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Happy Earth Day!

Posted by html404 on April 22, 2010
in Eco Friendly Products

Happy Earth Day!

It has only been in the past year or so that our family has really started to sit up and take notice of what Earth Day means to us. To us it means to be a good steward of the resources that God has give to us – whether that is how we use the material things He has blessed us with, money, land etc. It is all encompassing when you think about it from a Christian perspective.

Today after our grocery run, we will be volunteering our time and energy – only about two hours worth – to help an organic learning farm with their spring projects. This is one of their two spring work days, the other will be in late May.

There are a few Earth Day specials going on around the web if you want to take advantage of them:

Walgreens

Nature’s Crossroads
Starting on Earth Day (April 22nd), we will offer 22% off all orders with the coupon code “Earth-friendly” at check-out. This special will run for 22 days, until May 14th.

Fabric.com

25% off their organic boutique!

Mother Earth News

Special Earth Day promotion.

I know there are more out there, but these are the ones that were in our inbox this week. Plus, I know I saw an article listing retailers offering free goodies today, so I am sure if you google “free Earth Day treats” you will come up with something!

Gotta run since we need to be out the door in just a short time!
Resources:

History of Earth Day
http://www.walgreens.com/topic/promotion/earthday.jsp?stop_mobi=yes&ec=hn8165b_22peroffearthday

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Glittery Shoe Art

Posted by html404 on April 22, 2010
in Family Stuff

Don’t children do the darndest things? Some of those things are pretty creative. Take the “shoe art” from our Wordless Wednesday photo. Our daughter thought her army green tennis shoes (keds, sneakers, whatever word you use to describe this kind of shoe) looked too boyish, so she took some glitter glue and applied some shoe art and voila! She now has girlish looking shoes. The shoes were given to us and were not a good pair of shoes, so when some of the children came to me to “tell” they did not get the reaction they were expecting. Quite frankly, I thought she was ingenius and was proud of her ability to create the kind of shoe she desired without grumbling about wanting another pair of shoes.

Now, if they had of been a new pair of church shoes or something, I might have had a negative reaction. But her glittery shoes are very attractive on a young girl’s feet.

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Allergy Free Snacks

Posted by html404 on April 22, 2010
in All Natural Products

I received the following book in exchange for writing a review. While I consider it a privilege to receive free products to review, my review is my honest opinion and thoughts of the product.

HomeFree Snacks are allergy free snacks. HomeFree Snacks were specially created for kids with allergies to nuts, eggs and dairy. You know how you wonder what a product will be like once you try it, well I did my usual wondering about this product and really wasn’t sure what to expect when our family tried the snacks that were sent to us. We have not tasted very many dairy free, egg free, or nut free products. We happen to eat and enjoy all of those ingredients. HomeFree treats caught my interest because we do have friends who have had to change their diets due to having children with allergies.

These treats were a hit with our family. We honestly couldn’t tell the difference between them and our usual baked treats. We gobbled up most of the two packages of HomeFree Snacks that we received to review right away. The rest were saved for after church the following day.

The snacks we received were Soft Oatmeal Cookies and their Mini Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies. Both kinds were very yummy! We really loved them. Surprisingly, the oatmeal cookies tasted like oatmeal cookies. 🙂 You all have heard of the brand name, Teddy Grahams, right? Well, the chocolate chocolate chip cookies were mini cookies that we all thought they tasted like the chocolate Teddy Grahams, but without any chemicals and preservatives. I just wish they sold their treats in larger portions at a more discounted price to make it worth our family’s money to purchase them. I wouldn’t mind keeping a stash on hand just for busy days or for last minute planned trips.

All natural, organic ingredients too. Here are the ingredients of the Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies:

Organic Mini Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookie Ingredients: Organic whole barley flour, organic apple juice from concentrate, organic cane sugar, natural chocolate chips (sugar, chocolate liqueur, non-dairy cocoa butter, anhydrous dextrose, soy lecithin [an emulsifier], vanilla extract), oleic safflower oil, organic turbinado sugar, organic whole oat flour, organic tapioca starch, non-alkalized cocoa powder, organic apple sauce (apples, ascorbic acid – vitamin C), organic vanilla extract, baking soda (sodium bicarbonate), organic potato starch, salt, baking powder (non-aluminum), soy lecithin (an emulsifier), xanthan gum, rosemary extract.

