"Gimme Shelter" Movie Ticket Giveaway! (1/29)

Being a mother is the toughest job in the world... Period.

Now imagine... you are young, homeless, and without a family to lean on for support.

That’s exactly what happened to Agnes “Apple” Baily.

Based on a true story, Ronald Krauss’ new film “Gimme Shelter,” stars Vanessa Hudgens (High School Musical) as 16-year-old Agnes “Apple” Baily, a teenager who sets out to find her biological father and is forced into the streets in a true journey of survival.

Check out and share the 6 animated gifs to get an inside look at the heart warming tale of Agnes “Apple” Baily before the film hits theaters Friday January 24th, 2014.

 CAST:
Vanessa Hudgens (Agnes "Apple" Bailey)
James Earl Jones (Frank McCarthy)
Rosario Dawson (June Bailey)
Brendan Fraser (Tom Fitzpatrick)

Gimme Shelter received 5 stars from the Dove Foundation, their highest rating!

“GIMME SHELTER” is a deeply moving and meaningful film that celebrates the dignity of life at all ages and stages. A great, gritty depiction of what it means to put your faith into action to help those society far too often marginalizes.” ~Kelly Rosati, VP, Community Outreach / FOCUS ON THE FAMILY
 

GIVEAWAY!

Congratulations to comment #4, JessamineDungo!

One lucky reader will win 2 movies tickets to see Gimme Shelter!

To enter to win, tell me why you think being a mother is the toughest job in the world. Please be sure to leave your e-mail address with the comment, so I can contact you if you're the winner.

Each household is only eligible to win ONE (1) Pack of Two (2) AMC Movie Tickets via blog reviews and giveaways. Only one entrant per mailing address per giveaway. If you have won the same prize on another blog, you will not be eligible to win it again. Winner is subject to eligibility verification.

Extra Entries:(1 extra entry per method. Leave a comment for each.)
*Subscribe to my blog in the upper left hand corner.
*Follow me through Google Friend Connect
*Follow me on twitter.
*Tweet this giveaway and leave the URL in your comment
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*Leave a comment on a non-giveaway post and let me know which post.

Open to U.S. and Canadian residents 18 years and older. Giveaway will end Wednesday, January 29th, 2014 at 11:59 EST. Winner will be chosen shortly after and contacted via e-mail. The winner will have 48 hours to respond otherwise I will have to choose a new winner.

"Unstoppable" DVD Review & Giveaway!! (2/5)



*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.

 

 

 

About UNSTOPPABLE:

Inspired by the death of Cameron’s close friend who succumbed to cancer at the age of 15, Kirk Cameron takes viewers on an inspiring and hope-filled visual journey to better understand the biggest doubt-raising question in faith: “Where is God in the midst of tragedy and suffering?”

 

Going back to the beginning—literally—Kirk investigates the origins of good and evil and how they impact our lives … and our eternities.UNSTOPPABLE will prompt audiences to consider the role that pain and suffering has in our lives, as they affirm their personal views on faith, and encourage conversation starters about God, suffering, and hope.

 

In theaters for only two weeknights (Sept 24th and Oct 3th, 2013),UNSTOPPABLE: A Live Event with Kirk Cameron sold a staggering 260,000 tickets and reached a theatrical gross of over $3.2 million dollars. In just two nights this independent project sent a loud message – audiences want thought-provoking and meaningful entertainment.

 

Kirk Cameron is best known for his memorable role as “Mike Seaver,” a cultural icon of the 80's, with his mullet hairstyle, cool glasses, and wisecracking comebacks. More recently he enjoyed much success with the No. 1 grossing inspirational film of 2008, Fireproof, and his recent documentary, Monumental. Kirk and his wife, Chelsea, were on-screen sweethearts during their Growing Pains years and are the founders of Camp Firefly, where terminally and seriously ill children and their families are provided an all-expense paid retreat (www.CampFirefly.com). Together, Kirk and Chelsea live in California with their six children.

My Review:
Unstoppable is actually a DVD I saw in Family Christian Bookstore catalog as a 'pre buy' before Christmas and thought I'd put it on my Christmas list if it were out.  I had thoroughly enjoyed watching Monumental and was really interested to see what this new Kirk Cameron film was about.  So, when the opportunity arose to review it, I jumped at the chance.

I have to say, it was interesting to watch and see how Kirk answers why God allows bad things to happen.  I've heard the answer he finished with before, but for Kirk to actually go through the Bible and show where that answer comes from was new to me.  Unstoppable dramatically portrays several tragic stories in the Bible to ultimately show the viewers how it all worked into God's plan for something amazing. Kirk made me look at the Bible stories, and the Bible, in a way that I haven't quite seen it before.  Very neat!

