Sometimes it is extremely weird when certain things happen in your life. We had that happen today. We found out at church today that Madison does not like to go up to the front. We literally had to drag her up there for the New Members greeting. I was just trying to wrack my brains and come up with a way to overcome that fear when I remembered that we just got a book called Genevieve’s Gift. This is an award winning children’s picture book for ages 4 – 8. It is about a little girl who is able to overcome her nervousness by “listening to her heart”. When she listens to her heart, she finds courage and inspiration. There is a step by step guide in the back of this book that I am hoping to use with Madison. We briefly talked about it today, but she was too busy wanting to read the next book. This story definitely flows, and Madison could easily follow it and pay attention to it. Madison also likes to sing, so we sang the song Genevieve did for her friend (there is also a music guide in the back of the book, so you even have the tune). I love that a portion of the proceeds from the sale of this book is donated to the National Down Syndrome Society. This is a great little book that has some great lessons in it.  All kids should definitely read it.

Do you have problems taking pictures of yourself with others? Do you find your arm ending up in the shot? Do you find that you aren’t in any shot, because you are always taking the picture? Do you find that you and your subject have to pose awkwardly just to get you both in the picture?  (Thanks to Christine for use of her arm picture).

If you answered yes to any of the above questions, you need to get an xShot.  What is an Xshot?

XShot is a telescopic stainless-steel rod that adds three feet of reach to any point-and-shoot or hand-held video camera. It is super easy to use. All you need to do is screw your camera into the Xshot to get to work. No screwdriver is required! You can make the xShot 9 inches all the way up to 37 inches. Want to see how easy it works? (Thank you Julie for the pictures!)

The first picture shows you how the xShot works. The second picture shows the actual picture that was taken. Its pretty awesome, isn’t it?  Wouldn’t it be nice to be on vacation and not have to ask a stranger to take your picture?  I personally found it super easy to easy.  I had no problem putting my Cybershot camera on there and taking lots of awesome pictures (unfortuntaly, my camera is broke, and I can’t get any of my pictures off.  I am waiting for a cable to fix this problem from Sony).  My fear was that I wasn’t going to be able to take steady pictures.  It was actually super easy.  I had absolutely no problems with it.  I found the xShot super lightweight (it’s only 5 oz).

When can you use this?  Some perfect times would be when you are traveling, hiking, camping, vacation, the beach, parties, concerts, sports events, etc.  I know that the xShot will be an item that will come with us no matter where we go!

Ever wanted a game that your kids can grow into? Or would you want a game that will take them years to outgrow?  If you want both of these things, then you definitely need to get your hands on the Ultimate Spinner game.  This game is for kids 4 and up, and I can see us playing with The Ultimate Spinner game for years. This game is 12 games in one!  I know we have been able reinforce a lot of what we are teaching Madison with this game.  They work with the alphabet and numbers.  Some of the more advance things (that we will eventually work toward are the math equations and telling time.  There are rules that come with the games.  However, I love the fact that there are “Considering Tender Hearts” rules.  These rules are for those little ones who don’t have the attention span for an entire game.  There is also enough things in here that they can make up their own games!  I know Madison liked that the best with this!  I also love that the game is very brightly colored and everything is made with good quality material.  For those of us who are worried about foreign products, have no fear.  This game is made here in the United States in Maine by a family company who wanted to provide their grandchildren a game they didn’t have to worry about.

I definitely see this being a top game this Christmas season.  Check it out and you won’t be disappointed.