A few backlinks helped me manage to get the site up to the #3 spot again (and the #1 spot for one keyword), but it was short-lived. That other Squidoo page took its place again. The other page does not have nearly the amount of content that mine does, nor does it have the number of backlinks that mine does. They have 2 backlinks on 2 domains, I have 14 backlinks on 10 domains (make that 15 after today).

Since this little piece of Google real estate is very valuable to me, I guess I have to fight for it with this other Squidoo lensmaster. Ezinearticles is having a challenge to write 100 articles; I guess I’ll be writing some articles linking to my Glenn Beck page. I’ve already written one; I guess I better get cracking and write some more.

I just discovered today that Amazon.com is offering free Amazon.com Prime Membership for students with Amazon Student. I believe that it is for college students only. All you have to do is enter your grade level, .edu email address, and major, and Amazon will give you a year of Amazon Prime membership. Amazon Prime membership allows you to have FREE 2 day shipping!

I am really excited about this, because my husband is a law student. I am always winning Swagbucks, but I always try to wait until I get $25 in Amazon.com gift cards before I can place an order to get the free shipping. With Amazon Student, I don’t have to wait until I get the $25 for free shipping, I can just order when I have enough gift cards saved up for the one item that I want.

When I ordered The Overton Window, I ordered several books with it, including Lives of the Signers of the Declaration of Independence and Wives of the Signers. Since The Overton Window was on pre-order, I had to wait about a month to get my other two books, because my shipment was waiting for Beck’s book. I won’t have to do that any more.

Now if only I could find enough time to read the books that I have. I have enough Swagbucks for American History in Black & White, but I still have other books that I haven’t read yet. That darned Glenn Beck for recommending so many good books! I may need to buy some curriculum at Amazon in the next couple of weeks though. At any rate, when I’m ready to order, I can get free two-day shipping. If you’re a student (or share an Amazon.com account with one), so can you.

While I’m on the subject of Glenn Beck, I’d just like to give you a link to a project that I’ve been thinking about for a while, but I’m starting to implement. It’s a collection of Glenn Beck’s book recommendations. So if you’re looking for something to read, check it out. These are all books that Beck has talked about on his show at one point or another. It’s not complete yet, but there are a few pages of books to wade through right now.

Today was a pretty good Mother’s day.

The kids colored stuff for me today, which was really nice. What was super sweet was that my little boy was going to give me Kunky and Puppy, which are some of his favorite stuffed animals (Kunky is a Monkey, when he first got it he couldn’t say monkey). I told him that I couldn’t let him give them to me. I could imagine his cries at bedtime tonight if he didn’t have them. It’s the thought that counts though.

Dh gave me a $25 gift card to Amazon.com. Yay! I’m going to add that to the $10 in Amazon.com gift card codes that I recently earned on Swagbucks. Since I’m an internet content producer, I’m always using it to search for the things I’m writing about. I usually wait until I get $25 worth of Amazon.com codes saved up so I can get the free shipping, but since dh just gave me a $25 code, I don’t have to wait. I usually get to buy free books from Amazon from Swagbucks codes two or three times a year, just by doing something I’m already doing: searching the internet.

I definitely want to get The Overton Window. It doesn’t come out until June 15th, but that definitely looks like something I’ll want to read. The cover on that book is sweet. I guess Glenn Beck had a contest or something where viewers voted for their favorite cover. He must have only mentioned that on his radio show, because I watch the television show every night and I missed it. The good thing with it coming out this summer is that I won’t be teaching school, so I theoretically should have more time to read. I’m not going to take a month-long vacation this summer either. Since I’m no longer writing full-time, I wouldn’t be able to afford it anyway. I wanted to go to Yellowstone for a week, but I think that we’re downgrading even that to a Northern Arizona trip. My husband is in the running for a job in American Express’s fraud department that would pay more than he’s ever made before (we worked for the same company and they laid off both of us on the same day), but my friend will be going with me and her finances are tight, even if dh gets the AmEx job.

