Faith and Family Reviews - Product reviews you can trust!

Old New Car

Posted by html404 on July 23, 2012
in Family Stuff

It’s been a long time since I mentioned anything (fear of judgement) about our car situation. We have been blessed to use my mil’s car since last October when I got side swiped in our 15-passenger van, which insurance wrote off, and my husband decided our mini van was no longer worth fixing. We have gone nowhere as a complete family since October. Amazing really. But do you know what? None of our children have complained. The only thing we really missed is attending church together. That’s not to say no one has been anywhere, we have been creative in taking different children out on errands etc. I am very proud of our children for being so content during this season of our lives.

My mil has been a gem. She usually is anyways. She’s had several health issues preventing her from driving, but got a clean bill of health this past spring because of this we have been anxious to give her car back. She’s only asked to drive once and went back to having my husband drive her on errands, which is fine, he’s happy to do that.

We have just put pressure on ourselves to not take advantage of her benevolence any longer, so we’ve been car hunting in full force. We have been very hesitant to take on a car payment. Never had a car payment in our 18 years of marriage, but felt it was the only way we could do it. We had just found two suburbans on Friday, which my husband stopped to look at yesterday since the car dealer was near our old town.

BUT…a friend from our old church called yesterday. He offered to give us their old 15-passenger van, 11 really since one seat is missing. Wow! Mr. G, a husband and father of 12 – all girls but 1 – and is a contractor with his own business. One of his clients has him doing work in exchange for a work truck. Therefore Mr. G and his family want to GIVE us their old van. An old new car! I never thought God would provide in this way for us. We are in awe that we waited for so long, hesitant to take on a car payment and blown away that we will now have a family vehicle by next weekend. Just a couple things have to be done, the AC needs a new hose, so my husband is going to look at a junk yard and see if he can fix that himself. He’s pretty savvy that way, and if he can’t do it, will give it up to let someone else do the work. We may attend church as a family for the first time in 9 months!

We may still look for a smaller more economical car for my husband to drive to and from work, as we’ve got spoiled with his mom’s car being so good on gas, but we’ll see what happens.

The saying “Good things come to those who wait.” – author unknown – is so true.

So tell me, could you live 9 months without a family vehicle?

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My Long Lost Blackberry Smart Phone, Sniff & $40 Amazon Giveaway

Posted by html404 on July 21, 2012
in Giveaways, Techie Stuff, Technology/Electronics, Uncategorized

Some of you may remember the story of my long lost Blackberry smart phone (if not read about it here and here) but I’ll happily give you a brief synopsis of the story.

I loved my Blackberry. It was a cool fuschia color and I loved how fast I was getting at typing on the tiny keyboard – at least it was a keyboard, unlike my iPhone’s. But I digress. While I found certain aspects of my Blackberry mysterious to use, I was getting the hang of it and just as that was happening, the thing dies on me. Too bad objects can’t love me back and appreciate my love for them – by not breaking. Alas, they don’t and they do break.

I lost all my contacts and was unable to retrieve them. Thankfully most of the important ones were in my email files or in the hard copy address book. But what I could not retrieve are my photos. 🙁 I was very disappointed. As you know photos have a lot of sentimental value in the memories they create and preserve. Another sore spot was fact I was never able to figure out how to back up my Blackberry.

The thing is the phone guys were unable to fix my phone due to not having the battery in stock. Whether that was a ploy to get me to upgrade I have no idea, but I needed my phone so I opted to upgrade. After all, you can live without their smart phone these days? I know I’d miss mine.

Content and/or other value provided by our partner, Asurion.

Would you like to save yourself the trouble of all I went through and have peace of mind with the content on your smart phone?

Check with your cell phone provider for the Asurion protection package. Asurion offers smart phone/technology insurance. It protects your data, privacy, provides technical assistance and service coverage to replace your phone. Most companies do offer this when you first purchase your cell phone so be sure to ask and you’ll save yourself a lot of trouble and heartache of losing precious photos and data.

Now you have a chance to win a $40 Amazon gift code! Just see the details below.

$40 Amazon Gift Code Giveaway

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Have fun and good luck!

