11/30/2011

(Nearly) Wordless Wednesday


adventures in Moscow...

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11/29/2011

Maxim Joryevich

I think it's fascinating to know the how and why people use to determine the name they picked for their child. Since our son has unusual circumstances surrounding his name we thought you might like to know our reasons for giving it to him.

His first name is the name he was given at birth. It's not a name that I necessarily would have picked, but 7 years old is a little late in life to go through a name change, and Max is a perfectly fine American name. So it stays.

His middle name is a name that we have chosen for him. All of our biological children have unique middle names that start with J. Alexander Jase, Annabel Jorlie and Louisa Jaynen. So his new name had to fit our pattern.

Now if you aren't familar with the Russian patronymic naming system, you wouldn't know that all children take their father's name as their middle name with the appropriate suffix - evich for boys, - evna for girls (or something really similar depending on what the father's name is). So with Jory as his new father, Joryevich is his perfectly legal Russian patronymic name. With a nod to his motherland, we think the name is clever and fitting for our son, Max "the son of Jory" Peterson.


11/28/2011

Tales from our travels part 2

As promised in yesterday's post, here are a collection of my facebook status updates that you may or may not have read concerning our travels with Max in Russia...

He's here! Thrilled to see us ;) doesn't want to stop snuggling. As curious as ever. Came with a nasty shiner and a goofy stuffed animal 

Just because the window is open again doesn't mean we can resume throwing things out of it. Like the iPod. Please child?  

Persistent is this child's middle name 

My son made himself some storage containers for his art supplies out of trash. Any doubt that he is my child has been removed. 

Thanks to Jory's crafty parenting style, lots of mommy love, and a little green fish we managed to avoid our first meltdown over a shower.




This kid spends the better part of his day upside down. Much like i did when i was his age. Gymnastics anyone? 

An elevator is a fantastic place to practice our new number vocabulary. Little dude's got 1-5 down tight. Maybe up to 10 before we get home.  

This kid plays in the snow the same quirky way that Alex does, and eats his pizza the same quirky way as his sisters. How is that even possible?


I swear the hugs get tighter every night. 

Crack pot parenting advice from Jory - just ignore the fact that he won't lay down for bed. Eventually he'll realize his bed is way better than a dark, hard hotel floor and get in bed by himself . Guess who's now all snugly in his bed? Crack pot parents - 2 points, ornery kid - zip


Even though he has already learned how to push our buttons and make us both crazy, he's pretty cute when he says "I love you mama." and "goodnight mama" 

Not sure where this kid got the idea that being part of a family means that parents feed you candy all day. This kid asks for it relentlessly. And no we don't give it to him.


I'd just like to take back every judgmental thought I've ever had about a parent who's child is clearly out of control in public, has picked trash up off the ground and put it I'm his mouth, or licked anything filthy in public. That is all.







11/25/2011

Tales from our travels

If you've been following this blog for a while, you know that I have a tendency to recycle status updates from facebook to help recap moments from our various adventures. Since this was a rather long trip, I thought I'd share a days worth of posts regarding our adventures in traveling today, and share some others about Max tomorrow.


We spent most of our trip in Arkhangelsk - a smaller town not far from the Arctic circle, and a few days in Moscow. We were in the country for 10 days total.

Some day I'm going to miss these quirky Russian sitcoms that almost make sense

Pulled a Stacey Rees today by wiping out in the snow in my sturdy "Americanka" boots while the Russian ladies walk around the same icy sidewalks in stilettos. Go figure. I think those spiked heals are part ice pick. But you didn't hear it from me.

Here I am 100 miles from the arctic circle in the middle of an arctic storm wearing a tank top and bare feet. Why? Because we had to close the window to keep max from throwing stuff out of it.






Only in northern Russia do you find people wearing snow pants in an airport when it's 35 degrees and barely 1/4 inch of snow on the ground.

As much as I've grown to love little Arkhangelsk I'm psyched to head out to Moscow in the morning!



It's a beautiful morning here in Moscow! Excited to get out and see what's going on! 

Walked all the way down the tourists walk to Red Square and St. Basil's. Aside from a little wind, it was a fantastic morning. Wore max out enough that he's actually sitting down to watch tv. Tomorrow we try out the subway. Just for kicks.

Just so you know Red Square is neither red nor square in shape. Go figure



Found the 7 story shopping mall around the corner from our apartment here in Moscow, rode up and down every single escalator we could find.


Today's adventures in Moscow include finding the Harley Davidson store, where t-shirts are a measly $100 a piece, making friends on a neighborhood playground, and finding the other 2 castles that are within walking distance of our apartment.


So we met this grandpa while we were waiting to get on the plane, and he took a real liking to Max, cause he's just cute like that, and this fellow came back to check in on max 2x during our 8 hour flight from Amsterdam to Detroit. The second time he came with m & m's. Now he was on the other end of the plane, so he had no idea that max was not coping so well with the stress of sitting still that long, nor did he realize that moments before he showed up with the candy I was this close to locking max in the bathroom or something equally horrible. I think someone was praying for us.