Allergen Information: Contains soy lecithin. Our products are made in a dedicated facility containing no peanuts, no tree nuts, no eggs, no dairy, and no wheat*. However, due to agricultural practices, oats often contain traces of wheat. *This is not a gluten free product.*

Approximately 30 mini cookies in each package.

Organic Soft Oatmeal Cookie Ingredients: Each soft cookie is filled with 13 g whole grain (out of 48 recommended per day), and certified a good source of whole grain! Organic whole oat flour, organic whole oat flakes, organic turbinado sugar, oleic safflower oil, organic dried cane juice crystals, organic apple sauce (apples, ascorbic acid – vitamin C), organic apple juice from concentrate, organic tapioca starch, baking soda (sodium bicarbonate), organic cinnamon, xanthan gum, organic vanilla extract, salt, rosemary extract.

Allergen Information: Our products are made in a dedicated facility containing no peanuts, no tree nuts, no eggs, no dairy, and no wheat. Due to agricultural practices, oats at times can contain traces of wheat. *This is not a gluten free product.* This is also a certified vegan product.

There six cookies in a package.

A box of HomeFree cookies sells for $5.79.

About HomeFree

HomeFree Snacks is a company all about providing treats you can trust. The founder of HomeFree, Jill Robbins, is a mom and clinical psychologist. She realized how important it is for kids with allergies to have healthy snacks that were comparable to what their peers are enjoying. Often social events are difficult for children with allergies because they get left out of the snacky foods and this is the void that Jill Robbins desired to fill. She hopes you will enjoy seeing the smiles on your child’s face as they munch on her fabulous healthy treats.

HomeFree is also a charitable company that donates a portion of their profits to food allergy research and education. For more information visit www.HomeFreeTreats.com

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Wordless Wednesday – Shoe Art

Posted by html404 on April 21, 2010
in Family Stuff

Shoe Art

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Horse-Boy Review

Posted by html404 on April 20, 2010
in DVDs & CDs, Movies

I received the following book in exchange for writing a review. While I consider it a privilege to receive free products to review, my review is my honest opinion and thoughts of the book.

Horse Boy is a documentary about a boy with autism. His name is Rowan. This DVD is the journey of Rowan and his parents and their search for answers to how to live, deal with and manage Rowan’s autism. Rowan’s father, Rupert Isaacson, is a human rights worker, author and former professional horse trainer, and his mother Kristin Neff, is a psychology professor. Initially, they sought all the normal medical care, but these therapies had little affect on Rowan’s behavior.

In their struggle to make sense of their son’s disorder, they discover an interesting connection between Rowan and horses. It was this connection with a neighbor’s horse that made Mr. Isaacson wonder if he could combine horses with healing. He began researching the origins of horses and where they were first domesticated. What he found led him to Mongolia, where shamanism is known for its healing and is actually their religion. This led Mr. Isaacson to decide to take his family to Mongolia in search of healing Rowan’s autism. Ms. Neff had to be convinced of the feasibility of this trip especially when every day life was a battle, but in the end Mr. Isaacson won her over to the prudence of this decision.

The movie documents the family’s journey to Mongolia. It shows some raw footage (bathroom trips, purification “bath”, which they use a fuzzy image for privacy), but it is reveals their family’s personal journey. I just like to disclose things like this because I prefer to know about these types of things if someone recommends a movie or book to me for the first time. That way viewers can make an informed decision about their family watching the movie. However, I won’t reveal the outcome of their trip overseas in case you want to watch the movie!

I also want you to know that April is Autism Awareness Month, so please be sure to check out the additional resources in the links below for more information about autism.

Watch Horse Boy on PBS!

If you have TV and are so inclined, you may watch Horse Boy on PBS Tuesday, May 11, INDEPENDENT LENS presents The Horse Boy, Michel Orion Scott’s remarkable new documentary about Rupert Isaacson and Kristina Neff’s unorthodox journey with their autistic son and the miracle they find through horses — first on their Texas farm and then in the outer reaches of Mongolia. Rupert Isaacson, who has also written a book about the experience and now runs a learning center, The Horse Boy Foundation.

