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Captive – Book Review and Giveaway

Captive

CAPTIVE, based on a miraculous true story that drew the attention of the entire nation, is a thrilling drama about the spiritual collision of two broken lives.  When Brian Nichols – on the run as the subject of a city wide manhunt and desperate to make contact with his newborn son – takes recovering meth addict Ashley Smith hostage in her own apartment, she turns for guidance to Rick Warren’s best-selling inspirational book, The Purpose Driven Life.  While reading aloud, Ashley and her would-be killer each face crossroads where despair and death intersect hope.

Captive is written by Ashley Smith with Stacy Mattingly and was previously published as Unlikely Angel.

This is a great book about hope, forgiveness, and finding your purpose even in extremely difficult circumstances. It’s amazing how God can make himself known anytime, anywhere, and to anyone. This is such a great story of how God can bring purpose and freedom through impossible circumstances.

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They also have a movie, based on the book, that will be in theaters soon. The movie releases September 18th. You can find the movie trailer here.

If you like audio books, check out this audio book excerpt, read by the author Ashley Smith.

Check out their website here, and join others in sharing what held you captive, and how you found your purpose. Use #FollowYourPurpose when you share.

I have a book to giveaway! Enter below for a chance to win your own copy of CAPTIVE.

Disclosure (in accordance with the FTC’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising”): Many thanks to Propeller Consulting, LLC for providing this prize for the giveaway. Choice of winners and opinions are 100% my own and NOT influenced by monetary compensation. I did receive a sample of the product in exchange for this review and post.

Only one entrant per mailing address, per giveaway. If you have won a prize from our sponsor Propeller / FlyBy Promotions in the last 30 days, you are not eligible to win. If you have won the same prize on another blog, you are not eligible to win it again. Winner is subject to eligibility verification.

I received this product free for purposes of my review, all opinions are my own.

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Homeschooling Mondays – 4 ways to save money on books

I love homeschooling, and I have my favorite curriculums, but seriously, all these books can become really expensive! Here’s a few ways I save money.

photo_18977_201011091. Don’t buy the teacher’s keys – My kids are 2nd grade and pre-K. I can do their math in my head like it’s second nature. There’s no reason to buy the teacher’s keys when I can come up with the right answer faster than checking it in the book.

Once you get up into the higher grades you’re going to want those teacher’s keys – there’s no way we’re doing algebra without a teacher key. But for the lower grades, you can save yourself a lot of money by only purchasing the books you actually need.

2. Re-use curriculum – My hooked on phonics I only had to purchase once, for all the kids to use. History and science text-books through 2nd grade don’t actually have workbooks that the kids need to do so I only need one set for all the kids. The same thing for reading/literature. You don’t need multiple copies of 1st grade readers. Get one set and use them for all your children.

3. Don’t be afraid of used books – I saved so much money in college by buying lightly used books. The same thing works for homeschooling. Amazon sells used books, so does e-bay. Before you pay full price look and see if you can save by buying used.

One warning with this though – most companies like to put out new versions every few years. It’s confusing to try to mix versions. So if the version 3 workbook is the only one available, you’re not going to want the version 2 teacher key. Usually, they change just enough that it doesn’t work well to mix versions.

Anything that is a complete set or that can stand alone (like readers), if it’s cheaper used, get it used.

Education4. Always accept hand-me-downs – I’ve saved a lot of money because my mom and my mother-in-law both homeschooled. I haven’t had to buy readers (I have 1st through 6th grade on my shelf) because they passed them on to me when they were finished. My mom gave me all their flashcards (and those things can be so expensive!) and a full set of hooked on phonics (K – 4th), and my mother-in-law is constantly giving me random educational items for the kids.

If it’s something I’ll use later (like my 6th grade readers) I save it. If it’s something I’ll never use I pass it on to someone who wants it.

What are some of your tricks for saving money?

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Grace in the Middle – Book Review

Cover1-197x306Grace in the Middle – An Imperfect Journey to God’s Perfect Plan

After years of trying to get pregnant, Wendy and Scott Duke were finally going to have their first child. But when a dangerous pre-natal diagnosis followed by an even more lethal disease after their daughter’s birth threatened to immediately take their newborn away, the Dukes turned to their only hope: God. In Grace in the Middle Duke encourages readers through the amazing story of her young daughter’s victory over some of life’s most perilous afflictions.

Anxious, frustrated, and scared, Wendy and Scott braced themselves for the unknown. In Grace in the Middle, Wendy recounts how her faith was rattled throughout the pregnancy.