All I can say is that we made it home without causing an "international incident." There were moments on the trip I was sure we this close to being the next news headline (like the time Max nearly kicked out the window on our 7th floor apt, and I was so frustrated that I didn't really care!) but we made it! and we're home!!

11/24/2011

With a grateful heart

We arrived home yesterday with our new son. So aside from our obvious reasons to be grateful on this day of gratitude, our experiences with traveling abroad this fall has given me a whole new list of reasons to be greatful.

These are the things that currently fill me with gratitude

Ice in coke. 
cups that hold more than 6 oz
unlimited refills in restaurants
a husband who's just as crazy as I am
the way people drive in the states. Yeah we complain about Michigan drivers, but they ain't got nothing on St. Petersburg / Moscow drivers. Yikes dude.
trail mix and granola bars. Without them I'd probably have starved long ago. 
Iceburg lettuce. Not to be found anywhere in Russia.
American Pepsi (I don't care if it claims to be the same, Russian Pepsi is totally inferior)
The complete stranger who brought me M & M's in the middle of a very long flight with a very restless boy, just because.
Free books that show up on my door post when I arrive home. Dude. Books. that were free. And I don't have to send them back.
"I love you most!" in a heavy Russian accent
Pocket translators.They fit in your pocket, and they don't judge you when you tell them to say very odd things like "PLEASE DON'T PICK UP TRASH OFF THE STREET AND PUT IT IN YOUR MOUTH."


11/23/2011

(nearly) Wordless Wednesday - Russian edition


When in Russia...

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11/22/2011

Upcycled window display board

Hi! Still in Russia! Having a blast with my old man and my little man. Since I'm on "vacation" I'm turning the reins over to today's guest writer,

Here is a fun craft, I decided to make. Now let me say I found this old window at a Flea Market for ONLY $1 the other day! The glass was already out of it, and I thought, WOOHOO what a find!! This whole craft only cost me $2 Note, that most of this stuff I had around the house! The only thing I had to buy was chicken wire, and the window!


Here is how to make this fun craft
Start with an old window - with the glass taken out of it! 

Take a scraper and take off the paint that is loose. After you get all the loose paint off, you can choose to leave it how it looks or you can paint it however you would like. In my case I chose to keep it with some of the old paint on it, and make it look old.

Cut your chicken wire to fit around the frame. Once you have the chicken wire the right size, you can take a stapler or a hammer and small nails and secure the chicken wire around the border of the frame! I used hammer and nails because that is what I had on hand.

Then once the wire is secure you can hang it on your wall! I decided to put old kitchen utensils in it, along with a few pictures, and a recipe. You can put whatever you want for your decor. I used clothespins to secure the pictures on the wire.
That simple! A fun and easy decor DIY project! Love to here your thoughts on this project, or idea's on what else you would put in the frame as decor?

11/21/2011

The controversy of adoption

Yep, We're still gone! Fortunately we have a great network of writers to entertain you while we're gone. Today we have fellow adoptive mama Amanda Dubose discussing the potentially controversial side of adoption...

Sometimes, I can be a little controversial in my blogging. It’s odd because I totally shy away from confrontations in real life, but on the computer, I am comfortable. This is my zone.

Anyhow, when I was thinking about this guest blogging opportunity, I was taken back to my experience traveling for adoption. When I was 10 I was fortunate enough to be able to travel with my parents to Thailand when they picked up my baby brother (well, guess he’s not a baby anymore!). I vividly remember that day. He cried and cried and cried and the only one who could console him was me—although, my status as his favorite lasted all of that day. He was such a little, little dude.

And then my next thoughts were of my own adopted children, particularly my youngest son. He was our most recent, and final adoption. We’re almost to the anniversary of his “Gotcha Day”. Now, this is where the controversy arises. Some people don’t think that we should celebrate Gotcha Day. They think that it implies that we’re stealing these kids away from their roots.

I can see that perspective. I really can. I understand that we are not stealing these kids away from their beginning. In fact, in my opinion, the act of adoption is most similar to marriage. When I wed my husband, I took his name. When we adopted our children, we all took the same name. When my husband and I were newlyweds we had to navigate the ups and downs and ins and outs of any new marriage… what traditions we’d use from each family, where we’d celebrate holidays, what foods we’d prepare. And, again, as we added to our family, we added to and changed our traditions and holidays and foods. We didn’t become foster parents to change kids, we became foster parents to help kids. And we didn’t adopt our children because we wanted little versions of ourselves… we wanted to be parents to the wonderful individuals that they are.

That being said, the road to adoption via foster care is drastically different from that of private adoptions. When each of our children came to our home, they came as foster children. The goal in each case plan was reunification. Foster care, by definition, is temporary. It’s not a forever thing. But, it can still be a joyful thing. Having our children come into our homes and our lives was traumatic and dramatic and painful at times and wonderful—no kid should ever have to be in foster care, but we are thankful for the experience we had parenting each of our kids. But, with the fact that there are so many unknowns, you have to celebrate what you know. We didn’t know how long our kids would stay, but we knew we loved them from the minute they came to us.