I HIGHLY recommend watching Unstoppable.  If you do, please tell me what you thought of it!  And let me know if you think the theme song is as catchy as I think it is. ;-)

To learn more about Unstoppable visit any of the following sites:

The official website: http://unstoppablethemovie.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/unstoppablethemovie

Twitter: https://twitter.com/UnstoppableDVD

Buy It!:

Unstoppable releases on January 28, 2014.  It's recommended for ages 12 and up and runs 65 minutes.  The DVD's suggested retail price is $14.99, but is available to 'pre buy' right now at The Family Christian Bookstore for $12.99.

GIVEAWAY:

Congratulations to comment #20, AMY!

One of my readers is going to win their own copy of Unstoppable!

To enter to win, please leave a comment below. Please be sure to leave your e-mail address, so that I can contact you if you're the winner!

Extra Entries:
(1 extra entry per method. Leave a comment for each.)
*Subscribe to my blog in the upper left hand corner.
*Follow me through Google Friend Connect
*Follow me on twitter.
*Tweet this giveaway and leave the URL in your comment
*Follow me on Pinterest

*Pin an image from this post to one of your boards

*Leave a comment on a non-giveaway post and let me know which post.

Only one entrant per mailing address, per giveaway. If you have won the same prize on another blog, you are not eligible to win it again. Winner is subject to eligibility verification.

Open to U.S. and Canadian residents 18 years and older. Giveaway will end Wednesday, February 5th, 2014 at 11:59 EST. Winner will be chosen shortly after and contacted via e-mail. (Winner must not have won within the last month in order to share the prizes with more readers.) The winner will have 48 hours to respond otherwise I will have to choose a new winner.

Piles of Projects

Okay, so it really isn't 'piles' of projects, but I had a handful that I worked on between Thanksgiving and Christmas that I thought I'd share.  I have another project going now that will probably take a while, but I'll share it too when it is given to it's intended recipient :-)

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My first project came about because the kids had holes in the knees of their jeans.  (All the left kneed too...not sure what that's about?)  Morgan had just about grown out of hers' and would probably be getting more for Christmas, so I wanted to make the jeans at least last until then.  I found a butterfly and heart template to use as patches to make them fun.  What's funny is Morgan did end up getting new jeans, but she still doesn't want to get rid of these because she loves the patches!  LOL!

Blake had several usable pair of jeans, so I only patched one pair of his.  I just used a coaster that was sitting at my mom's sewing machine for the template of this patch.  Like Morgan, he is still wearing these too despite having new jeans.

 

Morgan has a shirt that she designed online and then was made for her.  (It's called Fashion Playtes, if you want to check it out!)  Unfortunately the lace had pretty much come off the bottom after being worn a couple years, so while I was mending, I also fixed up her shirt.

 

Every year, sometimes a couple times a year, I sew our bedspread back together to keep it from getting in too rough of shape.  One year we'll just get a new one, but I'm all about making it last as long as possible and saving the money.  (I'm really on a kick right now to save for a 'new' house!)

 

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I had seen this advent to go along with The Jesus Storybook Bible last year, but never got a chance to make it.  I decided I was going to go for it this year!  The kids and I loved it!

The "ornaments" are pictures on magnets that go along for the story for the day.

 The ornament pictures then go on a tree.  I made a tree out of scrapbook paper and just used poster tack to put it on the refrigerator.  This tree is different that the original directions, but if you'd like to see how to make it all, check it out at Joyfully Weary.

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The last project I worked on came about because Morgan really wanted this canopy from Magic Cabin.  At the time it was $100!  There was no way I was paying that for a piece of purple mesh!  LOL!  (It's come down to about $80 now.)

 

 Not long after she showed me that, I saw a pattern in the FamilyFun magazine for a Reading Nook Canopy that looked super easy to make.

So, I searched the internet for a full-size sheet as a reasonable price and found this one on eBay (used).  I spent a little over $10 on it, two pillowcases and the shipping.  It was $4 for the quilting hoop with a 40% coupon at Hobby Lobby, $3 for the 50 lb fishing line and since we had pillowcases, I got a $5 pillow to make it a little more comfy.  (I already had white felt for the triangles and the house came with a hook in the ceiling over the couch.  What luck, right!?)  The only thing that I realized afterwards, and could still change, is the princesses are upside-down.  LOL!  There was only a hem at the one end to put the fishing line through and didn't notice what that meant for the princesses until it was all put together.

