Posted on July 25, 2016 by Jennifer

In the beginning, God created the heaven and the earth…And God saw everything that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. -Genesis 1:1, 31A (KJV)

Many of us are familiar with the hymn, All Things Bright and Beautiful, which was published by Cecil Frances Alexander in 1848. This hymn, which is sung in Sunday school classes and churches around the world, has now been beautifully illustrated by Katy Hudson. With her beautiful watercolor illustrations of two sisters and their brother, Katy Hudson leads children on a discovery of “all things bright and beautiful.”

I received a copy of All Things Bright and Beautiful in exchange for my honest review. My children have asked me to read, All Things Bright and Beautiful to them many times already. The artwork is beautiful, with lots of detail for the kids to look at. We have had fun looking at the pictures and picking out different birds, flowers and other details. This book would be great for children’s Sunday school classes, or to read with your family. It has already become very popular in our house!

All Things Bright and Beautiful is a 32 page, jacketed hardcover. It measures 10 1/4″ by 10 1/4″, making it a nice size to read to a group of children.

About the artist:

Katy Hudson was raised in Middlesbrough, England, and started her career as a small child drawing on freshly painted walls. Her parents quickly encouraged drawing with pencil and paper instead. The idea stuck, and after earning a degree in illustration, Katy is now a freelance illustrator. Katy works at a desk in a studio within Old London Library and likes to tap dance in her spare time.

Purchase All Things Bright and Beautiful on Amazon:

All Things Bright and Beautiful

I am so excited to be able to offer a giveaway of All Things Bright and Beautiful!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Blessings,

Jennifer

“Disclosure (in accordance with the FTC’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising”): Many thanks to Propeller Consulting, LLC for providing this prize for the giveaway. Choice of winners and opinions are 100% my own and NOT influenced by monetary compensation. I did receive a sample of the product in exchange for this review and post. Only one entrant per mailing address, per giveaway. If you have won a prize from our sponsor Propeller / FlyBy Promotions in the last 30 days, you are not eligible to win. Or if you have won the same prize on another blog, you are not eligible to win it again. Winner is subject to eligibility verification.”

Posted in Faith, Family, Product Review | Tagged Children, Faith, Product Review | 2 Comments

Baling Straw and New Grass Seeding

Posted on July 23, 2016 by Jennifer

Earlier this year, I frost seeded red clover on a 40 acre field that my mom owns. Toward the end of June, the renter combined the wheat that he had planted as a companion crop with this new seeding.

Shortly after it was combined, we decided to go ahead and mow off the wheat stubble for two reasons; 1) we could use the bedding for the pigs and 2) it would give the smaller grasses and the red clover a chance to catch up with the timothy. For whatever reason the brome and orchard grass haven’t done nearly as well as the timothy. The timothy, however, did very well. In fact, there were some places that the timothy was so thick that it actually overtook the wheat making it impossible for the renter to combine the wheat in those areas.

This is one of those spots where the wheat wasn’t combined. You can see the wheat heads sticking up but there is also a significant amount of timothy. This much green grass makes it hard to combine.

This is a strip that we hadn’t mowed yet, but that was combined. You can see all the green, that’s mostly timothy. The wheat stubble is the golden color.

We started by mowing all the stubble. This was my “office” view for the day.

The next we raked it. The goal of raking is to windrow the hay or straw so that the baler can pick it up. This is looking back at the rake.

Getting started with small square bales. Scott was waiting for the first few bales to come out so he could check to make sure everything was set properly.

We put up small square bales and large round bales. Both will be very handy to have on hand. The small square bales work great when bedding down one or two huts, while the big bales work well when bedding down a large group of hogs.

Not only is stacking straw work, it can also be fun. Rebekah saw I was about to take a picture and had to strike a pose.

These three found a good spot to rest between loads, while more straw/hay was being baled.

Brock was putting the straw up on the trailer this load while Scott stacked. I had my turn driving.