With our first foster placements (now our oldest two sons), we were asked only a month into fostering them if we’d be interested in adoption. It’s funny looking back because we were so scared by that question. Little did we know that it wouldn’t matter what our answer was then—adoption was nowhere in our immediate future. In fact, our boys lived with us for almost two years before their adoption. They spent almost three years in foster care. And *that* is why we celebrate Gotcha Day. Because even though they weren’t “ours” for two years, we had given our hearts to them 700 days before the judge finalized anything.

I have many foster parent friends who have yet to get to experience the joy of an adoption. There is a good chance that some of them will never get to be a “forever family”. But, the four, six, eight years that they’ve spent together mean something. And I truly hope that they celebrate the day that their families came together, too.

11/18/2011

Instilling a love for the outdoors in your kids


Hi! Still in Russia, eating my pelmeni and drinking warm soda. While I'm gone I'm turning the reins to a fantastic team of guest writers. Today Janice Planet has a few words to share with you about a topic near and dear to my heart, getting the kids to love the outdoors. Enjoy!
There is nothing better than the great outdoors and all that nature has to offer. As human beings, we rely on and are connected to nature, so it is important to have a respect and appreciation for it. In the spirit of that respect and appreciation, I am doing everything I can to raise my children with a love for nature and the outdoors. Some kids will have a love for nature naturally built in from birth, almost like it is part of their DNA, while others will need a little push. It’s important to recognize the individual tendencies of your children, and help encourage a love for nature instead of forcing it upon them.

In our family, one of our kids idolized John Muir so much that he begged us to send him to an outdoor boarding school where camping and nature would be built into his education. Our other child was not too keen on the idea of that kind of school. We were able to understand that even though our one child was excited about the idea of spending time outdoors, the other child wouldn’t pick it as his first choice of fun activities. Knowing this, we never forced our child to go do things in nature that they didn’t want to do. In order to encourage a genuine love and respect for creation, it’s important to nurture the love gently instead of cramming it down one’s throat.

Our favorite way to encourage this love was to lead by example and expose them to the joys of nature. We went on many family hiking and camping trips, and taught our kids all about the cool and interesting things that this amazing earth has to offer. What better way to teach appreciation for water then by showing them lakes, rivers and oceans, and taking them to the desert to explain our short supply in times of drought? By allowing our kids the chance to come in close contact with nature, they were able to learn to appreciate the gifts it gives us and our steady reliance upon it. Our kids loved our outdoor excursions, and we believe they are better, more respecting adults because of it!

"Janice Planet hikes, blogs and then hikes some more. She enjoys these activities because they let her involve her kids, whether that means writing about them or passing on her love of nature to them."

11/17/2011

What Are You Doing With Your Joyfear?

Hi! I'm in Russia! We're having a fantastic time with our little Max. While you wait to hear about our adventures I'm going to let my guest host Michele take over for the day...

Embarking on anything new can be exciting and downright scary. It's easy to recognize the feeling, like climbing the hill of a roller coaster.

'This might be fun.'

'No, it's a little scary.'

'But it's exhilarating!'

'No, it's really scary!'

I finally have a word for this feeling, thanks to fellow author and blogger Leo Babauta. It's called Joyfear. Leo experienced Joyfear during events like becoming a parent or running his first marathon. In one of the most profound things I've ever read on the Internet, he says, “every single defining moment in my life has been filled with Joyfear, with a mixture of intense joy and intense fear into one ball of powerful emotions that both lift me up and make me see things clearly when I hadn’t before.” [Thanks, Leo, for this brilliant insight.]

So my question is, what do we do with Joyfear? Do we jump in with reckless abandon? That could spell disaster. Do we run the other way? That could result in missed opportunities. The best approach to Joyfear in my experience is prayer and action.

You see, if we just pray... we get too comfortable in our sedentary ways.

And if we just act... we might not make the wisest decisions.

But when we pray and act, we join God's power with our power.

Looking back, I experienced Joyfear when I left the corporate world for ministry, when we brought our son home from Russia, and when I published my first book. Responding to Joyfear required faith since results are never guaranteed. But the risks were worthwhile. I can't imagine life without those fork-in-the-road decisions to act.

The next time you encounter Joyfear, embrace it. Then ask God for the eyes to see, the ears to hear, and the hands and feet to make it meaningful.

Michele Cervone Scott draws from her experiences to comfort, educate, and offer hope to others through books, events, articles, and her blog. Her book Praying Through Your Adoption: A Complete Guide to Creating and Nurturing Today's Forever Family (WinePress – 2011) has been endorsed by Bethany Christian Services and the Christian Alliance for Orphans. For more information, visit her website at MicheleCScott.com.

11/16/2011

(nearly) Wordless Wednesday

 
 Live from the Motherland...
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11/15/2011

AOI Author interview - Brock Eastman

So yesterday we shared a personal interview we got to do with author Marianne Hering, just to play fair, it's time to interview the other author, Brock Eastman.