I think that I might also get Lives of the Signers of the Declaration of Independence by Wallbuilders. Probably also Wives of the Signers. I was interested in reading both of those after I went to Glenn Beck’s American Revival and I heard David Barton talking about it. They used to study these people in school… I never learned about any of them except the really famous ones, like John Adams and Benjamin Franklin. I will probably make these books required reading in my school. It’s important to learn about these people, IMO.

So that’s about my $35 right there. I might also get John’s Story, by LaHaye and Jenkins (I have a few days before I make my order; it will take a couple of days for my Swagbuck gift card order to go through). It’s only $5.46, but my library has it (although it’s currently checked out at my branch). Edge of Apocalypse also sounds interesting, but my library has it (although it’s out too). It’s also more expensive. Not like I don’t have a ton of books that I’d like to read in the near future.

So it was pretty good. Dh made me steak for dinner, and I bought two small steaks, so I can have the other one later. Maybe I’ll have half for breakfast tomorrow. Lately I’ve discovered Sean Croxton from Underground Wellness… he’s a nutritionist, and what he has to say makes a lot of sense. It seems I need to eat more protein.

So if you’re a mom, or a want-to-be mom, I hope you had a great Mother’s Day.

I was recently sent a copy of the Seasons of Faith book series, available from CBH ministries. If you’re a Christian and you have kids, you might be familiar with the company. They’re the people that do Down Gilead Lane and Keys for Kids.

The Seasons of Faith book series consists of four books, each representing a different season of our Christian life. There is a lesson in each book that kids can appreciate.

In the spring of our Christian life, we’re just learning about being a Christian, and life is exciting. In Racing Midnight, Becky is visiting her friend’s farm, and would like her friend to know Jesus too.

In the summer, we grow in God’s love. In You Can’t Come In, Zack learns that God won’t let sin into heaven, just like Mom won’t let a dirty, mud-covered boy into her clean kitchen.

In the fall, we make mistakes, but we learn of God’s forgiveness. In Seventy Times Seven, Brad learns that he needs to be forgiving… just like the unforgiving servant.

In the winter, the storms of life come. Thomás is upset because he’s been going through a difficult period of life… but then he realizes that to make it through, he needs to be rooted in God.

There are a lot of good reasons to like these books. For one, they present God’s lessons in ways that kids can understand. The illustrations are excellent. The characters are ethnically diverse, so they appeal to everyone.

Each of these books comes with a CD, where Uncle Charlie reads the book, and chimes tell the kids when to turn the page. I’ve read the book to my kids, and we’ve also used the CD. My kids are familiar with Uncle Charlie from listening to Keys for Kids in our car when he’s on. He’s a great reader, which is probably why his Keys for Kids series is so great. He also does a great job with these books.

These books are great for independent readers, kids who want to listen along with the CDs, and for parents to read to their kids. These would be great for families, Sunday Schools, and Christian day cares. I highly recommend them.

Choo Choo! All Aboard the Good News Express! I was sent a copy of The Cheerful Grump to review by the Passkeys Foundation. Just who is the Passkeys Foundation? They are trying to help kids build better character (and don’t we need a little more of that in these days? They offer grants to elementary schools to implement a character-building curriculum, have an essay contest for middle schoolers, and assist with mentoring (which kids undergoing difficult situations at home could really use). As far as I know, they seem to be a great organization, but do they have good products?

The Cheerful Grump is one of four stories from the Good News Express book series. The entire set of four can be purchased by the company for $20, or you can purchase books individually for $7.50. They accept credit, debit, and even Paypal (but not Discover Card).

So what do you get for your money? Well, just taking a look at Amazon.com prices for other hardback books (which is what you get), almost every book costs more than $7.50. Plus, the Good News Express books all come with a CD with the stories and songs. So you’re getting a pretty good deal, especially if you buy four for $20.