Faith and Family Review is being compensated an Amazon.com gift card in exchange for writing this post. All thoughts and opinions are our own.

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Twin Sisters Productions QVC Time Change!

Posted by Brande on July 20, 2012
in DVDs & CDs, Family Stuff, Fun Stuff, Holidays, Music, Products for Dad, Products for Mom, Seasonal Stuff, Shopping

Twin Sisters Productions are airing on QVC Saturday morning from 6:00 am to 7:00 am. However, you can begin ordering at midnight! Here’s the product number is F09784 !

Happy Shopping!

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Just a Quick Reminder to watch Twin Sisters Productions

Posted by Brande on July 20, 2012
in Coupons, Deals, Downloads, DVDs & CDs, Fun Stuff, Holidays, Music, Seasonal Stuff, Shopping

Don’t forget to watch “Christmas in July” on QVC and look for Twin Sisters Productions. They will be promoting their line of Christmas Card that come accompanied with audio/music CDs.

Follow Twin Sisters Productions Facebook Page for Times!

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Back to School Supplies #BagItForward #CBias @Elmers @Walmart

Posted by html404 on July 19, 2012
in Education, Giving Back/Charity, Uncategorized

We are only a month into summer but school will soon be starting back up again as back to school sales indicate. Most show their teachers appreciate at the end of the school year. Some may not even show their appreciate at all! For shame! But if you forgot to do it a month or two ago, I am going to share a way you can easily do for this back to school session.

As you know, we homeschool, and just like any other family purchasing school supplies is a little like Christmas around here. New glue sticks, new markers, new crayons, new pens and pencil and erasers you can actually find, are a source of rejoicing in our home. Seriously.

The other night my two older daughters and I went out to Walmart at 11:30pm to shop for quality school supplies at low prices for Elmer’s simple service project, which is a campaign supporting teachers by offering a donation of buy 2 school supply items and Bag It Forward to the teacher of your choice. My daughters were tickled to be out a midnight with mom shopping and we had fun.

To help with our shopping experience, I downloaded Elmer’s 1st Day App, which is also available at the school supply list holder. I simply went to the website clicked download and it was quickly downloaded to my iPhone. It is an app to help parents and children to capture the memories of the first day of school. It is available for a free download here. Using the 1st Day App will actually help drive donations to the Kids in Need Foundation which provides funding to teachers and ultimately kids.

We shopped for notebooks, pens, pencils, erasers, more notebooks, glue, glue sticks and more pens and pencils.

Our donation gift is not wrapped in pretty paper or anything because our teacher is very practical and did not want wrapping paper or a gift bag wasted when the school supplies were just going on shelves.

This is going to be very weird and out of the norm for me in the giving back projects I usually participate in. My daughter was suppose to write this for me but she slept in! But here’s it is…we chose me as the teacher.

I admit my family doesn’t take time to officially show their appreciation at specific times of the year for all I do, other than Mother’s Day and my Birthday. However, there are little ways all throughout the year they thank me – my husband surprises me with big and little gifts when I least expect it or my oldest daughter will say she’s so thankful she’s homeschooled and will share that gratitude with me. There’s never been a time when we’ve taken our children on a field trip or another place that our children haven’t thanked us. So this simple service project was a way for us to get a jump start in purchasing school supplies for our eight children, as we go through a lot of school supplies. We are very grateful for this opportunity and privileged we have the option to homeschool.

My children woke up to the bags of school supplies yesterday and cheered, “Mom got school supplies!” And were soon asking for new markers and crayons to color. 😉

I am still deliberating over who we could share a bag of school supplies with, as it just doesn’t feel right that we gave to us! Maybe I can call an elementary school and see if there’s a family in need of school supplies and give back that way.

Be sure to visit Bag It Forward on Pinterest, Elmer’s Facebook and Twitter. The Pinterest board has some very creative ideas!

“I am a member of the Collective Bias™ Social Fabric® Community. This content has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias™ and Elmer’s. #BagItForward #CBias #SocialFabric. All opinions are my own.”