EP:      Please tell me how long you've been writing, and why you decided to become a writer

BE: I’ve been writing since 2005, but it was just as a pet project. I never expected then that God would open up such cool doors and that I would be published. I decided to write, because I wanted to create a story that was safe, family friendly, but full of adventure and excitement.

EP:   Are you a full-time writer or a part-time writer, and how do you organize your writing time?

BE: I’m a part time writer, and I don’t organize well at all. I like to write by the seat of my pants, experience the events with my characters. I’m driven by inspiration, sometimes the cup runneth over, other times there’s just a dribble left. When you work full time and have a very awesome family that keeps you busy, it can be hard to set aside time for writing, so I do my best to pound out a lot of words in each session.

EP:    What influences your writing?

BE: I like to listen to soundtracks and look at nature. A simple drive through the mountains can fill my creative balloon full enough to float me for a long time. Also my Christian heritage guides my writing and my characters as they take on whatever difficulty I might throw before them. Your characters may as well be pointless wandering through a desert if not grounded by a moral and ethical compass.

EP:   What was the inspiration for these books?

BE: For Showdown with the Shepherd, it was 1 Samuel 17, the David and Goliath story. I remembered the song we’d sing in Sunday School when I was younger and wanted to include it in the book, but we couldn’t. My other series, The Quest for Truth and Sages of Darkness, each have unique goals. The Quest for Truth is an adventure story meant to be safe-clean entertainment for kids. What is the ultimate Truth? Sages of Darkness is about spiritual warfare and highlighting the dangers facing kids in their daily lives.

EP:   Where can people find out more about you and your writing?

BE: They can check our BrockEastman.com or facebook.com/eastmanbrock. My blog posts to BrockEastman.com and I run lots of contests and have many opportunities for kids to interact with me.

BE: Thanks for letting me do this interview.
 

11/14/2011

Imagination station author interview - Marianne Hering

So last week we had a really fun week of book reviews and a Q and A session with one of the authors, Marianne Hering. We had so much fun, we thought we'd continue the fun this week with our own personal interview with her too!

EP:  Please tell me how long you've been writing, and why you decided to become a writer.

MH: I have this book I wrote and bound in second grade. All the students made books. We bound our books with masking tape, and then we stained the masking tape with burgundy shoe polish so it would look like leather.  My story was about the sun. He was lonely because he didn’t have any friends. The sun envied the moon because the moon had stars for friends. Then the sun made friends with some little kids. The sun shone down on them when they came out to play. The end. I did the art myself with fine-tipped markers. From that starting point, the only place to go was up. I began to write professionally when I became an editorial assistant for Focus on the Family’s Clubhouse and Clubhouse Jr. magazines in 1987. It was supposed to be a gap-year before I went to grad school. I’d write puzzles and retell Bible stories, and with the wonderful, on-the-job training I received from my boss, Ray Seldomridge, I etched out some not-so-bad material. I never ended the gap year. I spent 10 years writing for and editing magazines. Then I  became a stay-at-home-mom, and did freelance writing. I wrote some children’s fiction books for Cook Communications that didn’t sell well. Then I wrote some phonic books that didn’t sell well. When I got hungry enough and all my kids were in school, I came back to Focus on the Family as a book editor.

 EP:      Are you a full-time writer or a part-time writer, and how do you organize your writing time?

MH: I am a full time writer/editor. I organize my writing time by what is the project I’m most behind on. I don’t have time for writer’s block. I don’t even have time for lunch. I’m always writing, editing, or talking about writing or editing.

EP:       What influences your writing? 

MH: The newspaper, my children, and biographies.

EP:        What was the inspiration for these books?

MH: Paul McCusker and I have kids about the same age. We wanted to develop some historical fiction stories that were educational and fun for our own kids. So, I guess it was the lack of great reading material in the Christian market that inspired us. Had there not been a gap, we probably wouldn’t be writing these.

EP:     Where can people find out more about you and your writing?

MH: Well, I have a webpage with my name in it, but I have one blog and haven’t updated it since December. This little Q and A is probably the best biographical information you can find about me.  One book series is about twins who are beginning a TV career.  They’re for upper elementary readers.  One is a series for middle elementary. They are about the White House. You can still get my other books on Amazon—I think people have written reviews. I’m not a great self-promoter. I’m too busy writing!

11/11/2011

Imagination Station Blog Hop!!

We've had so much fun reading these books and sharing them with you this week.
Guess what. We aren't done yet! Today we're participating in a blog hop! So hop on in and check out this little Q and A session we had with one of the authors, Marianne Hering. 
Enjoy!



1. What inspired you to write the Imagination Station series?

Paul (McCusker) had always wanted to write stories about the Imagination Station. When looking to do a kids’ series about it, we chose early elementary to introduce new readers to the Adventures in Odyssey world. We also wanted to touch on a group of kids that didn’t have many Christian books written for their level. There seemed to be a gap from picture books to later elementary readers.

