Christmas Shopping is Upon Us! (Review and Giveaway with Affiliate Link)

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It's that time again! Time to give thanks and to start considering what Christmas gifts you want to get your loved ones. It can be hard at times to find that perfect present for your special someone, children or even your parents. The hardest people for me to buy for has to be my husband and my dad. Everyone else I pretty much have an idea.

So what do you do? Well, for those crazy hard to buy for guys, here's a few ideas.

1. Gift Card - These work well for everyone really. Do they have a favorite sporting goods place or electronics store they like to go to? Getting a gift card helps make sure they get exactly what they want. While it might have seemed impersonal before, this has taken on leaps and bounds to be the favorite of many. You know they will love it and they won't return it ;-).

2. Grilling Tools - Is your hubby or father/brother a grilling master like mine? Why not make a grilling basket for them? Place items like cleaning brushes, apron, charcoal, lighters etc in a nice gift basket package.

3. Music - There's a lot of ways to get their favorite music to them know. You can buy Itunes cards, CD's, digital downloads and so many other options. One new CD you may want to check out is the Colossus Badlands CD at Family Christian. This CD is a newer release and is one that fits those who love metal/rock and electronica music. It might fit my brother well as that is his type of music. It runs for $11.99 on the website.

4. Movie Passes - What about taking your favorite guy to the movies or giving him a pass to go when he wants to? There's always something good going on and they can take a Boy day :) . Our men in our life work hard and sometimes they need down time too.

5. DVD - Do they have a favorite movie they just love to watch over and over? Can you find it on DVD? If so, that's a great option as well. Family Christian offers a great variety of family friendly movies to check out. One that might be up their alley is the new movie, When the Game Stands Tall.

So how about a little extra help buying those Christmas gifts this year? Would a Family Christian Appreciation Certificate help? Then enter the giveaway below for your chance to win!!! Don't forget to check out Family Christian and Our Journey to keep up with lots of posts and exciting giveaways to come. 

Entry-Form

Do You Take Mom's Time Off?

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I have anxiously been awaiting the arrival of Mom's Night Out at Redbox. I mean really... counting down the days and I was one of the first ones there yesterday :). I have been really wanting to see this movie since I've seen all the advertisements and Facebook posts.

Yesterday was my sweet, awesome hubby's birthday and so we had movie night together. Well, actually, I picked it out without him having a say. But he did laugh just as hard as I did.

This amazing movie hit right in the heart last night. It follows a few mom's dealing with everyday life as we all do. It talks about how much pressure we put on ourselves as mom's. It's amazing what we do to ourselves and how guilty we make ourselves. I totally connected with Allie in the movie. She's me. Or I'm her or whichever it goes.

This was such a nice change of pace from most movies today. It didn't have any language or anything that you wouldn't want your families to see. It is such a breath of fresh air to see movies like this out now. I'm loving all the family friendly movies with a positive and uplifting message.

So Mama's, take some time and watch this movie with the whole family. Let it encourage you in this walk we are all on together. Let God breathe some fresh breath into you. Remember that you're not on this journey alone and that God didn't make a mistake when He chose you to be the Mama to your beautiful children.

Take time for yourself so God can refresh you and replenish you. You can be your best for your family when you take time to breathe.

If you haven't seen it yet, run out and rent it, buy it whichever you like. I think this is going on my Christmas wishlist!

Exciting Reads From Family Christian Stores

Disclosure- This post contains affiliate link. Please see my full disclosure for more information. 

I am super excited to share with you something today. I have recently become an affiliate blogger with Family Christian Stores! I am so excited to see what God has in store for this new opportunity that has come our way. I love reading, music and all things Veggie Tales that you can find at the store. I have always enjoyed shopping there and now I am blessed to partner with them in future posts. 

I wanted to take some time and share some new books that are coming that you might be interested in. If you like to read, like we do, then these are some you want to watch out for. These are all up for pre-order and are sure to please lifelong fans of the authors and new fans just discovering them. 

Joyce Meyer: Living Courageously You Can Do Anything, Just Do It Afraid

Joyce Meyer has a new book coming out that is being released on September 16th. A lot of times we can have fear when facing certain situations. In her new book, Joyce explains how we can confront that fear and overcome it with the help of our Lord. She helps you to learn to be all you can be through God and face those fears head on. Pre-order today for $14.97. 

AD 30 by Ted Dekker

If you are a Ted Dekker fan, this one is for you! On October 28th the newest release, AD 30, comes out. Take a step back in time to AD 30 and meet a woman going on a journey that is sure to change her life forever. Through her journey she meets a man named Yeshua. His teachings turn everything upside down and she must follow as he may be the only way to save her people, and herself. You can pre-order the book for $14.97 and save before it hits the shelves!

Jesus Daily : 365 Interactive Devotions

This very popular Facebook page has been turned into a devotional book to take you throughout an entire year. It is not only challenging but pushes you to share your redemption and experiences through your social media channels. Grow in your faith and celebrate your freedom through Christ with this great devotional book being released October 21st. Pre-order it now for the low price of $9.97!