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Back to School Savings

Posted by html404 on July 19, 2012
in Thrifty Thursday, Uncategorized

School supplies and back to school clothing costs adds up fast! Start shopping now to beat the rush and use these coupons to increase your back to school savings:

· Get $10 off 2 Jansport backpacks with this Target coupon (click for code, expires 8/4). You can also earn up to 5% cash back.

· For back to school clothes and shoes, save 10% off any order with this Kohl’s coupon (click for code, expires 8/23). You can also earn 4% cash back.

· Save with free shipping on orders of $25+ when you use this Scholastic Store coupon (no code needed when you click the coupon link, expires soon). You can also earn 7% cash back.

· Enjoy free shipping on orders of $50+ when you use this Office Depot coupon (no code needed when you click the coupon link, expires soon). You can also earn up to 7% cash back.

· Get 10% off orders $250+ with this SchoolSuppliesToYou.com coupon (click for code, expires soon).

Note: Cash Back rates can change from one day to the next. These rates were valid 7/13/2012.

BeFrugal.com offers free coupons and Cash Back, currently with an average rate of 7% at 3000+ online stores. For even more savings, sign up for a free account now.

To get the most savings, be sure you activate your account before you click to use the online coupon offers above. This way, you’ll earn Cash Back plus save big from using the coupons above.

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Celebrate Christmas in July with Twin Sisters Productions and QVC!

Posted by Brande on July 19, 2012
in Deals, Downloads, DVDs & CDs, Family Stuff, Fun Stuff, Holidays, Music, Shopping

Christmas is Coming! And it’s time to celebrate Christmas in July. Time to start thinking about your Christmas cards and there’s no better place to start than with Twin Sisters Productions. Twin Sisters Productions will be promoting their Christmas cards accompanied with audio/music CDs on QVC. Be sure to watch QVC on July 20th and 21st. As an added bonus – Twin Sisters Productions will also be offering FREE three past Christmas album downloads from QVC when ordering a CD set during the first airing.

In order to obtain the additional downloads you must.

“Like” Twin Sisters Productions on Facebook – By liking Twin Sisters Productions on Facebook you will find out the time their 2012 CD Greeting Cards are airing on QVC.
Buy a set of card during the FIRST airing.
Send an email to Megan.Taylor@twinsisters.com with your name, address, and receipt number to redeem your prize.

So tell me, do you celebrate Christmas in July?

I will receiving a promotional item for writing this post.

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Silly Boys Underwear: Wordless Wednesday

Posted by html404 on July 18, 2012
in Clothing, Family Stuff, Fun Stuff, Wordless Wednesday

Silly boys, silly boys underwear. 🙂 One day last week or the week before my two little boys somehow got baby’s new training pants and look what they did? I think all my children wore underwear on their heads at some point or another. All I can say is goofy!

Have your children worn underwear on their heads? Let me know!

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Goat Milk Yogurt vs. Cow Milk Yogurt Review

Posted by html404 on July 17, 2012
in All Natural Products, Food and Treats, Health and Nutrition, Reviews

Redwood Hill’s Goat Milk Yogurt Review

We were excited to try two different brands of yogurt. Green Valley and Redwood Hill Farm yogurt and kefir. Our store only had Redwood Hill blueberry yogurt in stock so that is what we got to try. And to clarify Redwood Hill Farm makes the goat milk yogurt, kefir and cheese. and Green Valley Organics Lactose free makes cow milk yogurt, kefir and sour cream.

See? All natural organic yogurt. It’s really hard to find in stores, but I love that you can pronounce all the ingredients and that it is healthy and good for you. As organic farmers and a mom of eight children it is important to feed my family food that doesn’t contain ingredients that could harm them.

My family was eager to see how goat milk yogurt would taste. In the past we haven’t really liked goat milk products that we tested out, but this brand was different.

A few children thought that they could taste the goat milk, but the majority thought that it tasted just like regular yogurt. My kids could eat yogurt everyday and they really enjoyed Redwood Hill’s. Even my pickier eaters liked it.