2. The Imagination Station device is well-known to fans of the radio drama Adventures in Odyssey. Why did you and Paul decide to use it in a book series?

It lends itself to stand-alone adventures. It’s a fascinating device. Why wouldn’t he want to write about it? It allowed us to write about settings outside of Odyssey. We’d like some of the books to augment the history kids learn from public school textbooks or TV. The Imagination Station radio dramas are also among the most popular. We thought that kids would like them, that’s all!

3. The first two books focus on the Vikings and ancient Rome. The next two books focus on Kubla Khan and the War of the Roses and now books five and six take readers to the Holy Land and back to Plymouth Rock. How did you and Paul decide which historical events to write about?

Paul and I aren’t the only ones who weigh into the decision. Paul and I have a creative team that also includes Adventures in Odyssey writer Nathan Hoobler, book publishing director Larry Weeden, and marketing manager Brock Eastman. I’m fortunate to have such a well-rounded and experienced bunch helping decide on setting, cover scene, and title. All that said, I do most of the research or verify the other writers’ research for the book’s outline. I’ve written a lot of historical fiction and had many of the ideas for settings and conversations in my mind and heart for years. I try to choose moments in history that reveal a hero’s Christian character and are historically accurate. The exception is book 4, Revenge of the Red Knight, which covered the War of the Roses. Because that war was so convoluted and political, it was difficult to find a well-defined real-life hero we could hold up as a role model. The hero, Sir Andrew, in that book is 100 percent fiction. The other books all have a true-life hero as a role model.

4. How true to history are Showdown with the Shepherd and Problems at Plymouth?

Let me start by informing readers that it’s my intent to answer all of these questions on TheImaginationStation.com website. The historical information is already posted in the parents section for books 1 and 2, and book 7’s material will be posted momentarily. I’m working on filling in the “what’s true and what’s not true” material for books 3, 4, 5, and 6. Hopefully in the next week.

Showdown with the Shepherd expands on the David and Goliath story. For readers who are not familiar with the story, we kept it as biblical as possible while adding three time travelers and a catapult. The Philistines are still gruesome and fearful and want to take the Israelites as slaves. Young shepherd boy David is mocked by his brothers. King Saul is still afraid to fight Goliath himself. David still whomps Goliath with God’s help. (I did get Goliath’s helmet wrong on the cover. The Philistine helmets had a funky topper.--I missed this because I was on vacation when the cover roughs came through and I didn’t check everything as carefully as I should have. Sorry for that. I work hard to get the details of the art to be accurate and feel bad when I overlook an important detail.) The setting was as accurate as I could make it. I did ask my boss to pay for me to fly to the Valley of Elah for “research,” but he wisely thought that would be a waste of ministry resources. :-)

Problems in Plymouth—the events all happened, just over a longer period of time than it did in the book. In reality, these events happened over about a year period. In the book it’s two days. John Billington and his family are real. John did get lost. Mr. Billington didn’t agree with William Bradford on what to do about Indian relations. Chiefs Aspinet and Yellow Feather are real. The Pilgrims did accidentally shoot some innocent Indians. The doctor is real. The issue of the stolen corn is real. The Pilgrims did fear that Squanto was kidnapped, and they set out to rescue him. The Pilgrims did bury their gun powder. The storage room did exist. The meeting house was described accurately as were the cannons. There were several types of muskets models used by the Pilgrims. The details of the first Thanksgiving were basically accurate. We depicted the traditional bell-shaped blunderbuss. However, many Pilgrims probably had muskets without the bell-shaped musket. Marshal Younger and I took some small liberties with the history (besides, of course, Hugh and the cousins). For example I’m not sure who was actually on the shallop that came to rescue John Billington. The dialogue between Bradford and Standish was based on research, but the actual words were fictionalized. We did try to quote Bradford in some places, but his language was so outdated we had to modify it a lot.


5. These books are geared towards young readers, ages 7 and up. What is the number one issue that children learning to read struggle with?

Speed processing. The kids who are slower reading learners usually need more help with sight words and fluency. That’s just practice at an accessible reading level. These are just slower readers in general—I’m not counting kids with true auditory processing issues or other learning disabilities, which represent between 3 and 10 percent. Most kids can learn to read better with one-on-one instruction and a loving atmosphere. I’ve posted reading tips on the website for each book and lists of words to practice before tackling a chapter. See TheImaginationStation.com.

6. What kinds of books do you recommend children read?

I don’t only recommend books. There are fabulous magazines out there for this age group. Not all kids like fiction, so magazines draw them in with nonfiction and pictures. There are some good book series out there—I personally give my children the tried-and-true series written years ago, like Beverly Cleary’s Ramona books. My boys enjoyed the Horrible Harry books by Suzy Kline. My daughter was a Gertrude Chandler Warner/Boxcar Children fanatic. Parents can ask librarians to recommend books. One of my sons loves anything about animals in the nonfiction section—I don’t make him read fiction unless it’s for school. I do have to review their books first, and that can take a lot of time, but it’s worth it.