We enjoy getting the opportunity to work as a family. Lots of good memories are made even while we are getting sweaty and tired. It is especially good to have the straw that we will need for the upcoming year.

Blessings,

Jennifer

Posted in Family, Our Farm, Pigs | Tagged Family, Our Farm, Pigs | 1 Comment

Heirloom Audio: Beric the Briton ~ Review

Posted on July 22, 2016 by Jennifer

Who doesn’t love a good storyteller? One who can keep you on the edge of your seat waiting with anticipation of what will happen next. Now imagine that type of wonderful story teller who has engaging sound effects and the ability to bring Henty alive. With the wonderful audio dramas from Heirloom Audio Productions you can experience this type of storyteller over and over again. The kids (and I) have been captivated once again by Heirloom Audio’s latest release, Beric The Briton .

Beric The Briton Heirloom Audio Productions Review

Beric The Briton takes us back in time to the first century A.D. invasion of Britain (Briton) by the Roman Legionaries. At that time, Briton was made up of many different tribes of pagan people. Beric, a young prince of a British tribe who had been held captive in Rome for the previous five years, has been able to return to his home tribe only to have Roman Legionaries descend on the area.

The Queen Boadicea, Iceni tribe Britain, encourages the British tribes to fight the Romans. Beric takes a group of men from his tribe and begins to train them in much the same way he witnessed the Romans training. Beric’s time in Rome proved to be an important learning experience that helped to secure a victory in the battle when he and his men were overcame the Roman Legionaries. However, he was later taken captive and forced to become a Roman Gladiator.

Bonus Features from Heirloom Audio Productions

We also received access to the bonus features that go along with Beric The Briton. These include:

Beric the Briton MP3 Set
Beric the Briton eBook-G.A. Henty’s original story with new colorful graphics
The Official Soundtrack from the Emmy-winning Composer
Printable Cast Poster
Study Guide and Discussion-this is one of our other favorite things from Heirloom Audio!
- Additional background information provided
- Listening Well questions for each Track
- Thinking Further questions help draw out the students’ understanding of the plot and characters
- Defining Words
- Bible Study I, II and III
- The Significance of the Colosseum in Christianity
Printable Inspirational Verse Poster
Live the Adventure Letter access
Behind the Scenes Video

How Did We Use Beric the Briton?

Often we listen to the Heirloom Audio CD’s at home, however this time we were able to take it on the road with us. When we traveled to my sister-in-laws house, which is a five plus hour trip, one-way, we enjoyed listening to Beric The Briton (actually we listened to it twice, once each direction).

As long as Beric The Briton was playing, there was no whining about how much longer or any restless passengers. The kids were all so captivated by the audio theater! In fact, when I stopped at a gas station and turned off the radio, I was met with considerable grunts, moans and complaints that I had turned it off during a battle scene. As soon as we were all back in the van, the kids were adamant that we needed to have the radio back on immediately. I can’t think of a better way to make traveling easier than to be able to listen to a great audio adventure while on the way

Social Media Links:

Beric The Briton FB Page

The Extraordinary Adventures of G.A. Henty series FB page

Heirloom Audio Productions social pages

Facebook

Twitter

Google+

Instagram: @HeirloomAudioOfficial

I encourage you to read the reviews from other members of the Schoolhouse Review Crew by clicking on the banner below.

Blessings,

Jennifer

Posted in Homeschool, TOS Crew Review | Tagged Homeschool, Product Review | Leave a comment

The Power in Your Hands: Writing Nonfiction in High School ~ Review

Posted on July 21, 2016 by Jennifer

The written word is such a powerful tool, learning to use this tool is essential for our children. That is why I was so excited to get the opportunity to review this high school, homeschool writing program.

For this review, I received a physical copy of The Power in Your Hands: Writing Nonfiction in High School, 2nd Edition from Writing with Sharon Watson. This included both the 406 page student book and the 220 page Teacher’s Guide.