Resources:

http://www.pbs.org/independentlens/horse-boy/

http://www.horseboymovie.com

http://www.autism-society.org/site/

http://exchanges.nyse.com/archives/2008/04/autism_awareness.php

http://www.autism-society.org/site/PageServer?pagename=research_awareness

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The Book of Ruth DVD

Posted by html404 on April 19, 2010
in DVDs & CDs, Movies

I received the following book in exchange for writing a review. While I consider it a privilege to receive free products to review, my review is my honest opinion and thoughts of the book.

Book_of_Ruth_med

We had the privilege of reviewing another movie produced by PureFlix Entertainment last weekend called The Book of Ruth. It is interesting that this was the next movie to review because last month our family watched another version of Ruth and were slightly disappointed in the discrepancies throughout it. Pureflix’s version was pretty much right on in their depiction of the biblical story and characters. They did not take liberties like the other version did and we appreciated that fact.

We really enjoyed this movie. With everything going on though, we did not preview it one beforehand but there really wasn’t any need to. It is a very family-friendly movie. We loved that the characters were portrayed like their real characters, showing their sorrow, as well as their joy and servitude towards one another. Just imagine what the world would be like if more people would think of others before themselves, it’d be a whole different place wouldn’t it?

I loved the wonderful relationship between Ruth and her mother-in-law. So often in the real world, mother-in-laws and daughter-in-laws get a bad rap from one another, but this movie showed how a daughter through marriage can be a devoted and loving daughter – by choice, by example and by love.

We have been very pleased with these two films we have received from Pureflix and highly recommend them to families seeking family-friendly, Christian entertainment.

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In Harm’s Way – Revell Book Tour

Posted by html404 on April 18, 2010
in Uncategorized

I received the following book in exchange for writing a review. While I consider it a privilege to receive free products to review, my review is my honest opinion and thoughts of the book.

In Harm's Way

In Harm’s Way was another suspenseful book that was a good read. I found it a bit more predictable than I did Too Close to Home, but it was a good story line with a bit of romance tucked in for the romantic at heart.

This book is actually the final in a series called, Heroes of Quantico, but each of the books can be read without reading the others, so it wasn’t like I felt I was missing any details. It was about another FBI agent who is hard pressed to solve an uncanny, yet intriguing mystery. All because of a rag doll. I loved how the author wove the story line of this together. She did catch me off guard with the spin she put on one aspect of the story.

What struck me in this book was how badly some people want children, but cannot have them. One character in this book wanted children so badly she was willing to do anything to have a baby. It is sad and I realize how much I take for granted my ability to conceive. Not that I haven’t had my own difficulties with our losses, but still I have seven children here with me. The rest just happen to be waiting in heaven.

Another topic of interest In Harm’s Way deals with is the intuition between twins. I find that intriguing and I know that this isn’t just some phenomenon, like ESP, which is touched on in the book as well. Before I even told my mother I was expecting again, she outright asked me if I was pregnant. I was taken aback and asked her what made her ask and she said she just had a feeling. Now, that doesn’t happen all the time or with every pregnancy and is certainly of a different calibur of intuition that that of twins; which I happen to believe in because I don’t doubt God’s ability to give such close siblings the ability to feel and “know” something about a person who was knit together with them in their mother’s womb. Intuition is just one of those uncanny things you just cannot explain. And it is one aspect of the story that the main character must deal with too.

I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a change of pace in their normal reading. It is another good, clean mystery that I really enjoyed.

“Available April 2010 at your favorite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group.”

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Home Beyond the Sun – DVD Review

Posted by html404 on April 17, 2010
in DVDs & CDs, Movies

I received the following book in exchange for writing a review. While I consider it a privilege to receive free products to review, my review is my honest opinion and thoughts of the book.

A couple of weekends ago we had the privilege of watching a new movie called, Home Beyond the Sun, put out by PureFlix Entertainment. It was inspired by a true story and explored the social and political realities of China today. PureFlix Entertainment is known for it’s family-friendly Christian films, such as Sarah’s Choice.

Home_Beyond_the_Sun__med

Home Beyond the Sun was very good. We all enjoyed it very much. We previewed it before we let the children watch it and we are glad we did because in a couple of parts the little ones got a little scared. However, because we had viewed it before we knew what scenes were coming up to explain to them what was happening etc.

