Book Review: Janine Suter Genesis Series

Janine Suter has written a series of books that retell three stories from Genesis that are creative and thought provoking for children (I could also say adults as well).  What I best-loved about this series is that in every book, she shows how the story points toward God's rescue plan, Jesus.  The illustrations in this series of books are by Richard Gunther.

The first book in the series was, "The Day the World Went Wacky."  I have to admit that this was not my favorite book but I did revel in the story.  I was bothered by the first two pages of this book because she starts the story with a trip to the dentist, with drilling and fillings. The images were enough to make me uneasy about the dentist.  My kids have not been to the dentist yet and I was hoping to keep it as positive of an experience as possible.  I thought Suter could have used another example in her story to show how we have pain in this world.  An example would be falling off your bike and scraping your knee instead of the dreadful trip to the dentist for a filling.  There were two illustrations in the book that I thought Gunther captured well....a picture of God handing Adam and Eve fruit when He used to walk in the garden with them and the serpent receiving the curse and the loss of his legs.  Based on the story content I would recommend this book for all ages but based on the illustrations, I would recommend ages 6 and up.  The graphics in this book are fairly aggressive but they do a sound job depicting the story through images.  This is why I recommend this book for ages 6 and up.

The second book is called, "Noah's Floating Animal Park".  This book by far was my favorite out of the series.  The story gave glory to God as the hero and not to Noah.  It also did not paint the cute little Noah's Ark picture but showed how horrible sin was, how it was taking over and that there ws a  need for something to happen to take care of the situation.  At the end of the story, Suter brings it all together and tells of God's plan to rescue us.  I would recommend this book for all ages.

The third book in the series is called, " The Not So Super Skyscraper!"  This book retells the story of the tower of Babel and where all the different races come from.  I really enjoyed this story and once again she continues to point right back to God and His son Jesus.  I would recommend this book for all ages.

Overall I would recommend these books.  They have been a great addition to our library of a good story that continues to teach the children truth about God.  I would only be cautious for the first book only because of the illustrations.  The other two books would be great for all ages.  They retell the stories of the bible without compromising it.  My children have enjoyed them and request them at each story time.

The Fire Station

Yesterday, The Crawdaddy's, The McFriend's and The Freshflower's got the priviledge of touring the Jackson Fire Department. Big Daddy B and Grandma Freshflower made guest appearances :)

I was impressed by the kindness and quality of the firemen. They were patient with all nine of our children ranging from 5 months to 6 years old. They answered all the kids questions and let them thoroughly enjoy the fire engine and the ambulance. They got to see where the firemen eat, sleep and hang out during the night. Peanut asked if she could slide down the fire pole :) (she was not allowed to though) Little Bub loved the trucks.

One of the McFriend's kiddos, McBrother, came dressed to play the part. He said he wanted to be a fireman when he grows up. McSiddy BooBoo McFriend stayed at home with grandma and missed the festivities.

The Crawdaddy Kiddos drew the firemen pictures to hang on their fridge. Ezzo was just smiling the whole time. Everytime I aimed the camera his way he gave me a big smile :) Marco was taking every second in. He seemed to really enjoy the fire station.

All the kids came with questions to ask the firemen. It was so cute to watch them ask their question and see how intently they listened to the answer.

The Struggle

For many reason this verse continues to come to my mind through these past few weeks.  It has continued to remind me to pray more and not think the world is out to get me.

 

This picture of Big Bub reminds me of the latter part of this verse...to continue to put on the armor of God and to know His Word so we can stand up for the truth and beat down lies.

The Armor of God

10Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes....13Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. 18 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.

 

Keep the faith, God is still on the throne in the midst of all the chaos, loss and confusion on this earth.  I have just finished the Chronicles of Narnia series and it has helped me long for the great Home that the Lord has prepared for those who believe in His Son Jesus Christ.

Simplfying the Home: Measuring Spoons

I have been on a kick of simplfying our home lately.  I really have wanted to spend more time with kids than taking care of the 'stuff' in our home, which seemed like it consumed all of my day.  God has answered some of my prayers and I wanted to share some of the simplfying ideas that we do in our home.   My hope is that they may help you too!

Measuring Spoons/Cups

I love to cook everything from scratch....bread, cookies, cakes, skillet dinners, casseroles, salad dressing, you name it!  I use measuring cups and spoons daily and get so frustrated by looking through the drawers for the right one.  I decided to ask my handy dandy hubby to build an idea I had in my head that would help eliminate my frustration and encourage my homemade cooking.  I have to admit....I am lazy.  I like things to be convienent for use right away.  That is why this little addition to my kitchen will enhance my cooking experience even more everyday.  I now know exactly where each cup and spoon is at all times.

I just had Big Daddy B cut a piece of wood and hammer little nails into it.  He secured it to the wall with screws and " Voila! " it was done.

Classic Kids

Baby B is so precious. She always has something that she is chewing on....her fingers or a toy.  What a joy to try and figure out her unique personality.  She definitely has a different temperment than the others.

This is Little Bub at his best.  This is the smile that I will remember when he is all grown up.  His smile can light up a room.  This is Little Bub as we know him at the age of two.

This is Big Bub to the left.  Although I think we may be on the way out of this stage, this is Big Bub 70% of the day.  There are many more things I will remember about Big Bub's year of being a 3 year old but these whining fits will be well remembered.  In some funny way, I think I will miss this stage (maybe because it means he is growing up and out of his childish ways)

Oh Peanut, my dear beauty.  This is my Peanut.  The many things I treasure about her.  Her feminity shines as a 5 year old.  Her year of being five has been packing purses, changing outfits, making necklaces and little mini books.  I have seen her mature in the past year....especially in the way that she cares for her brothers and sister.  I do believe her commitment to the Lord is real and His light has been shining through her.

It is not often that I get a photo with one of my children and God blessed me with two because my husband was kind enough to take a couple of impromptu pictures.  I will treasure these.