Green Valley Organics Lactose Free Yogurt – Cow’s Milk Yogurt Review

My husband loved the Green Valley Organics Lactose Free strawberry yogurt, which is made from cow’s milk. He thought that it was the best strawberry yogurt he had tasted – we have tried many brands and my husband can be very particular when it comes to food! He thought this strawberry yogurt was creamy and very good. The strawberry flavor really popped and it’s affordable as well. My husband eats yogurt almost daily and he is rather picky about what brands he will buys, but this one hit the spot for him and he would buy it in the future.

The Redwood Hill Farm Kefir was yummy. My oldest daughter who is very health conscious, loved it and thought it was the best kefir she had ever had. She typically doesn’t care for goat milk products, but loved this one. My other kids really enjoyed it too. We could not even tell it was made from goat milk due to the yummy flavors and fruity texture.

You can find Green Valley and Redwood Hill Farm’s products at Whole Foods stores nationwide as well as Jewel-Osco. Organic, all natural, and free from harmful chemicals and additives – sure to be a family staple at our house.

Visit Redwood Hill Farm & Creamery or Green Valley Organics Lactose Free on the web to find out more information about their farm and their products.

Faith and Family Reviews received the following product in exchange for writing a review. While we consider it a privilege to receive products to review, our reviews are our honest opinion and thoughts of the product.

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Mom’s Dream Backyard Oasis #SearsPatio #SummerWithSears #CBias

Posted by html404 on July 16, 2012
in Furniture, Home, Uncategorized

I love spending outside, especially in the summer. There’s just something relaxing and peaceful about being surrounded by nature. I get that from my mother. We have a beautiful spacious backyard here at the house we are renting. However, the patio is in need of a little love. We only have a couple of lawn chairs and that is the extent of our outdoor furniture.

We really do not have any outdoor decor either. That’s why I scoured Sears online catalog and Outdoor Living section last night and today looking for outdoor furniture and accessories to spice up our sad looking patio.

I have always been somewhat of an early riser. I love early mornings. I dream of creating Mom’s Dream Backyard Oasis. Of course it would be for the whole family but my plan is to use it in the early morning for some alone time. Whether it’s reading or getting a head start on blog posts or client work, I want to have a place to go that is all my own – at least for a short time during the day!

It was so fun to dream and create what I consider my dream backyard oasis. Below you will find my Polyvore Wish Board of most of the items I found that would make my patio more attractive and fun to spend time on. The one thing I did not do is consider cost as I chose things, after all this was a “dream”. When I dream I dream big and dreaming means money is not a factor. Sears does have a Shop Your Way Rewards program, but I did not get a chance to check that out, but I am thinking it might offer some sort of savings for a huge dream project like this.There’s also the Sears local ad to search for budget friendly items too and I think when the time comes for me to seriously plunk down some money for a whole new patio makeover, I would start with the ads, shop sales and watch for promotions.

Sears Style Hub really did not help me in my research, perhaps someone more design focused would find it helpful.

I thought Sears had a great selection and would definitely consider making my purchases there.

My online shopping experience was good. However, I did experience a scripting message last night that froze up my computer causing me to go to bed early to start fresh in the morning. That was one negative thing, the other was Polyvore doesn’t have their themes categorized, at least from what I could see so it took me a long time to find a board for the amount of photos I wanted to use. It was very time consuming. Uploading them to the board took no time at all, which was definitely a plus.

Here are the steps I took, starting with Sears online catalog:

Shopping the Sears Outdoor Living Section

Creating a Polyvore Wish Board

Adding Photos to My Wish Board

My Completed Polyvore Wish Board

Dream Backyard Oasis #SearsPatio #SummerWithSears by faithandfamilyreviews on polyvore.com

Here’s a complete list of everything above and a couple more. Please give a thumbs up to the items you like:

View List on List.ly

For those of you shopping for new outdoor items, Sears is currently offering:

Up to 30% off patio furniture and grills
All Grills on sale
Be sure to check out the Red Tag Event for great deals on Patio Furniture and Grills
More than 50% Off this Ty Pennington Style Halston 4-pc. seating set

Consider following Sears on Facebook and Twitter to receive more informational updates and promotions.

In the comments, tell me about your dream backyard oasis.

“I am a member of the Collective Bias™ Social Fabric® Community. This content has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias™ and Sears. #CBias #SocialFabric. All opinions are my own.”

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