Doodle Roll Winner!

Thank you to all those who entered the Doodle Roll giveaway!  I used random.org to pick the winner.

Congratulations to Amari! I will be emailing you and you will have 48 hours to respond or I will have to pick a new winner.

Happy Thanksgiving!

“Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. For the LORD is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.”

Psalm 100: 4-5

This year I am so thankful for the many, many blessings God has given us. Most importantly, I am thankful for my heavenly Father who provides for all our needs and so much more. My wonderful husband works hard to provide for our family and still finds time to have fun with the kids and me. My kids are growing daily and have been healthy and happy. They are doing so well in their school studies and love having fun with each other. We are blessed to live near so much of our extended family, so most of our parents, grandparents, and siblings are a big part of our lives and the kids love having them around. We are never wanting for food, warm clothes, or shelter. We truly are blessed with so much more than we need. 

Once again, Conny has been hosting her 30 Days of Thanks for the month of November.  Unfortunately this year I just haven't gotten around to participating until now.  After you finish reading my post, stop by and visit her to see what everyone else has been thankful for.

I pray that each of you has a blessed Thanksgiving!

I Love to Read!

If you haven't figured out yet from all my book reviews, I really love to read.  When I was younger and before I had kids, I read TONS of books.  After having kids, I really slowed down.  The obvious reason being that I didn't have as much time for it.   Another reason though, was that I just didn't get to the library as often for books.  Not the adult section anyway.  We do get to the library about once a week, but have you ever tried taking four young kiddos into the adult section and expected them to stand quietly while you browse for books?  It just doesn't happen.  If they aren't pulling out books or tearing pages out of magazines, they are pushing buttons on the computers or climbing on chairs to look out the windows!  Once in a while I remember to request a book and have it ready for me, but for the most part I gave up my reading time and figured I could start again when they are older.

But, enter the world of technology!  Last spring, my wonderful hubby surprised me with a Kindle when I was laid up with my kidney stones.  I have read more in the past 6 months than I have in the past 6 years!  I really didn't think I would like using an electronic reader, but it has turned out to be better than I expected.  There are tons of books on Amazon that can be sent right to my Kindle.  I think that I have close to 200 on there right now.  You're probably thinking that they are too expensive and then you still have to buy the books to read.  Well, the initial investment of the reader is pricey, but Christmas is coming. :) Amazon recently released newer versions of the Kindle and they are quite a bit cheaper than they used to be.  And once you have that, you can get all kinds of free books.  I haven't paid for a single one of mine.  Amazon has a large free section and also will have special books free for a certain time.  I have found a site at No Ordinary Moments that is regularly updated with some of these free ones, usually Christian ones.  So unless you are looking for a certain book, you can get all kinds of free stuff to read.  I don't know about your library, but ours has recently started lending electronic books too, so that is another place to borrow for free.

If you still don't want an electronic reader, I have also found that purchasing books online is another great way to get books for a great deal.  There are lots of sites that have great books and often offer discouts and specials.  One of my new favorite places is Vision Forum. They have a great selection of Christian books that are so good for building up your home and family (and they also have tons of other fun stuff!).  I love looking up their deal of the day everyday, just to see if it might be something fun the kids would love for their next birthday or Christmas.  Currently they are having some amazing giveaways that you can check out HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE, or HERE.

If you don't want to purchase new books or are looking for a place to get rid of your old books, PaperbackSwap is a great site.  The way it works is that you send books you have to people that request them (you pay the shipping which is usually around $2) and then you get a credit.  You can use your credit to request books from others and they will send them to you for free!  I have been using this site to get most of the books we use in homeschool to help bring down the costs of curriculum and it has been working out great so far! Swap Books for Free - PaperBackSwap.com

If you love reading too, hopefully this has helped inspire you to find ways to fit it in even if you have kiddos climbing all over you while you do. :)

An Amish Wedding {Review}

An Amish Wedding by Beth Wiseman, Kathleen Fuller, & Kelly Long is a book of three short novellas.  I've read a few books that contained several short stories, but the stories have never connected together before.  In An Amish Wedding, they do.  The three authors did a very nice job weaving them together to write this great book about three friends.  I really like Amish stories and these three made me want to find more by these authors.

In The Perfect Storm by Kelly Long, Rose is engaged to Luke.  They have been best friends for a long time and Rose agreed to marry Luke because she thought that friendship was a good thing to base their marriage on. But sometimes she wonders if there is something missing in their relationship.  Then she discovers that Luke has a secret and wonders what he is hiding.

In The Perfect Match by Kathleen Fuller, Naomi, the matchmaker, seems to be content being single. When Zeke comes to town, she tries her matchmaking skills again, but soon her friend is turning the tables and trying to get Naomi to see that she is the one who should be getting to know Zeke.

In The Perfect Plan by Beth Wiseman, Pricilla and Chester are planning their wedding, but everything seems to keep going wrong.  Soon they begin to wonder if it is God's will for them to marry.

I received this book for free for review from BookSneeze.

Get Swagging! {You Could Earn $300!!!}

I am just a few Swagbucks away from cashing in for my 60th $5 Amazon.com gift card.  That's $300!!! And it was all for free!  The Amazon gift cards are good for anything on Amazon, so I have gotten some great stuff for free or very cheap. Comes in handy around birthdays and Christmas time. ;)  Swagbucks also has loads of other prizes you can redeem your bucks for too.  What are you waiting for? Go check out how you can earn free stuff too!

