Just Dance 2 House Party coming up soon!

Hey, everyone! We are going to be hosting a Just Dance 2 House Party on November 20th at our house!!! Jamie and I are excited to be chosen for this one! If you would like to come, please just send me an email or call. We are going to be starting somewhere around 5:30-ish. This is going to be so much fun!!! :)

Book Review: Dining with Joy by Rachel Hauck

I just finished reading Dining with Joy by Rachel Hauck. This book takes place in a small town in South Carolina. Joy, the main character of the novel, is the host of a cooking show that was her father's whenever he was still alive. She takes the job after he passes away and has a very well-kept secret.....she cannot even cook! Luke Redmon comes across her path when he moves to South Carolina after claiming bankruptcy of his Manhattan restaurant. The plot continues as they end up co-hosting the cooking show together. They both being to fall for the other making this a sweet Christian-based work of fiction. Joy's big secret does become revealed by Wenda Devine, who is her rival in the cooking world. As the rest of the book unfolds, you see how Joy turns to God and how his plan is always the "better" plan for us all.

This book was "okay" in my opinion. I love to read Christian fiction, but this book was hard for me to stay focused on. It wasn't like some books that I read and just can't put down. It was good, clean Christian romance if that is what you are looking for, but I probably will not be reading any more books by Rachel Hauck unless someone just highly recommends one to me. I received this complimentary book from Thomas Nelson and BookSneeze to read and review. All opinions in this review are my own.

Book Review: Really Woolly Bible Stories by Bonnie R. Jensen

I enjoyed reading Really Woolly Bible Stories by Bonnie Rickner Jensen to my 2 1/2 year old son! He loved the short little Bible stories and the cute illustrations on every page. This book takes you through some of the most familiar Bible stories for children: Creation, Noah, Abraham, Joseph, Moses, The Ten Commandments, David and Goliath, Daniel, Jonah, Jesus' Birth, Jesus and the Little Children, Feeding the Five Thousand, The Good Samaritan, Walking on Water, The Cross and The Tomb, and The Great Commission. This is a board book with a padded cover which is great for children 1-7. If you have an older child, there is a reference with each Bible story that tells you where you can find it in the Bible. You could read the little story in the book and then go deeper by reading the same story from the Scriptures with your child. The book also begins with an introduction that says: "Through these stories you will discover that God is faithful and true, and Jesus, the Good Shepherd, will always take care of you!" I plan to give this copy to a friend of mine who is expecting a baby. What a great way to share the love of Jesus with our children!

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Thomas Nelson and BookSneeze to read and review. All opinions of this book are my own.

Book Review: A Christmas Prayer by Amy Parker

This is a wonderful book for children to read or listen to hear the Nativity story! It is being told from a child's point of view as she is sitting by her Christmas tree thinking about how blessed she is with a loving family and all that she has. Her Christmas prayer is not for toys, but a thanks for the Christmas gift of Jesus that has been given to everyone. The pages take you through each of the main characters and animals of the Nativity story: Gabriel, Mary, Joseph, the donkey, the manger, the shepherds, the bright star, and Jesus. Each page is a "Thank you" to God for these things and it tells the importance of each one to the meaning of the story. The illustrations are very cute as the child role plays each character with her own dolls, toys, and stuffed animals. She gathers them together in her living room by the Christmas tree with her father, mother, and baby sister watching.

My two-year old son loves having me read this book over and over to him and talk about what the child is doing in each page of the story! It is a great board book for any child ages 1-7. This would be a wonderful gift if you know someone that has a small child. I know that we will read it over and over for many years to come!

Thomas Nelson and BookSneeze provided this complimentary book to me to read and review. All opinions of this book are my own. I hope that you enjoy it, too!

Movie Review: The Way Home (DVD)

Wow! What a great Christian-based movie for couples to watch together! I sat down on Sunday afternoon to enjoy this movie while my kids were taking a nap, and enjoyed every single minute of it! What a joy to find a movie with Christian values, no bad language, no sexual untertones, and one that you can really enjoy watching!

Dean Cain (from Lois and Clark / Superman) plays Randy Simpkins in this movie as a father and husband who battles between time spent with work and family. This movie is based on a true story, and it will truly grab at your heartstrings! Have a box of kleenex handy as you will surely find yourself moved by this film. Christal, Randy's wife, asks him to watch their two-year old son while she runs back in the house to do a couple of last-minute checks before they pull out for a vacation to the beach. Randy, who lets their son ride his tricycle in the driveway, goes back into the house to check his work email one last time. When he goes back outside, his son has vanished. The movie shows how the couple deals with thier son's diappearance and how the whole community pulls together to help search for the lost little boy. This movie convicted me of how sometimes I put little things before my children when I should really be spending that precious time with them! I hope that you, too, enjoy this movie! I highly recommend it.

