Blog Roll - Part 1

I keep mentioning that I like Google Reader. Actually I love Google Reader. I'm finding that I like to read blogs more and more - even more than ::gasp:: my e-mail from my groups & such. Google Reader helps me keep up with my reading. Basically it's an "inbox" for blogs. Every time a blog that I have subscribed too is updated, I get that update in my Google Reader. I just click & read. Well, actually, there are a few more savvy bloggers who actually only give you a few lines of their update & then you have to click on it to go to their blog to read the whole story. I don't mind though. It's almost always worth that extra click or two to get there. I do still have three blogs that I "subscribe to" so that when they are updated they actually DO show up in my e-mail inbox. I still like that as well & don't plan to change it.

Since I've been enjoying so many blogs lately, I thought I do a blog roll here & share some of my favorites and why I like them. These are in no particular order. I will not be mentioning all the ones I read but I will give you some of my favorites.

I'm going to mention the ones I subscribe to via e-mail (burn feeder) so I don't forget them.

Hearts and Trees I can't tell you how I found this blog although I know it was via a Yahoo group I am in. Amanda is a former homeschooled student who has created a wonderful blog and product for homeschoolers. She creates seasonal Charlotte Mason styled craft/nature study kits that she sells. They are fantastic. She is currently selling her Fall 2008 one. Be sure to click on her link to check it out. However, not only does she sell her kits, but she does many different "studies" on her blog that are just great. I'm planning to use her watercolor techniques with the boys this year. She does art studies. She creates wonderful lapbooks and notebook pages as well.

Our Quiverfull I "met" Kate Estes online through my "national homeschool support" group. Actually, that should be "international." Anyway, Kate & her husband, Jeff, have a home business selling wonderful hands-on history kits plus many other homeschooling items. I recommend checking out their store Hands and Hearts for some really fun products to add to your homeschool. However, the reason I read their blog faithfully is that their seventh child, "Baby Noah" is very ill with a mitochondrial disease. If you click HERE, you can read more about what is going on with Noah. I was blessed to have made Noah a baby book shortly before he was born. They discovered his disease when he was still a young baby (I want to say around nine months old) & he is now two years old & struggles with this every day. I read their blog to be able to pray for Noah. However, I am always blessed every time I read it to see the faith that Kate & Jeff show each & every time. Even when Noah has had a set back - like he is now - their faith shines through. I learn so much from reading their blog.

Duckabush Blog I started reading the Duckabush Blog a couple years ago. Kathy is also on my big homeschooling list. Kathy & her hubby, Tim, share blogging duties. I almost always come away laughing even when I'm learning something. They share every aspect of their life with their five children that they homeschool. I love the humor of the blog and the glimpses in to their every day life.

Okay, I just counted. I am now subscribed to 54 blogs plus the three above I get in my e-mail inbox. Zooinks! I think this one will be done in parts. I will share a few more before I head off to bed and will continue to share more over the next few days. I'm just going to go down the list.

1+1+1=1 I've shared this blog before, but it bears mentioning again. Carisa has two little boys (and a new baby on the way). She does what she has dubbed "Tot School" with her littlest son. She has some really wonderful ideas that are useful for young toddlers all the way up. I started reading her blog to get ideas for J, but now that Miss H & Miss L have joined us on a daily basis, I've been trying things out with them as well. I highly recommend checking out her Tot Books. Tot Books are mini-lapbooks made with only 1/2 a file folder and fewer elements. She has one for Thomas the Tank Engine that I'm planning to make with J - once I get some colored ink. ;-) She also has some full-sized lapbooks that you can find HERE.

5 minutes for Mom I really enjoy reading this blog. They host a lot of contests which are fun to enter - along with a gazillion other moms out there who read them. There are a lot of other "5 Minute" blogs include 5 Minutes for Parenting which I also read. I truly do find some very useful things on both blogs. I'm holding myself back from checking out 5 Minute for Books. They also have a 5 Minutes for Going Green and 5 Minutes for Special Needs. If you only have five minutes to read a blog, check out one of these. They are great.

The above blogs also led me to Adventures in Babywearing which is the the home of the Stephanie who blogs at 5 Minutes for Parenting. See how this works? Anyway, Stephanie is the mom of three boys who just had her fourth child, a little girl. If you want to see what a mom in love looks like, check out Stephanie's blog.

A Cup of Cold Water I found this blog through my friend Linda Mac (I'll get to her blog next but you're figuring out why I read so many blogs now right? It's all in the friend-of-a-friend thing.) Ali always has some wonderful thought-provoking posts going on. She always takes some seemingly ordinary thing about life & shows us how it pertains to us spiritually. I love reading her blog.

MacDonald Clan Hmmm, I'm not sure I have the room to explain how I know Linda. I'll see if I can keep it brief. ;-) When I first discovered the world of on-line and Yahoo groups shortly after I started staying home after my first child, one of the first groups I joined was for Christian scrapbookers. I met Linda there. We got to "know" each other. Then a few years ago her hubby was reassigned to a base overseas and he had to go without the family for a few months. Linda's mom lives in a city near to where I used to live. I had just moved. Anyway, Linda was going to be in Maine for a few months. We set up a couple play dates and got to meet IN REAL LIFE! I always find that really cool. I always enjoy talking with Linda. You must go see her blog as well. It's a hodge-podge of wonderful, fantastic photography (it's truly amazing), glimpses in to her life with her military hubby & her two absolutely adorable children, as well as whatever else is on her mind. Trust me, you'll like it.