But is the book any good? The book is geared towards 3 to 5 year olds, but kids this age won’t be able to read it on their own, unless they’re headed for genius. The book has many two syllable names, and the name of one of the characters, Evangeline, is four syllables long. My seven-year old can read this book, however, and she keeps it in her room and reads it sometimes at night. I read this book to my three-year-old, and it kept him interested. So I would say that this book is something that many kids would enjoy.

Not only is the book good, but the book teaches about having a good attitude, even when things don’t go your way. Even adults can use that lesson from time to time. The main character, Bramwell, is excited for Card-Writing Day, where he could write beautiful cards with rhymes for all of his friends. Unfortunately, he trips and breaks his arm, and can’t write. Although his friends try to cheer him up, he cannot be consoled, because now he can’t write notes.

He ends up talking to someone else who is worse off than him, and he realizes that he doesn’t need to have a grumpy attitude, and that he can still make people feel better, even if he can’t write cards for a while.

The illustrations are cute and the book is generally well-written. The only thing that I would say could be improved in this book is that the six main characters aren’t really introduced well, although a child reading this book over and over again probably wouldn’t need that. I think that this book could use quite a few more than four books in the series too. I really like the concept of these books, and my kids enjoy it.

This book is well worth checking out. I think that kids through elementary school could enjoy this book. You will have to read this book to younger kids, but readers will probably want to take this and keep it with the rest of their library.

I was recently sent a copy of Sarah’s Wish by Jim Baumgardner. I have been reading it with my daughter, a chapter a night, on nights that we can find the time. We’ve been so busy, that we’re on chapter 12 or 14 (although I have to admit, I’ve peeked a little ahead). Although we’re not finished with the book yet, we have been really enjoying it.

Sarah’s Wish is a book that is set in 1858. I have read the American Girl Felicity books to my daughter, as well as the Little House on the Prairie books; although these books happen a few decades before or after Sarah’s Wish, the lives they lead are similar, so my daughter isn’t a stranger to the setting. Sarah is an orphan girl looking for a set of parents. She also has a secret: she has helped free slaves along the underground railroad.

I love this book for several reasons. First, it is an interesting storyline. You care about the characters. They are colorful, and the dialogue is interesting. Secondly, I love how it deals with historical topics of the time. Although I do teach history in school, and we are covering the time period prior to the Civil War in our American History portion of class (I spend the other half of our history time covering Medieval History), my daughter is more likely to be more interested in steamships and the underground railroad if she hears about it in a book. This book brings the time period, and some of the issues of the day, to life. I also like this book because it is a book of Christian values: the people go to church, and although the book isn’t preachy, the characters live Christian lives.

My daughter would like the next book in the series, Sarah’s Promise, for Christmas.

While Amazon.com doesn’t list the reading level for Sarah’s Wish, it does list the reading level for Sarah’s Promise, the next book in the series, at ages 9-12. The book is too difficult for my daughter to read on her own, but it is just about right for me to read to her.

So, will Sarah get her wish for a new family? I read ahead to find out, but I’m not going to tell you. You’ll have to read it for yourself if you want to know.

Nowadays, it can be hard to find good Christian publications. There still are many good children’s books out there, but you have to be careful. Some contain references to evolution as fact, place God’s creation above the creator, or have some other hidden secular agenda. The books that I had the opportunity to review from Guardian Angel Publishing were great. Although they were not all a perfect fit for my daughter at this time, they were trustworthy, promoting good values and learning. I found all of the books to be trustworthy and worth a read. If the other books from Guardian Angel Publishing are like these, they are well worth a look.

Hamster Holidays by Cynthia Reeg - This was an adorable little book about six hamsters celebrating holidays throughout the year. Although the book’s primary focus is to teach nouns and adjectives (the nouns are colored blue, and the adjectives are colored red), the book also teaches the months of the years. My daughter is starting to master the months of the year, and this book helps reinforce what she’s learning there. I love it when books do that. The book has great illustrations and uses memorable phrases (like “wet worms”). This book is great for elementary students.

