First day of K5

Sam on his first day of K5.

T-Ball Photo

A picture of Sam in his T-ball uniform. I'm sure we have better but this is the only one I had in my Picasa.

A sweet photo

Daddy with his littlest princessess!!

Random pictures 9/23/11

Here are some random pictures from the week.

Weekly Wrap-Up 9/19-23

So things are going great here right now. Sam is LOVING school and his teacher says he's such a sweet boy!! He's learning a lot to!

The girls are doing well here at home. Not totally loving their school work but for them the newness has really worn off I think (we are on week 10). They are both learning a  lot with our new curriculum however...and they are becoming quite independant too! That is a plus!!

Sofia has had a difficult time with behavior lately. She's been exra mean however we are working on it and are keeping the paddle close by at all times. That alone has helped the situation.

Lillie is adorable. She is a good sleeper, wakes about once at night and really only cries when she is hungry. She is starting to stay up more which we all love!! But the only bad thing is that her cute little face distracts us all a little too much. We are always getting interrupted  by her and find ourselves going and kissing her cutie face. She is still nursing and taking about 2 -3 oz. of formula. I hate that really but it is what satifsifes her. I'm not sure how much longer I'll be able to nurse as the formula keeps her full longer (especially at night) but I'm doing my best.

Jer and I are doing all right. I think we've adjusted to live with 5. We have found out that grocery shopping is a BAD idea with all 5 in tow. We have been going in shifts. Less convenient but better for our sanity.

Anyway, the weekend is coming and Sam & Dad have a father/son camp out with the church and the big girls are spending the night (yikes) with a trusted friend. So it's me and the little ones for one night. What will I do?

Here are some pictures from our walk yesterday.



Our new (but used) Sit 'N Stand stroller. Love it!!!

 

What a handsome boy!!



Trying to catch up to Daddy.



Lillie Joy

Okay, so we totally LOVE this little baby! She is a sweetheart! We took some pictures the other day of her in her crib-a place she doesn't go often. She prefers the swing to laying flat in that wide open crib. Anyway, here are some pictures of her in all of her wild hair glory. Enjoy.

Our new home!!

Not like an actual physical home (don't I wish!) but more like a new webbie home. Yup, I've created another blog. One would wonder why when I just had another baby...just call me a night owl!


Anyway, the real reason for doing this is so that I can freely document what is going on with the kids without having to use nicknames and without having to leave out the "it's too embarrassing for perfect strangers to witness" stuff. Also, I have no baby book for Lillie so I am needing some place to document her new life. And I've heard that these blogs can be printed and bound into books...too cool huh?!


Anyway I truly hope that you all - family - can really try to faithfully check in on this blog. It would mean a lot for us all to know that you've taken the time to do so. Also COMMENT. We would LOVE to read your comments!! If you're not sure how to do it just let us know and we'll walk you through it all. But please don't let that stop you. Your grandchildren and nieces and nephew are growing up and unfortunately you are missing out on so much...so please...visit our new home...talk to us in the comment section, ask questions, remark, we'll answer back but what's more is...we'd LOVE it!!!


Thanks so much!! I hope you enjoy visiting here.

The Shunning DVD Review & Giveaway

Do you remember the book The Shunning by Beverly Lewis? I remember reading it as a teenager and although I have never been a big fan of fiction I found this book to be a terrific one. Well now they are coming out with a DVD version. Great for this busy Mom who seldom has anytime to read anything anymore!


Watch the trailer here.


Here's some background:


Before she succumbs to cancer, the dying wish of Laura Mayfield-Bennett is to be reunited with the daughter she never knew. Unfortunately, that daughter, Katie Lapp, is a member of the Amish order. Katie is about to be married, but uneasy about the path ahead. Now she discovers the secret her parents have kept from her: she's adopted.


The movie is great! Even hubby watched it (don't think he'd say it was great but he did enjoy it.) I actually fell asleep during our first viewing (ah, life with a newborn) so I had to watch it again.


The acting is great, the lead actress even sings a little song that is sweet. From what I remember of the book the movie holds true to the original plot.


The movie is refreshingly clean.  Not a hint of violence or vulgar speech. The story is pure and this would qualify as a great family film. There are however a couple of kisses exchanged between the main characters. The film was given the Dove.org family approval for all ages and Beverly Lewis herself is very happy with the finished product. The film has been so well accepted in fact that the sequel is already in the works.


Now for the fun part. I have the opportunity to offer 1 copy of this DVD to one of my readers. If you enjoyed the book series then you may want to enter cause I have a hunch you'll enjoy the movie version too!!!


Here's the details:
This is an easy one to enter!