I reviewed this DVD compliments of Thomas Nelson and BookSneeze. All opinions of the movie are my own.

FREE Huggies at Rite Aid next week!

Huggies diapers are going to be free at Rite Aid next week, beginning September 19. So print your coupons and hang onto them for this incredible sale. Here’s how it will work:

Buy 3 Huggies Jumbo Pure & Natural Diapers at $8.99 each, and get $10 Rite Aid Gift Card (SCR #70) + $2 UP Reward.

Use $5/$25 Rite Aid coupon.

Use $1/1 September Video Values Huggies coupon.

Use 3 $3/1 Huggies coupons or $3/1 Huggies Pure & Natural Diapers (IE) (FF).

Spend $11.97 plus tax out of pocket, and get $10 Rite Aid Gift Card + $2 UP Reward.

Free after coupons, gift card, and UP Reward!!!

Book Review: One Hand, Two Hands by Max Lucado

One Hand, Two Hands is a wonderfully written children's book by a loved and well-known author, Max Lucado! I received this complimentary book from Thomas Nelson and BookSneeze to read and review. Since I received it in the mail, I have read it dozens of times to my two-year old who has already claimed it as a favorite! This book shows children ways that they can serve others by using their "helping hands" to do things like giving hugs, wiping tears, washing dishes, and cleaning up their toys. It ends with a prayer to God thanking Him for our hands and asking Him to use them again. This book also has two pages that you can use to spark a discussion with a child about things that helping hands, kind hands, and loving hands can do. It lists ideas under each of the headings to give them ideas of ways that they can do each one.

This book has beautiful illustrations that even the smallest child will be drawn to! I am so thankful that there are books like this available for our children to listen to and read. It truly is a blessing to read this to my children!

Book Review: Faithful by Kim Cash Tate

I just finished reading Faithful by Kim Cash Tate, and I truly enjoyed reading a new Christian fiction book by her. It was a captivating book that I didn't want to put down until the last page was read, although that was impossible with two little ones around! The author deals with several very hard subject matters that Christians face in today's society from singleness to marital unfaithfulness.

The main character in the book, Cyd, is a single forty year old. She thought that by the time she turned forty, she would be married and have her own family. In reality, she is going to be the maid-of-honor in her little sister's wedding on her big birthday and still be single.

Cyd's best friend, Dana, has to deal with her husband's affair with a younger woman. Her other friend, Phyllis, is dealing with a husband who is not a believer and develops a longing for a male friend that is a Christian. Through all of these situations, the three friends learn to depend on God and his faithfulness to get them through.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book that was given to me compliments of Thomas Nelson and BookSneeze to read and review. I am so glad that there is good, clean Christian fiction out there for us to enjoy! I hope that you like this book as much as I did.

Book Review: Out Live Your Life by Max Lucado

Max Lucado has again written a very inspiring book that opens your eyes to how you can help to make a difference in this world. When I picked up this book, I didn't want to put it down! Lucado shows you how God takes ordinary people like us to do extraordinary things. He uses the first twelve books of Acts, the example of the Jerusalem church, as a reference and guide. I loved the way Lucado ends each chapter with a scripture verse and a prayer that goes along with it. He concludes the book with the challenge that "None of us can help everyone. But all of us can help someone. And when we help them, we serve Jesus. Who would want to miss a chance like that?" The choice to serve Jesus and make a difference is up to us. Are you up for the challenge? :)

Another thing that I really liked about this book is that 100% of the author's royalties from it will be benefiting children and families through World Vision and other ministries of faith-based compassion. What great ministries!

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Thomas Nelson and BookSneeze to read and review. The opinions written above are mine. I hope that you enjoy this book as much as I did!

Book Review: The Boy Who Changed the World by Andy Andrews

I received the book called The Boy Who Changed the World by Andy Andrews from Thomas Nelson publishers and BookSneeze to read and review. This is a wonderful children's book and has good moral values in it. I would recommend it for older children, ages 5 and up. I have a two year old that enjoys listening to it, but I have to skip some of the parts that are just too hard for him to understand. He loves the beautiful pictures in it, though, and asks me to read it to him all of the time!

This book is a spin off of Andy Andrew's popular book called The Butterfly Effect. It takes you through the lives of several people and shows you how the decisions that each of them make effect the others that they do not even know. The moral that "Every little thing YOU do matters" is woven throughout the entire book. I love the Christian perspective given that God made you so important that anything and everything you do matters! You have an effect on others around you even when you do not even realize it. This book is very inspirational, and I would definately recommend it!