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These are just a few of the great items you can get by checking out Family Christian Stores online. I am so glad they have online ordering where you can get great deals and get them shipped straight to your home. This helps me out greatly as our nearest store is around 30 miles away. 

Check out these books and let me know what you think of them! 

Guest Post From Carrie....Affiliate Links

Today we have a guest post from Carrie, the president of Keyboard Classroom. Check out what she has to say and this awesome program for homeschoolers and anyone who wants to learn how to type.

WHY JOHNNY CAN’T TYPE…

“Johnny” from Massachusetts was your typical 10 year-old.  The oldest of four, his mother “Susan” had carefully followed his program of study. She attended conferences, read magazines and blogs about upcoming curriculum ideas, and spent a small fortune on books and games that would give Johnny the skills he would need to lead a successful life as he got older.

Early on, Susan recognized the importance of the computer to her son’s education. She realized that computing is a way of life today. The key to success when living in such a computer-centric world is to develop keyboarding skills. There was only one problem. Johnny didn't know how to type. So, Susan went out and bought a popular learn-to type software program. It was filled with fun exercises, flashing lights, sound effects, and typing games, and Johnny was able to advance at his own pace, “completing” the course in less than a week. He still didn't know how to type.

Think of an athlete. Hitting a baseball, throwing a football, or kicking a soccer ball is effortless... a result of repeated practice. They perform basic skills naturally, without thinking. It’s the same with any skill, even typing.

Along with educators, we've studied students in various learning environments for over two decades, watching and developing methods to improve the learning process. We concluded that young people with and without learning issues, can succeed more effectively through the use of computers. And when they learn to touch type, they are able to channel their focus on what they’re learning. Their fingers actually become an unwitting extension of their brains!

It’s all about muscle memory. Great typists, like great athletes, need to learn the fundamentals by practicing them day after day, building new skills only after they master something less difficult. An effective keyboarding program should be systematically designed so a student must truly master a skill, before advancing to a more challenging one. To make this program more productive we have developed a unique product called Finger Guides. These Guides attach to most standard keyboards with Velcro pads and guide a student's fingers to the correct keys, allowing them to learn touch-typing without incorrect, error-prone moves.

In a lot of ways, we've just gone back to basics, creating a structured but simple way for students to learn how to type… a skill they’ll use nearly every day for the rest of their lives.

By the way, Johnny has been using his new typing program for six months, practicing his keyboarding skills for just 15 minutes every day. Susan wrote us a note last week telling us he’s now fluent at 35 words per minute and she’s noticed a marked improvement in his other work as well. Now she says, “Johnny knows how to type.”Carrie Shaw is the President of Keyboard Classroom, one of the fastest growing learn-to-type software programs in America. Her website is www.keyboardclassroom.com and she can be reached via email at carrie@keyboardclassroom.com.

(This post contains affiliate links. Please see full disclosure)

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Weekly Review - Lots of Fun!

This week we had lots of fun. I keep waiting for the fussing, arguing to come but thankfully so far it hasn't. You know that when will be done??? whining that always tends to come? Well thank the Lord, we are moving right along so far. I know it will come (either from him or from me) so for now awe are enjoying it. We got a lot accomplished this week.

So here's what's been happening in our neck of the woods.

The picture to the left was our lunch date yesterday. We had our last science Robotics class so we went to lunch first.

School work
I love it when I find something that he loves. I am so excited when he asks for more, more, more! That is exactly what he's been doing this week with our Science. I'm telling ya. Apologia is awesome!

So in our Science we have covered all of chapter one and into chapter two this week. We learned all about astronomy and the scientists responsible for a few of the ways we learn about it this week. We also started studying the sun. He is absolutely loving this. He even does all the Notebooking assignments without complaint. The only complaint he had this week was when I told him he had to finish chapter 1's assignments before I could start reading again :)

Our math is moving along quite well also. He's doing great learning how to regroup and I'm really enjoying the progress I'm seeing with this curriculum.

He is also doing well on his PACES and took a test this week. He'll take another today and we will start on the final few of his 2nd grade year.

Fun Things This Week...
I find myself more excited about adding in fun things. I truly believe I was just burned out and didn't really know how to add in fun items to our day. I'm finding myself making more of an effort to do so now. This week we did a project out of our Art Around The World book. We worked on salt crystal snowflakes. I had a lot of fun doing it as well. Honestly, we have to make our own snow here!

We finished up  our Robotics science class and signed up for the next session which is all about birds. I'm glad he can finally take these classes this year :). He's loving them and I'm loving the excitement he's showing.

We had some help this week on our Science too. ;) She is sooo enjoying us being back to homeschool. She likes to come listen and learn as well. :)

We have a few things on the agenda today so we will hopefully finish up the week with a bang. I hope you have a wonderful weekend and that you had a great week. What fun things did you do this week? Be sure to check out the links below and share your weeks :).I'm also linking up with Homegrown Learners Collage Friday!