Grace in the Middle details the physical, emotional, and spiritual struggles Wendy and Scott faced during the pregnancy and the treatments for their daughter Savannah’s cancer. Duke reminds us that God was always there for her even when she might not have felt His presence. She continually emphasizes the importance of having the love and support of family and a church, highlighting the richness in spiritual growth that takes place through such difficult trials. The first few years of Savannah’s life were difficult—there’s no denying that. But, as Duke is attentive to remind, God is stronger and more powerful than any curveballs thrown at a believer. Grace in the Middle even includes a chapter written by Savannah, who is now almost 15 and living a normal, busy, teenage life.

I really loved this book. It’s not a feel-good kind of book. I was in tears halfway through the first chapter. Being a mom myself it’s always heart-wrenching to read or hear about another mom losing a child (multiple miscarriages in this case) or something not going quite perfectly in a pregnancy.

As sad as the book is – and I think it’s good to admit that when things like this happen, we are sad and hurting – it was also so encouraging to read about how the author found God throughout all these difficulties and about how her faith was strengthened through these trials.

It’s an encouragement to me and it’s so encouraging to see her stepping out and sharing her painful journey with others in a way that encourages and strengthens our faith and shows how God is sovereign through it all.

Whether your own faith is being challenged by trials or you just want to be encouraged and challenged yourself, you’ll be encouraged, challenged, and pushed to go deeper in your faith and to not fear what the future has in store.

If you want to find out more or purchase your own copy, Grace in the Middle is for sale on Ambassador International’s website.

You can also find out more about the author, Wendy Duke on her website, or follow her on twitter and facebook.

I received this book free for purposes of my review. All opinions are my own.

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Homeschooling Mondays – My 4 Favorite Curriculums

Having been homeschooled myself I entered homeschooling my children having already formed some opinions about curriculums. So I like to pick and choose what subjects to do from what curriculum based on what my children need.

1. A Beka Book – This is the curriculum I used the most as a child. I really like their math. I tried saxon with my daughter for Kindergarten and First Grade and it just didn’t work well for us. We’re using A Beka this year and it’s going way better.

And I love their reading/literature. They have the kids reading many classic stories and lots of random chapters from classic children’s books (like Little House on the Prairie). This is great for expanding kid’s literary horizons and encouraging them to pick new books to read.

Their history, science, and english is equal to any other comparable homeschool curriculum provider but I tend to buy from them because I’m ordering math anyways so it’s easier to just place one order.

I really like their Bible curriculum but it’s very expensive because you have to purchase the entire kit to do it. So I’ve never actually purchased my Bible curriculum from them.

2. BJU press – I get my Bible curriculum from here. It works well for us and we’ll probably use it for a few more years. Once the kids are old enough to do more of a Bible study format I’ll be searching again for something that does more of this. BJU Press is great for teaching kids the basics of the Bible and the Bible stories.

I have also use their history and science and really like them as well. This year we’re using A Beka for science and history because they’re half the price of BJU Press.

Their reading/literature is acceptable but I don’t like it as well as A Beka’s. And their math and english are pretty much the same as every other homeschool curriculum.

Mostly the differences between A Beka Book and BJU Press are in how they present the information. Depending on how your child learns best you may find one curriculum easier to use than the other.

3. Hooked on Phonics – This is by far my favorite curriculum for teaching my children to read. Once they’re reading the A Beka or BJU Press readers are awesome. But for getting your child to read, I prefer Hooked on Phonics. I started with Kindergarten and about halfway through the First Grade set my child was reading well enough that she didn’t want to read them any more. We actually started First Grade Hooked on Phonics about halfway through her Kindergarten year and took a break for the summer. Over the summer she did a lot of reading and when we came back to the First Grade set to finish it the beginning of her First Grade year she was way beyond it. It had made learning to read easy and fun and with the dvds, books, stickers, and workbook there’s so many ways to teach reading it’s easy to find a method that works for your child.

My 4yr old desperately wants to learn to read this year so we’re working on the Pre-K Hooked on Phonics with her. Another month and we’ll start in on the Kindergarten set!

And they’re easily reusable for multiple children. So, buy one set, and use it for all your kids.

4. Saxon – Even though Saxon Math did not work well for my daughter, I have many homeschooling friends who just love it. My husband used it as a child and he liked it. So, the curriculum itself is great, it just was not the right method for my daughter.

Even if you’re not using their curriculum, the Saxon Math Manipulatives Kit is great for using with any math curriculum!