 Morgan is super happy with it!  She says it was one of her favorite gifts this Christmas.  I'm happy that I could make her happy and save $80ish at the same time! ;-)  Oh!  And she's perfectly content with the princesses being upside-down. :-)

 

So, that was part of what kept me busy leading up to Christmas.  I hope to share about our Christmas soon...since it's almost been a month already!  Time flies way too fast!

Powerocks Magistick Review

*Disclosure: I was provided the following product in exchange for my review.  I will not be compensated in any other way. All opinions are my own.

I received the Powerocks Magistick just before Christmas and was super excited to give it to Rich as a stocking stuffer!  With all the busyness of Christmas, and extra time spent with family, we just got around to trying it out.

This little Magistick is a portable cell phone charger that is small enough to fit in a pocket, purse or back pack, so there is no need to worry about a cell phone's battery dying.  (It also works on other devices.)

It comes with this handy little pouch to keep the cord(s) and Magistick in.  I love that they can help us stay organized!

 

The Magistick comes with the cord pictured below, which works perfect for my cell phone!  Additional cords to work with your device would need to be purchased separately.  We plan to get a spare USB cord to work with Rich's iPhone 4S.  We tested it out using the iPhone power cord and it worked great!

 

The picture below shows that it's charging my phone with the USB portion of the cord plugged into the Magistick.  The blue light indicates that there is 70% to 100% charge left in the Magistick.  It will light up green if there is 30% to 70% charge, red if below 30%, and will not light up at all if there is no charge left. (The lighted portion needs to be 'clicked' to show the color indicator light.)

 

When the cord is turned around with the USB portion plugged into a computer, the Magistick can then charge.  It will shine a red light while it's charging, then the light will turn blue when it is fully charged. 

 

I'm very excited for Rich to be able to start using this Magistick!  There have been several occasions where he wasn't able to charge his cell phone at night, whether he forgot or was out on fire calls.  He has a car charger for his phone, but he can never get his phone fully charged in his drive to work.  He would usually turn off the phone to save battery life, but he wouldn't need to anymore with the Magistick! 

 

Check out my previous post about the Powerocks Magistick to learn more about it.

 

Buy It!

Powerocks Magisticks retail for $49.99 and comes in a variety of colors including:  Black, Blue, Purple, Red, Silver, Pink, Green, and Charcoal.  They can be found on the Powerocks website.



Mattie's First Haircut

Mattie turns one year old either today or tomorrow.  (Her litter was born in the middle of the night, so I'm not really sure.)  Anyway, I decided I knew what one year of hair growth looks like and it was time for a haircut.  Plus the hair was really getting hard to take care of...probably close to 8 inches long in places.  Brushing was getting harder, since the hair was matting more, and I was having to brush her every time she came in from outside to get the snow out...that got old quick!  ;-)



She was nervous at the groomer at first, but did surprisingly well for never being clipped before.  She had actually settled in quite well by the time we got there and was running around as happy as can be. :-)

It was hard letting the beautiful long hair go, but I think we're going to be happier with her upkeep from now on! :-)

Happy 1st Birthday Mattie!

Snow Days

The kids have had an extended Christmas vacation the last three days due to snow and the windchill.  I have to say that I've been loving it!  Over the actual vacation there were still places to go and things to do, but the last three days have been awesome!  We've been snowed in and enjoying playing games, doing projects, reading, baking, watching some of the new movies we received for Christmas and generally taking it easy.  The kids also had a snow day the day before Christmas vacation, but that one wasn't the same.  There was so much to do to get ready for Christmas still, it just wasn't that fun...plus they missed out on a fun day of school. :-(

Picture taken from our garden area of a fairly large drift...the largest in our yard anyway.

Here you can see that the drift is above the top wire of the electric fence.  Our area got somewhere between 14 and 16 inches of snow.

Despite the bad roads, Rich did make it to work on Monday.  He worried me the whole time I knew he was on the road.  Before I knew he'd be leaving work to come home, the kids and I stopped what we were doing to pray for his safety in making it home.  I hadn't seen a single vehicle go through ALL day and couldn't imagine him making it through-even with the truck.  He was about 5 miles from home when I saw the snow plow go down our road...all I could think was God was answering our prayers.  I called him to let him know right away.  Rich had to take a round about way to get here, but he made it!  (He didn't end up going to work Tuesday, though, thankfully!)

I feel very blessed to be able to be home with the kids and not worry about trying to make it to work, like I know many moms have to.  These few days have made me want to homeschool too...I just love being home with the kids!  Blake enjoys it too, but Morgan can not wait to go back to school...I think she misses her friends more than anything.

Anyway, if you're wondering where I've been, I've been here. ;-)  I'll be posting more soon, but for now I'm going to continue enjoying the extended vacation!