7. What are some ways that parents can help their children develop their reading skills?

(Get their vision checked for not only vision but for tracking issues as well.) Turn off the electronics and make reading a fun time. You can read to them or they can read to you. Make reading an event. Your kids will complain for about two weeks while the electronic addiction wears off. Then they will be better able to engage in literary pursuits. For free reading, let your kids read “easy” books. Don’t judge. If they want to read Hop on Pop twenty times, that means that’s where they are comfortable. If you push your kids beyond what they perceive to be the right level, they will rebel. Better a lot of fluent reading at an easy level than choppy reading at a higher level. Reading with starts and stops is a bad habit to let them get into.

8. What encouragement can you offer parents who may have reluctant or struggling readers?

I can encourage parents by letting them know that there are GREAT reading programs for kids. Most kids, 60 percent, need extra help at home to make it to the fourth grade reading level. That extra help can come from parents who gently and lovingly make reading a family hobby. There is no lack of teaching material, and your school districts should be able to help you find the right tools. The biggest factor in children’s success at school is a loving parent who takes the time to work with their children. One of my sons could not learn to sound out letters quickly enough to “hear” the word. I couldn’t help him, and so I hired a reading specialist who was more of a cognitive trainer and we worked through his auditory glitch. There are some terms to search “phonemic” awareness and “phonograms” that will help parents read more about how to help emergent readers. When the kids know how to sound out words, speed training on sight words can jump start their reading fluency. On the website, TheImaginationStation.com, I’ve prepared this long essay on how use a metronome to speed up your child’s reaction time to sight words. It’s under the book The Attack at the Arena. Don’t give up. Virtually every kid can learn to read well enough to go to college if his or her parent(s) invest in them.

9. What do you hope kids will walk away with after reading Imagination Station?

A smile and a desire to learn more about history and faith in Jesus Christ.

10. Can you give us any “sneak peeks” into what we can expect in future books?
Here’s the not-so-sneak peek. Book 7 is advertised in book 6, and I already have material about it on TheImaginationStation.com. Book 7 is set in ancient Egypt and involves a mummy and a scary tomb. Book 7 is at the printer right now. It’s my favorite cover so far

Book 8 is exciting because we have a new author joining our team. We’re writing this one with best-selling Christian author Wayne Thomas Batson. We wanted to tell a pirate story, and since he’s an expert and had already written some fabulous pirate stories, we asked him to help us. Book 8’s title is Mystery of Starlight Island. Look for Wayne Thomas Batson’s “Focus on the Family approved” pirate books, The Isle of Swords and The Isle of Fire (for upper elementary and tween readers). Go to FocusontheFamily.com/resources and type Wayne Batson in the search box.

Book 9 sneak-peek. We’re going to the most modern setting yet. The kids will be visiting a famous person who lived dur

Book Review - Problems in Plymoth

This week we are doing a review of the AOI The Imagination Station series. Yesterday we reviewed books #4 Revenge of the Red Knight and book #5: Showdown with the Shepherd . Today we're on to the final book in our series, Problems in Plymouth.
In the story Patrick and Beth travel back in time through Mr. Whittaker's Imagination Station to visit the Pilgrims as they are preparing for the first Thanksgiving. The cousins continue to search for the villain, Hugh, in order to return him to his proper place in time.

Mom says: Perfect timing for a Thanksgiving book! I loved reading this one with my children just as much as I enjoyed reading the others.

Alex (9 years old) says: This book was great for a bedtime story. There were quite a few chapters, so it'll take you quite a while to read. There are even more books coming out, and I can't wait to read the next one, because this was so good.

Annie (7 years old) says: I like it so much I hope they make more. I like the costumes of Beth and Patrick.  I also liked the cover.  I hope they make one about pirates.

Louisa (7 years old) says: I am sad that there was only 6 books in the series. I hope that when the author writes another one that she sends it to us.


If you'd like to hear what we thought of the other books in this series, you can read our past reviews here:
Book 1: Voyage with the Vikings
Book 2: Attack at the Arena
Book 3: Peril in the Palace
Book 4: Revenge of the Red Knight
Book 5: Showdown with the Shepherd


Please Note: We received this book for review purposes. As always, our opinions are 100% our own

11/10/2011

Book Review - Showdown with a Shepherd

This week we are doing a review of the AOI The Imagination Station series. Earlier today we reviewed the fourth book: Revenge of the Red Knight. Today we're on to book # 5, Showdown with the Shepherd.
In the story Patrick and Beth travel back in time through Mr. Whittaker's Imagination Station to visit Bible times. They meet up with David, a beloved Bible hero, on his way to take a meal to his brothers.As the story unfolds it becomes clear that Hugh, the antagonist, means to change the course of events of one of the most well known Biblical battles between David and Goliath.

Mom says:
I loved the modern twist on the classic tale that my children have heard multiple times.

Alex (9 years old) says: It was a bit scary during the catapult part, and you should recognize the Bible story of David and Goliath. It's a great bedtime story.