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There’s a lot of great homeschool curriculums available and if something doesn’t work for you, try something else, and eventually you’ll find the perfect fit for you and your child!

This post does contain affiliate links and I do earn a small commission on any sales from those links.

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Seedybeads


So, I discovered this cute little Etsy shop the other day. Actually, I won a contest she had on facebook and she sent me two pieces of jewelry, that’s how I discovered it. But looking through her jewelry I found so many pieces that I like that I just had to share her shop.

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She sent me this awesome necklace – that I am hiding from my kids, because they tried to claim it the second they saw it.

IMG_20150814_170948504And these earrings – which I don’t have to hide because I’m the only one who can wear them. Though, my 7yr old has also just decided that she’s ready to have her ears pierced. Not sure if that was because she just turned 7 or because she’s decided to start stealing earrings from me as well.

il_570xN.796155746_h9r7This Metal Kumihino bracelet is one of her newest items and it’s so sparkly and feminine.

il_570xN.796154532_45k2I just love elephants and this Elephants in Time bracelet/watch is just adorable.

Plus it’s only $20 and if you use the discount code below you get a discount and free shipping!

My favorite item on her shop are these barefoot sandals. Perfect for a bride or bridesmaids for a wedding. I really wish I had these when I got married 10 years ago. I couldn’t wear shoes with a heel or my dress would have been the wrong length so I ended up wearing white bedroom slippers, because finding flat white shoes for a bride is impossible. No one actually saw my feet, but these would have been just perfect with a cute pedicure.

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Check out Seedybeads here!

You can get 45% off and free shipping with code save45

If you want to keep up with her sales and new products you can follow her here on twitter or on pinterest.

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Homeschooling Mondays – Why Homeschool?

For my homeschooling series I thought I would kick it off with why we’re homeschooling.

I myself was homeschooled from 1st grade on and my husband was homeschooled his entire life so when it came time to pick what we are going to do for our kids education there was really no discussion, we both benefited greatly from the education we received and we want the same positive educational experience for our children.

So, now that you know how much I just love homeschooling here’s some benefits I see for my kids.

1. Education is tailored towards my child’s needs and aptitudes – For example, last year we used Saxon for math. And suddenly a subject that hadn’t been a problem, became a problem. For my 1st grade daughter, Saxon math just didn’t work. She dreaded it every day.

This year, I’ve switch to A Beka math, which was my favorite when I was in school. She complained about it the first couple of days – because that’s how she approaches math – but when I introduced her first “speed drill” a week in, it appealed to her competitive personality and she loved it. Just in case you don’t know, a speed drill is about 8 to 10 math and subtraction problems that she has to answer in under 1 minute. The A Beka curriculum comes with one a day for the entire year. I loved these when I was a kid!

Now, every time there’s a row of equations to solve I have to set my stopwatch app for 1 minute and time her. Usually she’s done in 30 to 45 seconds. And she begs to be allowed to do multiple speed drills per day.

Also, I don’t feel that I have to use the same method with every child. I’ve started teaching my K4 daughter to read and I find that I teach her differently than I did my oldest because she has different strengths and different areas of difficulty.

2. Flexible Schedule – This is one thing I just love. And honestly, after being homeschooled myself I’m not sure I would survive as a mom if I was locked into my local school schedule.

What this means is we can meet friends at the zoo in the morning and do school in the afternoon. We can take a vacation after peak season and have more of the beach to ourselves. If we’re just having a bad morning, we can all take a break, go play outside for an hour, then return and finish school when the kid’s are better able to focus.

I’m required to do 180 days of school per year but I choose what days those are. This past year, we did school through all the snow days. So, while other parents are going crazy with stir-crazy kids who are stuck at home all day, we did our school. And then we got out about 2 weeks before the local schools did in May.

3. Socialization – I know this somehow gets a bad rap for homeschoolers and from my perspective, it just doesn’t make sense. Here’s the thing, when my child gets together with other children – which does happen on a regular basis – I am getting together with moms and oftentimes moms and dads. So, I know the parents of the kids my child is hanging out with. I also get to observe how my child plays with other children and we can talk about it later when we get home. I will often observe something that while not something I want to call my kids out on in public, it is something that I want to have a conversation about in private.

For example, she was playing with some kids and one of the boys just got a little too rough and pushed her over. No big deal, she wasn’t injured, and he didn’t mean anything by it. It just happens when you have a group of kids playing. He apologized, and she didn’t play with him the rest of the day.