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Russian Tea Cake Cookies

**This post contains an affilliate link. I post affilliate links from time to time to help support my family and this blog. **

So it's that time of year ya know. The time when everyone (or most everyone) gets into baking overload. I already love to cook so this time of year makes me go into overdrive. ;-) I love to bake and share goodies with others. Yesterday I tried a new recipe. I had seen this recipe all over Pinterest and any time I looked up Christmas cookies. Well, that just means I had to try it right ??

First I have to say that my absolute favorite kitchen appliance is my mixer. I can cream butter and sugar and walk away to get other ingredients ready. The Kitchen Aide mixer took me 8 years of marriage to finally get it ;) LOL. That's a running joke between my hubby and I ;-)

If you don't have one you should definitely check it out. They last forever and are soooo worth it when you are baking.




Back to the recipe. It was really easy and I liked them. They are not as sweet as other cookies so that's a plus. My kiddo liked it and I was kind of surprised he did. Hubby said they were good but dense. So it's all in what you like in your cookie.

Russian Tea Cakes

Adapted from All Recipes 

1 cup of butter
1 tsp. of vanilla extract
6 TBS of powdered sugar
2 cups of all-purpose flour
1/2 cup finely chopped pecans
1/2 cup finely chopped cashews
1/3 cup of powdered sugar for decorating

Preheat your oven to 325.

In a medium bowl cream together your butter and vanilla.

In a separate bowl combine flour and 6 TBS of sugar. Stir this into the butter mixture just until it's blended. Stir in your nuts. (you can use 1 cup of walnuts, pecans etc. I used what I had) Roll the dough into 1 inch balls and place on an ungreased cookie sheet about 2 inches apart.

Bake for 12-15 minutes. Once they cool down a little roll them in powdered sugar to decorate. I put a few of them in a bag at a time and shook them up.

Enjoy!

What is your favorite Christmas cookie recipe?

Good Books for 2nd Graders?

So I love to read. If you have spent any time around here you know that. I love reading all types of books: recipe books, scary books, Christian fiction and the list goes on and on. I've read books on how to coupon, books on mystery and suspense, and books that inspire me. I just love to read. :)

I am so excited because my son is starting to gain that love of reading too. If you hung out while we were homeschooling you know how much trouble we had with that issue here. I was thinking he should be reading more and he was not interested at all. Thankfully that has taken off. His reading is much improved and he is actually enjoying it :)! (YAY!)

So I am curious as to what good books you and your kiddos have read lately? I really want some good ones for myself and for my son. He loves to read Magic Treehouse, Junie B and Ready Freddy. Are there any interesting books you have found out there for 2nd graders? What do you recommend for a wild, active, adventure seeking boy? I know he has a couple of Magic Treehouse to catch up on like the new one, Hurry Up Houdini.



I love that he is loving reading... So I want to keep that love going by always having good books on hand. So what good books have you guys checked out lately? Can you recommend any that he might enjoy or a series for me to check out? What do you recommend? I also want to find him a good devotional for boys. He is starting to read his bible more and I want to keep him going with that. I want him to understand the importance of devotional time. So I'm all ears! What is the go to series for your boys? What devotional do you like to use? Share away!!!

**You will find affiliate links in this post. If you choose to click on the links and purchase an item, I make a small commission. Thanks for coming by and for helping to support our family.**

Christmas Shopping **Affilliate Links**

**This post contains affiliate links. That means if you click on the link and make a purchase, I make a small amount of money. It helps to buy those Christmas gifts and run our family. Thanks!!**

Christmas is right around the corner. Ummm, excuse me? No! I thought it was just May and we were getting ready for a birthday party, right?

Nope! Honestly I love this time of year but it came all too fast as it does every year. My favorite time of year is upon us which also means gift buying time is upon us.

We have our son make a list of his top few items he wants. This year his list was five items long and it is very true what they say. Boys never out grow their toys, they just get more expensive ;).

I am a deal seeker outer. I try to find deals on items that he wants or that I would like to buy my family. That sometimes leaves me at the last few days before I get everything done. If you know me, that drives me nuts. So I am trying to start way earlier this year and I have. I have already been seeking out the Black Friday ads and deals that  come on before that crazy day. I am also trying to buy from those I have reviewed from this year. There are some great products out there and if you are looking for them be sure to check out my Facebook page to see them.

One thing I do love is to shop online. I can do it anytime and without my kiddo seeing what I am sneaking. It used to be easy when he was little. He had no idea what that big box was. Now, not so much. :) I love that places like Amazon have deals running all the time now.

One thing on the list that I am putting on there is the new Crayola Crayon Maker. This thing looks awesome! Have you seen it yet? I know that I haven't always been too terribly crafty but I love coloring! This new item from them looks like loads of fun and who doesn't like creating things? Check it out and see what you think!



So what is on your kiddo's list this year? What is on yours? Do you have any tips for shopping for that hard to buy hubby? Have a great Wednesday!!