Annie (7 years old) says: I think it's interesting when Beth plays her harmonica and gives Patrick a clue.

Louisa (7 years old) says: I like when the bad guy makes all the trouble, and I like it when Patrick makes the end part fun.


If you'd like to hear what we thought of the other books in this series, you can read our past reviews here:
Book 1: Voyage with the Vikings
Book 2: Attack at the Arena
Book 3: Peril in the Palace
Book 4: Revenge of the Red Knight


Please Note: We received this book for review purposes. As always, our opinions are 100% our own

Book Review - Revenge of the Red Knight

This week we are doing a review of the AOI The Imagination Station series. Yesterday we reviewed the second book: Palace in Peril. Today we're on to book # 4, Revenge of the Red Knight.
In the story Patrick and Beth travel back in time through Mr. Whittaker's Imagination Station to visit the middle ages. This book picked up right where the last book left off, in the middle of a quest to help rescue Albert from a heap of trouble. 

Mom says:
Another great addition to the series that we are very hooked on. We met a fantastic antagonist in this book that my kids loved to hate.

Alex (9 years old) says: It was a little mysterious when the Imagination Station took them to another time instead of taking them back to Mr. Whittaker. And just so you know, they met a knight named Sir Andrew.

Annie (7 years old) says: The part with the cave was a little scary. Hugh (the antagonist) was really mean to Sir Andrew. The part with two treasures was kind of weird.

Louisa (7 years old) says: I think Hugh is kinda mean. I liked that we met the mysterious knight from the last books.

If you'd like to hear what we thought of the other books in this series, you can read our past reviews here:

Book 1: Voyage with the Vikings
Book 2: Attack at the Arena
Book 3: Peril in the Palace


Please Note: We received this book for review purposes. As always, our opinions are 100% our own

11/09/2011

Book Review - Peril in the Palace

This week we are doing a review of the AOI The Imagination Station series. Yesterday we reviewed the second book: Attack at the Arena. Today we're on to book # 3, Peril in the Palace.
In the story Patrick and Beth travel back in time through Mr. Whittaker's Imagination Station to visit ancient China in search of a golden tablet for Mr. Whittaker. On their adventure the meet up with Kublai Khan and Marco Polo.

Mom says:
Again, my children and I couldn't put the book down. Everything that we loved about the first two books was evident in this book. Even though the Christian theme was slightly forced in this one compared to the other books, I was happy that it was there, and it wasn't obvious enough that my kids thought it was out of place.

Alex (9 years old) says: My favorite part was when they met Marco Polo and relatives.

Annie (7 years old) says: I thought it was a little scary when the eagles came. I liked the princess.

Louisa (7 years old) says: I liked the costumes she picked, and I liked the way it ended.

If you'd like to hear what we thought of the other books in this series, you can read our past reviews here:

Book 1: Voyage with the Vikings
Book 2: Attack at the Arena

Please Note: We received this book for review purposes. As always, our opinions are 100% our own

11/08/2011

Book Review - Attack at the Arena

This week we are doing a review of the AOI The Imagination Station series. Yesterday we reviewed the first book: Voyage with the Vikings. Today we're on to book # 2, Attack at the Arena.
In the story Patrick and Beth travel back in time using Mr. Whittaker's Imagination Station to visit ancient Rome. In this adventure they are searching for the monk's chalice and end up having an interesting encounter with a monk and the Emperor.

Mom says: The first book set the mark pretty high so I was hoping that the second book wouldn't just be a rehash of the plot line with different characters and setting. While the tone and rhythm of the story remained consistent with the first book of the series, I was thrilled to be whisked away by a brand new and completely engaging plot. More than anything, I was  excited to see the Christian faith woven through the story with the inclusion of a true Christian hero - Telemechus, and used the opportunity to teach my kids a little of the history of the church.

Alex (9 years old) says: it's the perfect bedtime story. They still had the two main characters from the first book. It was perfect for a journal entry

Annie (7 years old) says: I love it. Beth is my favorite character. I hope they make more. You should read them too.

Louisa (7 years old) says: I love their costumes. So far the series is great. I like Patrick, I think he is funny. And I like the name of it too.


If you'd like to hear what we thought of the other books in this series, you can read our past reviews here:

Voyage with the Vikings.

Please Note: We received this book for review purposes. As always, our opinions are 100% our own

11/07/2011

Book Review - Voyage with the Vikings

As a family we recently read The Imagination Station: Voyage with the Vikings by Marianne Hering and Paul McCuster. These books are based on Focus on the Family's Adventures in Odyssey series, which our family was already very familiar with.
In the story Patrick and Beth travel back in time through Mr. Whittaker's Imagination Station to visit the time of the Vikings. They are on a quest to find a viking sunstone and bring it back to Mr. Whittaker. Along the way they meet a few vikings including Leif Eriksen and Erik the Red, and have a handful of exciting adventures.