Book Review: A Time to Embrace by Karen Kingsbury

I recently received this book, A Time to Embrace by Karen Kingsbury, as a complimentary copy from BookSneeze and Thomas Nelson to read and review. I have been a fan of Karen Kingsbury's books for about a year and a half now. I love the way she interweaves love, romance, and everyday life from a Christian perspective! This book will have you laughing and crying, so be sure to have a box of tissues handy! I read this book in two days because she has you so captivated that I never wanted to put it down. This book is filled with miracles and has you remembering that God will always be with you to see you through any circumstance. We just have to always put our faith and trust in Him! Now, I want to read A Time to Dance as soon as I can get my hands on it! As a school teacher myself, I enjoyed seeing this one take place with Coach John Reynolds in a school setting. It really opens our eyes to what teachers and students go through in the high school setting in today's world.

Hermie: Who Is In Charge Anyway? - Book Review

I just finished watching the DVD called "Hermie: Who Is In Charge Anyway?" based on the series by Max Lucado. Booksneeze and Thomas Nelson sent a complimentary copy of this DVD to me to watch and review. This video is geared towards children ages 4-12. It uses animated bugs to teach moral lessons based on Bible verses. This video is centered around Psalm 90:16. The lesson that is being taught throughout this video is that God did not make anyone by accident, and that each of us are special and have talents that are unique to each individual. I enjoyed watching this DVD with my son, and I loved the way it pulled out different stories from the Bible. I was a little disappointed in the audio, though. The music and background sounds were much louder than the voices of the characters. If this problem were corrected, I would have give it a higher rating! I rate it 3 out of 5 stars. My son loved all of the little creatures in the video and this 60 minute video was able to keep his attention the whole time. I think that this video would be great to use with a Sunday School class as an extension to a lesson.

Storm Warning - A book review

I just finished reading an amazing book by Billy Graham called "Storm Warning." Booksneeze and Thomas Nelson sent a complimentary copy of this book to me to read and review. This book was able to capture my attention from the minute I saw that it was about the end of time. Both a preacher and an evangelist, Billy Graham has studied the Bible for many years and has written about the things that are occuring in today's world and showing how they are happening exactly as predicted in the Book of Revelation. I find this subject fascinating as you are able to see with your own eyes events that have been predicted and that are taking place in the world in which we live. It is so exciting to know that the day that our Lord is coming back is not far away and so much closer than we can even imagine! What a day that will be!!! He begins each chapter with a scripture reference relating to that chapter. Billy Graham wants us to know that Jesus is the only hope for a peace after these storms. I highly recommend this book!

There’s a new $3/1 Huggies Snug and Dry coupon available here.
You can get diapers for $4 per pack at Rite Aid next week with these coupons (see below). Or, pair them with a sale at any other store to get a great deal on a package of diapers.

Remember, print your two coupons now because they may be gone soon! :)

Next week at Rite Aid-Deal idea:

(2) Huggies Diaper Packs

+ $1 item

=$20

-$5/$20 Rite Aid Video Value

-(2) $3/1 Huggies Coupons

=$9

Get back a $1 SCR (Single Check Rebate)

=$4 pack!

More than 1/2 Off!

"Walk Like You Have Somewhere to Go" - A book review

I just finished reading a good book by Lucille O'Neal called "Walk Like You Have Somewhere to Go." Booksneeze and Thomas Nelson sent a complimentary copy of this book to me to read and review. The forward was written by her son, Shaquille O'Neal. In this book, Lucille takes you through her life as a single mom to where she is now as a grandmother of fourteen children. She shares about her hardships and struggles from teen pregnancy to problems with alcohol. I found this book to be very uplifting as she shares how she came from "mental welfare to mental health." I love how she realized God's plan for her life and the good that came from following in His will! One of my favorite aspects of this book is how Lucille begins each chapter with a verse from the Bible that pertains to the topic in that chapter. Those verses were so uplifting! I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to be inspired by another Christian woman.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255 : "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."

Free Kraft Summer Sample Pack

*HOT!* Free Kraft Summer Sample Pack — hurry!

This is a very hot freebie and will likely go quickly!
Head on over to the Kraft Facebook Page and click on the “Like” button. After doing so, click on the “Sign Up Now” button and you’ll be able to sign up for one of the free smaple packs pictured above. It looks like they’ll be sending free product coupons for the items shown.
Be patient; the site is being hammered right now.
Thanks, Surviving the Stores!

New Addition! :)

On January 11, 2010, we welcomed Jordyn Erin into our family! She weighed 7 pounds, 3 ounces, and was 20 1/4 inches long. Jayden enjoys loving on his new little sister and gives her hugs and kisses every day! We are getting settled into a routine and learning to live again on little sleep. :)