Earthquake by Susan J. Berger - Earthquake is a great little science book. Earthquakes can be complicated things to describe, but this book breaks it down in a way that my 7-year-old can understand. The book comes with simple experiments that your kids can do. It includes interesting facts about earthquakes, tells kids how to prepare for an earthquake, tells them what to do when an earthquake happens, and tells them what to expect. Disasters like fires and earthquakes can be scary for young kids, so it’s nice that this book presents this information in an age appropriate way. The book even tells the kids what to do if they get scared. In the back of the book is a checklist that kids can use to prepare. My daughter went through a fire last year, so knowing that there are things that she can do to have some control over the situation is important.

Andy and Spirit Go to the Fair by Mary Jean Kelso - This is a nice story about a disabled boy who is in a wheelchair, but is showing a horse in the state fair. We find out at the end of the story that the horse is different too, as it has pink eyes. I love this quote from the story: “There’s something wrong with everybody. Just not all of it shows.” Kids can sometimes be mean to other kids that aren’t like them, and it’s nice that this book shows someone that is different in a positive way. My daughter was not able to read this story on her own yet, but she enjoyed listening to it. There are a lot of good illustrations in the book as well.

Stubby’s Destiny by Dixie Phillips - was one of our favorite books. It was about a little orphan donkey who didn’t think that he was important because he was just a donkey, not a magnificent stallion. We later see in the story that you don’t have to be considered important by the world’s standards to be important to God. Although Stubby doesn’t think that he’ll amount to anything, he ends up carrying the Lord on Palm Sunday. I thought that this was a great message to share with my daughter. God has a plan for us, even if we’re not the strongest, or the smartest, or considered important by many.

The Sum of Our Parts: No Bones About It… by Bill Kirk - is a story about all of your bones. It describes all of your bones in poem form, with factoids about your bones mixed in. With all the bone names, the book was a little difficult for my daughter. There were some funny pictures, but I think that she’ll be more ready for all the big words in the book in about a year or so.

If you’ve never heard of Guardian Angel Publishing and you’ve got kids, I urge you to check them out. They have some wonderful, family-friendly books that you can feel good about reading to your children.

With so much bad news in the world, it’s nice when I have something good to write about. One of those things that I have to write about is the Studypod by Genio. I was sent a Studypod last week, and my daughter immediately snagged it. We had to take a quick look at the instructions before she could use it, but she’s been using it every night since.

The Studypod is a book holder. It holds the book upright so that it will be easier to read. It also has arms that will hold the book open. If you’ve ever had to refer to a book while typing information into the computer, you probably could have benefited from a Studypod. The Studypod also keeps you from hunching over to read a book.

The Studypod is officially able to hold books that are 2 1/4″ thick. However, my daughter has been using it to read her children’s Bible at night, which is a little bit thicker than that. Since the Studypod arrived, my daughter has been reading in bed almost every night. Coincidence? You decide. I had to set a time limit to her nighttime reading, because she would continue reading so late that she wouldn’t wake up as early as I would have liked her to.

The Studypod is easy to use, and can be conveniently folded up to be carried around in backpacks. When folded, it is about the same size as a hardback novel. To use the Studypod, open it, swing the arm in the back of the holder to prop it up, lock it open, and then put your book on the Studypod. Use the arms to hold the book open. It takes a couple minutes to figure out, but once you do figure it out, even a seven-year-old can do it.

The Studypod comes in three colors: black, blue, and pink. If you visit their web site, you will notice that they also have a Bookpod that comes in different colors.

The Studypod comes with a little pouch that can hold pens, pencils, and other study supply, but it’s held on with Velcro, and for some reason, when my daughter returned it to me so I could write a review on the product, it wasn’t there. I suppose it is somewhere in my daughter’s room. Older children are probably less likely to lose it, and my daughter probably won’t need it.

If you want to try the Studypod, I have some great news. If you use the code TOSBLOG5 when you order, you can get $5 off. This means that you can get it for $14.95.

My daughter is certainly going to snag it back tomorrow. She loves it!