I wasn’t going to force her to play with him because he wanted to play more rough like little boys do and it was better that she not get knocked over again. But, when we got home we had a talk about how boys do tend to play a little rougher and it’s something to consider when she’s playing. At 7yrs old the boys often don’t realize how rough they’re being, so if she doesn’t want to get injured, muddy, or dirty playing army with the boys is not a good idea. It’s ok to say you don’t like playing something and do something else. We never would have had this conversation though, if I wasn’t there to observe.

Also, one thing I notice when you get a group of homeschoolers together. The kids do not normally clump together by age. My 2yr old son was right in there with the 7yr old boys plus all the other little boys and older boys. The older kids are aware of the younger ones and do a good job of playing with them while still playing their own games. You put together a group of children who are normally grouped together by age, and that’s the way the’ll group when they play.

4. Family Values – I know my children and they know me. I know everyone is so happy to have their kids go back to school after a long summer. And I get asked a lot, “so don’t you get a break?”, “you mean they’re with you all the time?”, “don’t you get any time for yourself?”, and many similar questions.

The answer is yes, I do get time to myself, from 2 to 4 when the baby naps. The kids are required to play quietly and they usually do. The key is, It’s not a problem that they’re with me all the time. Because we have worked out what behaviors are acceptable and not acceptable, what times of day are quiet or alone times, and they are used to being with me all the time.

If there’s a behavior that is disruptive, I correct it, I can’t just look forward to school starting again so I don’t have to deal with it. I’m also aware of when my child is unusually tired, cranky, or just bursting with energy and can make allowances for that throughout the day.

They also know me, they know when I’m having a bad day, when I’m just downright busy, and when I need extra help.

And subjects like bible, history, science, reading, art, music,…um well, all the subjects I guess, are gateways to talk about what I believe about something and our family values. And to get some feedback from them and see what they think about something.

For example, we studied freedom of speech in history the other day, so after talking about what it is, we talked about our responsibility with this freedom. Is it ok to call people names? Is it ok to lie? Is it ok to disagree with someone? and on and on. We also talked about how it is important to stand up for what you believe in and how to politely disagree with people.

5. Learning is fun – I like to use a curriculum for most of my subjects just to make sure I don’t miss anything, but we also do fun things that don’t involve books. A lot of basic math is learned in the kitchen, where the kids just love to help. At their current ages it’s basic counting, measuring, and learning to read a recipe. As they get older it’ll be measurement conversions, more science behind why something works or doesn’t work in the kitchen, and more freedom to experiment.

If we’re learning about elephants in science a trip to the zoo is always great. And science experiments are always fun – and often messy.

I like having my kids with me, I enjoy learning with them, and I enjoy teaching them. Homeschooling is fun.

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Melodyderm Facial Product Review

Recently I got to try two facial products from Melodyderm.

Melodyderm Caviar Cream and Melodyderm Gold Serum. They’re designed to be used together. The Gold Serum is for the evening and the Caviar Cream is for the morning.

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I love the Melodyderm Gold Serum. I just wash my face at night and then put this on before going to bed. Most nighttime serums or creams leave my face greasy in the morning. This one does not. My face is still clean and fresh in the morning and ready for my morning routine.

Plus it has gold flecks in it, which is kinda cool!

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This Melodyderm Caviar Cream works well for me as well. It’s cool going on and moisturizes my face well throughout the day. It also is non-greasy which is really important because this is often a problem for me with many facial lotions.

I do have to hide this from my kids because the girls think the pink bottle is so cute, they try to take it as their own every chance they get!

I received these products free for purposes of my review. All opinions are my own. This post does contain affiliate links and I do receive a small commission off of any sales made through those links.

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Summer with Snuggle Bear

As we’re winding down summer and starting our school year, I’m sharing one last post about summer before starting my school year series. Because I’m not quite ready for summer to end.

Snuggle has an online marketing page where you can qualify for free products and enter giveaways. Check them out here!

I received the Snuggle Bear Summer Mission, and for that mission we received a little snuggle bear in the mail. My 6yr old claimed the bear as her own, and it now resides in her bed.

I did manage to get a few pictures of Snuggle Bear hanging out with us this summer.

IMG_20150716_093704085_TOP See, she loves her snuggle bear so much, she’s bringing it on a car trip with us!

It’s actually very, very soft, and well, snuggly. And the perfect size for bringing along on trips or just playing with.

I think this was a fun marketing program by Snuggle. It let me get the kids involved and we had lots of fun taking Snuggle Bear with us.