Mom says:
As a mom, I really enjoyed the book. The story line was engaging and easy to follow. I loved how the Christian faith was seamlessly woven into the story, but wasn't so blatantly obvious that it would turn off a nonbeliever.The style of writing was light and airy, which makes it easy for young listeners to follow, but still engaging enough that my 4th grader was hooked.

Alex (9 years old) says: The book was very exciting. It had pictures and it takes place in Greenland. It was very detailed and it was great! My favorite part was when they got to ride in the viking ship.

Annie (7 years old) says: I think it's interesting! I like it! My least favorite part was when they were trapped inside the church. I hope there are more books coming out soon.

Louisa (7 years old) says: Well, I liked it. It was very interesting. I liked it when Beth was playing chess with Erik the Red.

Please Note: We received this book for review purposes. As always, our opinions are 100% our own. 

11/04/2011

Updates from our travels in Russia


We made it home safely from our trip to Russia! Perhaps the best way to summarize our trip is to go back through our facebook posts and share some key ones, here are a few that are in mostly chronological order: 

Grown men should not wear sweatpants in public. Not even if they are European. Or at an airport. Yuck dude. 

Why do the Russians like such tiny cups what I wouldn't do for a big gulp right about now.

Treated to a day out on the town in St. Petersburg local style thanks to our friends the Siegels, we took both the subway and the trolley and had some awesome cheese pie before they helped us find the Harley Store.

My son was put in a new orphanage last month. Not allowed to see this one either.They moved him because of school related issues. My baby is finally in the big kid school and not nursery school.

We had a nice two hour visit with Max, but when it was time to go I don't like giving my son back to the orphanage staff. I'd much rather bring him home where he belongs. 

So my last meal as a mother of 3 consisted of cat food, yodeling pirates, angry birds and a rock star. It was quite the meal.

When preparing for our court hearing we refused to let anxiety get a toe hold. No sweaty palms here. We decided to just wing it in court. Worked pretty well until we forgot our closing argument. Oops.  

Before time began I was given a 4th child named Maxim Joryevich. Born from another and written in our hearts. Today that 4th child legally joined our family. THE JUDGE SAID YES!!

My som comes with his own apartment. No joke, he inherited it from someone. Sadly we can't go to it (because it's in a restricted city) and the adoption agency has no idea what we should do with it. We tried to pass it off to his father but the judge wouldn't let us. Hopefully we can sell it and put the $ aside somehow.

After our court hearing in Arkhangelsk we spent some more time hanging around St. Petersburg. We  met up with our friends again, who took us to the mini city, the fortress of Peter and Paul, and cooked us a traditional Russian meal of Pelmeni, tomatoes, cheese and bread. Yum.


On our way back to the states, our driver dropped us off at the wrong airport. Fortunately some nice lady from the airport took pity on us dumb foreigners and helped us figure out where we needed to be and how to get there. 


On the way home, our hotel from St P'burg packed us a delightful sack lunch. Sadly I forgot to eat my orange and it was confiscated by border security in Detroit. Bummer. It looked really yummy. 

HOME! Ice cold coke has never tasted so good.

11/03/2011

(nearly) Wordless Wednesday

Here's to new beginnings...

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got a great photo for (nearly) wordless Wednesday to share with us? Post a link so we can all see it!

11/01/2011

Guest writer - TC Avey

We sent out a call for guest writers last August, and I received this one shortly after our own car accident. The author and I both got a pretty good chuckle about the timing, and several uncanny coincidences.
With that said, here's her story about how God used a car accident in her life...

My husband hadn’t been gone fifteen minutes when my phone rang.  Figuring he was calling to tell me he left the coffee pot on I answered “somewhat” distracted by our newborn son.  My heart skipped a beat and my stomach hit the floor when I heard him say, “I’m okay, but I’ve been in a wreck.” 
He went on to tell me that someone rear-ended him on the interstate, he said the other persons vehicle was totaled but not much damage had been done to his truck.  He also reassured me he wasn’t hurt in the slightest! 
Hanging up the phone, I closed my eyes and as the tears started to fall I thanked God.  I was so overwhelmed by God’s protection that all I could say was “Thank You Lord” over and over. 
You see, my husband doesn’t usually drive his truck to work.  The cost of gas has gotten too expensive so he drives my little car, but today my sister was visiting and we were going to need my car, which had the car seat, to go to lunch.  He was going to drive his motorcycle, which I absolutely hated, but when he went to start it up it didn’t work.  That was strange and he was mildly upset that it wouldn’t start; just a few days past it was running fine. 
So taking the truck, he set off to work not knowing that God’s hand was playing a part in keeping him safe.  I would hate to think what would have happened to him if he wasn’t driving his truck. 
That night we both thanked God for his unfailing protection and love.  We also came to an agreement that he would no longer drive the motorcycle during rush hour traffic, something he rarely did anyway since I had such strong feelings against it.   
Looking back, I am overcome all over again with emotion at Gods goodness.  He protected the father of my baby, the love of my life and I can never thank Him enough! 


TC Avey is a Christian wife and mother with a passion for learning more about religion and politics. 


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