Movies like this truly show us how thankful we should be for the freedoms we enjoy here in the United States. They also show how little girls are devalued and treated under some officials, but not all of them, as this movie reveals.

The quality of the movie was ok. It wasn’t a Hollywood movie with billions of dollars in their production budget, but it was still well made and the actors/storyline moved me to tears.

If you are looking for a family-friendly movie with a touching story of the fight for freedom, the search for truth and a journey of faith, then I highly recommend, Home Beyond the Sun.

About PureFlix Entertainment

PureFlix Entertainment produces, distributes, acquires and markets Christian and family-friendly films. PureFlix unites some of the most respected and successful members of the Christian Film community with the objective of positioning itself as the industry leader for the production and distribution of high quality, inspiring movies and television programs, while doing so with integrity. Mission Statement: Transforming the human spirit through values based entertainment. For more information, please visit www.pureflixentertainment.com where they also have trailers to many of their movies.

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Farm Land Update

Posted by html404 on April 16, 2010
in Family Stuff

Farm Near Hayfield

Image: Tom Curtis / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

We finally got to see the farm land we are interested in renting so we can start growing vegetables. It is a beautiful spot and it would be lovely to rent the house if it was available! We still have some questions that need to be answered. Things like does the owner have a specific area in mind for us to farm, how much the rent be, water supply, will she provide a storage area etc. We also contacted our farm facilitators from our Farm Beginnings class to see what input they had. We are still waiting to see who we will have as a farm mentor as well. So many things to consider and think about…

We also called about another property that is for rent that would have room for a large garden, but have yet to receive a call back. The land next to it is for rent too, so we called about that. No callback on that either. I think everyone is busy enjoying this gorgeous weather we are experiencing here!

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The Twilight Gospel – Litefuse Book Tour

Posted by html404 on April 15, 2010
in Books

I received the following book in exchange for writing a review. While I consider it a privilege to receive free products to review, my review is my honest opinion and thoughts of the book.

The Twilight Gospel

First, I want to clarify that I have not read any of the Twilight Saga book series. I am not really into those kinds of books, so you might wonder why I chose to read Twilight Gospel and right a review of it since it is based on the Twilight Saga. I decided to opt in for this review to have an open mind and because I wanted to see what author, Dave Roberts, had to say about these best-seller books.

I don’t agree with everything Mr. Roberts had to say. In parts, I could see his reasoning but other times I found this book hard to follow, even with the details Mr. Roberts shared about the characters from the Twilight series. There were times I just couldn’t get the connection between the scripture he used and the storyline of the Twilight books.

To me, it seemed like the author was almost justifying allowing Christian young people to read these books by trying to counter them with biblical insights. But I honestly don’t think Christian young people should be reading books like Harry Potter and the Twilight Saga. Yes, I am one of those Christians, but hey, I am admitting it!

Perhaps for those who have already read the series, this book could be a useful tool. However, based on the limited details provided about the Twilight Saga book series in The Twilight Gospel, I wouldn’t allow my teenager to read this book. She already asked and the answer is no, absolutely not.

No matter how people try to justify their reading material, reading about sex, vampires, and the occult has an affect on the way we think and act. Reading about sex at any age has the potential to arouse and awaken feelings that otherwise would lay dormant until the right time (marriage!). To be honest, I don’t think Christian young people need anymore temptation in today’s world. God’s Word, the Bible, is clear on what we, as Christians, are to think on:

Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things. Philippians 4:8 King James Version of the Bible.

For me there’s no question as to why I cannot recommend The Twilight Gospel, read the verse above again if you still wonder why, unless you have already read the Twilight Saga book series. Maybe then it might be helpful. Maybe…

About the Author:

Dave Roberts is the author of the best-selling The Toronto Blessing and Red Moon Rising with joint sales in excess of 100,000. He is a former editor of Christianity and won awards for his work on Renewal magazine. He is a local church pastor and conference director for three major annual conferences on worship, children’s ministry, and women’s ministry.

Resources:

http://www.litfusegroup.com/Blog-Tours/the-twilight-gospel-by-dave-roberts.html

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100414/ap_on_en_ot/us_challenged_books

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