Plus now we have another stuffed animal, isn’t that exciting! *insert sarcasm here* because I just needed one more stuffed animal in my house… At least it’s a tiny one, and well loved!

#TeamSnuggle #SnuggleSelfie #Sponsored

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evian® Facial Spray Review


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The exquisitely fine mist produced by evian® Brumisateur® penetrates and rehydrates the upper layers of the skin. evian® water has a unique mineral balance along with exceptional purity which suits all skin types, even the most sensitive. Leaves skin looking healthy and feeling refreshed. Dermatologically tested. The leak-proof canister is the ideal product to take on-the-go in any purse or travel bag. Unlike other water sprays, Evian Spray is sealed at the source, so it can not be contaminated.

IMG_1111At first I was somewhat skeptical about spraying water on my face during a workout but after trying it, I’m quite impressed. The sprayer provides a gentle spray of mineral water mist that is instantly refreshing and cooling.

And, as you can see, my yoga usually involves the kids climbing under me during all the warrior and lunge poses. They also enjoy climbing ON me during poses such as down dog or when I’m doing push-ups. Definitely adds to the challenge!

I enjoyed the rejuvenating spray of the mineral water even while the kids were “aiding” my exercise.

I also dropped this in my gym bag and took it to the gym with me, but pictures at my gym aren’t really encouraged so no pictures from there. It was awesome to have along there. When I got back to my locker after my yoga class I sprayed some on before picking up the kids to go swimming, so nice!

The instructions say you can dab any excess off after a few seconds but it soaks in pretty quickly so I haven’t had to do this. I guess my skin needs lots of hydration while I’m working out!

I also tried it while doing yard work. I set it next to my water bottle and whenever I went and got a drink of water I would use some evian Facial Spray at the same time. Worked great and made my yard-work breaks doubly refreshing.

For more information check out their website Evianspray.com or visit their facebook page.

I received this product free for purposes of my review. All opinions are my own.

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Patterns of Evidence Exodus – Review and Giveaway

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About Patterns of Evidence Exodus:

For more than 50 years, the vast majority of the world’s most prominent archaeologists and historians have proclaimed that there is no hard evidence to support the Exodus story found in the Bible.  In fact, they say that the archaeological record is completely opposed to the Bible’s account.  This view of extreme skepticism has spread from academia to the world.  The case against the Exodus appears to be so strong that even some religious leaders are labeling this ancient account as historical fiction.
 
Filmmaker Timothy Mahoney begins with the questions, “Is the Bible just a myth, or did the archaeologists get it wrong?”  He decides to tackle this issue wit a deliberate scientific approach.   After examining the details in the biblical text, he journeys across the globe to search for patterns of evidence firsthand.  The result is the most in-depth archaeological investigation into the Exodus from Egypt ever captured on film.   This scientific documentary’s goal is to communicate the TRUTH of the Bible and help equip believers with defending their faith and the Bible.

The DVD features stunning animations and a cast including narrator, Kevin Sorbo (God’s Not Dead, Hercules: The Legendary Journeys), interviews with leading archaeologists including Israel Finkelstein, Kent Weeks, and David Rohl, and guest appearances by Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu and Shimon Peres.

That’s a lot of text! Watch the trailer here and you can get all the info, with pictures.

For more information you can check out their official site here. Also you can check out interviews on their blog.

You can purchase the Patterns of Evidence DVD here.

My opinion:

I enjoyed watching this movie – I would have enjoyed it more if my kid’s hadn’t needed something every 2 minutes. This movie is fully kid-safe so I attempted to watch it with them. They were bored and got kinda noisy so I ended up pausing and finishing it after they went to bed.

Documentaries are always fun to watch, I enjoy hearing opinions and research and with it being Egypt, that just made it more interesting.

The videography was good and the opinions are well thought out and well articulated. It’s definitely an interesting take on when and how the Exodus event occurred. If you have questions about how archaeology and ancient history line up with the Exodus this is a must watch.

Disclosure (in accordance with the FTC’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising”): Many thanks to Propeller Consulting, LLC for providing this prize for the giveaway. Choice of winners and opinions are 100% my own and NOT influenced by monetary compensation. I did receive a sample of the product in exchange for this review and post.

Only one entrant per mailing address, per giveaway. If you have won a prize from our sponsor Propeller / FlyBy Promotions in the last 30 days, you are not eligible to win. If you have won the same prize on another blog, you are not eligible to win it again. Winner is subject to eligibility verification.