His Mighty Warrior {Review}

I recently received His Mighty Warrior by Sheri Rose Shepherd to review.  It is a pirate themed devotion book for young boys, encouraging them to be warriors for God.  Each page includes a letter "from God," a Bible verse, and also a prayer that ties into the message of each letter and verse.  Here is an example of the first letter:

"My Son,
I have chosen you to do something great for my kingdom. You are not just a boy - you are a child of the King and I am your Father in heaven. I want you to know that I am the same God who chose King David when he was just a little boy, and I have chosen you to show the world who I am. I will give you all you will ever need to conquer and accomplish the mission I have for you. Never forget who you are or who I am, and you will become a strong and mighty warrior for me.
Love,
Your King and Father in heaven"

That is followed by Deuteronomy 7:6 and a short prayer.  All of the pages are filled with good Biblical advice to help young boys grow in their faith.

Buddy has been reading one each night and has loved having his own special devotion book.  He is even able to read the majority of it himself and understands it easily.  He also loves the pirate theme through out the book. This is definitely a book he will enjoy reading through again and again.  If you are looking for a good Christmas gift for a young boy, His Mighty Warrior would make a great one!

I received this book for free for review from Waterbrook Multnomah.

Doodle Roll {Review & GIVEAWAY!} *CLOSED*

My kids love to color and do crafts so I am always on the lookout for things I think they will love.  I try to stick with ones that don't make a big mess though, because, while I love their creations, I don't love cleaning up messes they make.  One product that I recently received for review has been perfect for their creativity without creating a mess, the Doodle Roll.  The Doodle Roll is a portable craft kit that contains a roll of paper and crayons. 

The Doodle Roll is so easy to use, my kids started playing with theirs right away.  They can pull out as much paper as they would like to use and can doodle away!

The crayons have their own separate place that the kids can easily open on their own.  There is also a cutting edge to tear off their pictures when they are finished but it is all made of plastic and very safe.  My kids have been having so much fun creating pictures, banners, cards, and much more.   

The Doodle Roll comes in two sizes, 4 and 6 inch and either is great for slipping into your purse or car to take along to an appointment, out for dinner, or any other place you would like to keep your kids occupied and quiet.  I think it would also make a great stocking stuffer, gift, or party favor.  If you would like more ideas for the Doodle Roll or find out where to purchase your own, be sure to visit the Doodle Roll site.  You can also find them on Facebook or Twitter.

Doodle Roll has generously offered one of my readers the chance to win their own Doodle Rolls!  To be entered, leave a comment letting me know your favorite craft to do with your kids (or grandkids, friends, etc).  Be sure to leave a way for me to contact you if you win!  This giveaway will end on Nov. 25, 2011 at noon.  I will draw a winner using random.org and winner will have 48 hours to respond to my email.  This giveaway is open to US and Canadian residents. 

This is a MamaBuzz review.  The product was provided by Doodle Roll for free in exchange for this review.

Cleaning A Gas Stove

I love cooking with my gas stove.  I grew up with it and when I had to use electric when we first got married, I had a hard time getting used to it.  I was very happy to have it once again in our current home. One thing I hate though is trying to clean the metal grates and pans.  With as much cooking as I do, it is inevitable that things will get spilled or splattered on them.  And then when it gets cooked on, it sure doesn't want to come off.  I am a little embarrassed to show you this picture, but this is what my stove looked like a couple days ago. 

 Some of that is fresh and would scrub off, but most of that is pretty well stuck on.  I have spent hours (literally) and tried every cleaner I could think of the try get them clean, all with no success.  Until today, that is!  I came across a very handy tip last week, gave it a try, and now my stove looks like this:

Amazing!  And hardly any scrubbing was involved!  Want to know this amazing trick so your stove can sparkle too? :)  Ammonia is the answer.  With little kids in the house, I don't normally keep ammonia around, but I ran out to get some just for this.  All you have to do is put the grate in a gallon zip lock bag along with 1/4 cup ammonia, seal it up, and let it sit overnight.  (I recommend putting it out in the garage or on your deck.) The fumes from the ammonia will do all the work for you and in the morning, all you have to do is wipe it off!  A couple of the most stubborn spots took a little elbow grease, but for the most part, it all came off so easy!  Now you too can have a sparkling clean stove!

God Gave Us You {Review}

As you may remember, my kids love books.  I think most kids do.  Whether they will sit and listen for just a short time, or longer amounts of time, I think they all love snuggling up and listening to the voice of someone they love.  Something that makes reading time even more special is having a good book that hopefully they will remember for a long time.  God Gave Us You by Lisa Tawn Bergren is one of those great books.   A young polar bear cub asks her mama "Where did I come from?" Mama bear explains that Papa bear and her were alone and wanted a baby, so God gave them the bear cub.  Then she goes on tell how they waited and prepared while the cub grew in her tummy.  Each page is filled with beautiful illustrations and the story is very sweet and age appropriate.  All of my kids loved this book and thought is was a great story.  We have already read it quite a few times in the short amount of time we've had it!  My favorite part of the copy we received for review is that it is a board book, so hopefully it will stand up to the wear and tear my kids put on books and last us for a long time.

I received this book for free for review from Waterbrook Multnomah.