1. Follow me on GFC.
2. Like The Shunning on Facebook.

Giveaway begins tonight, Monday, Sept. 19th and will last until Monday, Sept. 26th. The winner will be chosen and announced that evening.

And PLEASE don't forget to leave me your email address so I can contact you if you win. I would hate for a winner to miss out simply for that reason!!

Thanks for stopping by!!


"Disclosure of Material Connection: I received one or more of the products or services mentioned above for free in the hope that I would mention it on my blog. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."

Lovin' Learnin'

Theo Giveaway WINNERS!!!!!

First of all let me apologize for not getting the winners announced this morning like I said I would. My newborn has been a bit uncooperative today but is finally peaceful. My apologies, but this blog runs on family time. :)


Now, on to the winners. The winners were picked using Random.org's True Random Generator.


The two winners are
comment #8:

 michelle said...

I "liked" it on facebook!

September 16, 2011 10:05 AM

and comment #12:

 Lynn @ TDHGP said...

I think the Forgiveness episode would be amazing.

September 19, 2011 10:12 AM

Congrats to you two ladies! You're gonna LOVE this DVD. Please email me so that I can get your mailing information. We want to get these DVDs to you asap.

Thanks to all who entered. And I'll have another giveaway for the DVD The Shunning up sometime tonight so stay tuned!!

Lovin' Learnin'

Theo-A New DVD Series for Children Review & Giveaway!

I was recently asked to review a new DVD series on teaching theology to children and adults. Intrigued I looked up the Theo website and liked what I saw. So I agreed to do the review and impatiently anticipated the arrival of my review copy.

Theo is designed to teach basic theological truths to children of all ages using animation, adorable characters and Bible stories. In the DVDs we are introduced to Theo, (short for theology I'm thinking!) a pleasent Englishman with a love for singing hymns, teaching about theology and of course tea. It is Theo who takes viewers on a journey through some very important theological truths in a non-complicating way.

The Theo multi-media outlests include a DVD series, curriculum, books and iPhone/iPad app. Each can work together or independantly of each other. I am interested in seeing the curriculum myself.

I loved this DVD that we received. The animation was awesome, the music was great (and we are very picky about our music) and the theology, although very basic, was sound and followed what the Bible actually does teach!

Here's a breakdown of the DVD:

Episode 1 — Saving Faith

Themes: What is faith?
Bible Story: Abraham
Bible Passage: Hebrews 11:1

Bonus Session — Good News!

Themes: God's love, sin, salvation, eternal life, ABCs
Bible Story: Philippian Jailer (Acts 16)
Bible Passage: John 3:16

My children enjoyed the animation of course, especially the two little mice, Belyfry and Luther (his two "object lessons") that live in Theo's home who through various comical blunders also bring home the importance of the episodes theme. These little mice actually reminded me a lot of the two loveable mice from Cinderella.

When I asked the kids what they thought this is what they said:

Biggest-"I like that it teaches us about God."
Big Sis-"It's funny, I like that."
Brother-"I like the mice."
McPop-(the hardest to please by far)-"It seems to follow the Bible."

The pre-release DVD episodes that we received were quite short; one was around 5 minutes and the other about 9. I don't believe that these are meant to be long drawn out shows but possibly short supplements to your family Bible time, homeschool Bible courses or Church classes.

I recommend Theo to anyone with young children (honestly, I love cartoons so I'd watch it even without the children.) and who desires that their children learn basic systematic theology in a way that will be easy for them to understand.

And now some GREAT news!! I have been allowed to offer TWO copies of the Theo DVDs as giveaway prizes. You are too blessed!! Okay, so here's what I want you to do to enter: (Only the FIRST is mandatory.)

1. Mandatory: Go to the website: www.theopresents.com and take a look at the different episodes. Come back here and tell me which you are most interested in. This doesn't mean you will win those titles as I am not sure which ones will be sent as the prize.
2. Follow me on Google Friend Connect.
3. Like Theo Presents on Facebook

Please leave a separate comment for each entry and do not forget to leave me a way to contact you. I will select the winners on Monday morning, September 19th so be sure to enter!!!

I hope that you take a look around the website. I think you will be pleased with this series as we were. Thanks for reading!

Here are some links you may be interested in:

Web: www.theopresents.com
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Theo-Gods-Love/dp/B005ETZEPI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1315880173&sr=8-1
FREE app (available now for iPhone and iPad): www.theopresents.com
Church curriculum: www.lifeway.com/Product/theo-church-edition-foundations-of-faith-P005397446
Don't forget to enter the giveaway!!

Disclaimer: Disclosure of Material Connection: I received one or more of the products or services mentioned above for free in the hope that I would mention it on my blog. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.



Lovin' Learnin'