Happy Thanksgiving!!

We tried something new this year, that I've seen several people do, a Thankful Tree!  Such a simple idea and actually quite pretty!  As the leaves were falling off the trees outside, the kids each added a new leaf to our Thankful Tree inside every day of November.  It's been a wonderful way to remember how much we have to be thankful for and how blessed we truly are. :-)

Wishing everyone a Happy Thanksgiving!

Blake's Fall Art 2014

Blake finished a Fall session of the art classes just last week.  He really enjoys everything about his classes.  For me, it's fun to see what they're going to do each week and how creative Blake, and the other kids, get with their art projects.

The classes started just before Halloween, so they made a spooky, vampire Mike Wazowski.  They could choose what they wanted their 'Mike' to say and apparently Blake felt "Go" was fitting.  LOL!

I love this penguin scene!  I especially like the baby penguin almost hiding in it. :-)

 The third week is always a clay project and this time they each chose whatever bird they'd like to put on a branch of a tree.  They drew their own template and made the clay bird from that.  Blake has a thing for eagles, so that is what he chose.  I think he did a great job! :-)

 A cute view of a snowman looking up as the snow falls.  The teacher's snowman had a big smile, but Blake went for a little, almost smirk, of a smile.  They also used a screen with paint on it to blow white paint on for the snow falling.  Definitely a fun way to paint for the kids! ;-)

I usually only get Blake into 2, maybe 3, sessions a year.  I'd love to do more, but it's a little ways away and I don't like driving in the dark in the fall/winter. With that being said, the next sessions we'll be doing will be in the Spring.  I know he's already looking forward to it. :-)

"When Calls the Heart: Rules of Engagement" DVD Review

*Disclosure: The following DVD was provided to me in exchange for my honest review.  All opinions are my own and I was not compensated in any other way.

About When Calls the Heart (from the press release):
 Produced and directed by Michael Landon Jr. and inspired by the best-selling books by Janette Oke, tells the story of Elizabeth Thatcher (Erin Krakow), a young woman of privilege, working as a teacher in a prairie town in the Western Frontier.  Things were starting to get serious between local Mounty Jack Thornton (Daniel Lissing) and the high society teacher, but the appearance of a woman from his past, threatens to end the relationship entirely.  Meanwhile, Abigail Stanton (Lori Loughlin) has become the adversary of the most powerful man in Coal Valley.  A mining accident that killed her husband is finally being investigated, and the owner of the mine will doing anything to stop Abigail from finding out the truth.

When Calls the Heart- “Rules of Engagement” is a feature length film from the episodes of the When Calls the Heart television series.  The When Calls the Heart television series debuted on the Hallmark Channel to more than 3 million viewers, making it the No. 2 for the night on all of cable for the primary telecast at 9 p.m and No. 3 overall in households.   Distributed by Word Entertainment, previous DVD’s are available to purchase in Christian Retail. Synopsis-  Jack is back in Coal Valley along with an unexpected visitor that threatens he and Elizabeth’s relationship while Elizabeth receives some unforeseen news that will force her to make a very difficult decision. Meanwhile Bill Avery continues his investigation into the mine explosion with help from Jack; a budding romance grows between Bill and Abigail; Elizabeth struggles to make a decision about the teaching offer.

I've seen the DVD, but this trailer makes me want to watch it all over again!!  Take a peek:

My Review:
The twists and suspense of "Rules of Engagement" sure kept us guessing as we watched it.  We were even making guesses beforehand with the title as my daughter thought that Jack and Elizabeth were getting engaged!  Of course you'll have to watch it for yourself to see.  I promise you'll be happy you watched it...of course make sure to see the others in the series first! ;-)

It's hard to put everything my family and I like about not only this DVD, but the whole series, into words.  It's an absolutely wonderful, family-friendly, wholesome series!  I wish there were more shows out there like this for my family to enjoy...until that happens, we'll be enjoying the DVDs of this series over and over again! :-)

**Side note: Since seeing this series, I've started reading the Janette Oke books...the show really makes you want more of such a good thing!

Buy It!
"When Calls the Heart: Rules of Engagement" can be purchased at Christianbook.com for $14.99.  Or stop on over to amazon.com and get the whole season collection for $19.99.

"Susie's Hope" DVD Review & GIVEAWAY (11/30)

*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 the movie: Run time 105 minutes:

Based on the true story that successfully passed Susie’s Law in North Carolina, which seeks stricter punishment for animal abusers, Susie’s Hope brings to life the inspirational relationship between pit bull attack survivor Donna Lawrence and Susie, a pit bull-mix puppy found beaten, burned and left for dead. Recognizing reflect and abuse were to blame for the tragic attack that nearly claimed her life 10 months earlier, Donna resumes the battered animal and accepts her as family. Together, they learn to heal, love and forgive as they lead a historic effort to seek justice and protection, not only for Susie, but all animals. Starring Emmanuelle Vaguer (40 Days and 40 Nights), Burgess Jenkins (Remember The Titans) and Andrea Powell (Ender’s Game, The Twighlight: Breaking Dawn Saga: Part 2), Susie’s Hope is an incredible story of love, loss and redemption.

Take a peak at the trailer:

About Susie:

Susie was found nearly dead in Greenfield Park in Greensboro, North Carolina on August 20, 2009. Just a puppy, Susie had licked the face of her owner’s newborn baby. Her owner became violent—she was beaten so severely her jaw was broken. That wasn’t enough, though. She was then set on fire and left for dead. Incredibly and against all odds Susie survived. Donna Lawrence adopted her two months later. Susie is now a trained therapy dog and event won the American Humane Association’s American Hero Dog this year!

Head on over to YouTube to see the Hero Dog Award Video for Susie:

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0743TukkrZY

My Review:

"Susie's Hope" was almost hard to watch in a few places.  We allowed the kids to watch with us.  Having read the story I knew there were places where they'd have to cover their eyes and ears, but those places were even a little tough for me.  It was not only hard to see Donna being attacked by the dog, but also to see the abuse that poor Susie had endured.  Of course, they kept the images to a minimum, but I think my imagination of how bad it must have been for both Donna and Susie is probably what really made me cringe. :-(

Thinking of Donna, I can't imagine almost being killed by an abused dog, while trying to care for it, then gathering the courage to take in another abused dog and nurse it back to health.  It seems impossible, but Donna was able to do it with God's strength.  Not only was she able to overcome her fears, but she was also able to do some amazing things with the bond they created!

I highly recommend seeing this film.  I think it's important to bring awareness of animal abuse and to make sure there are laws out there to help protect our furry friends.  I also felt that it was good for the kids to see the importance of being careful around dogs they don't know.  We have talked about safety around 'strange' dogs with our kids on several occasions, but this film gave us a good opportunity to reiterate it.  :-)

Buy It!

The "Susie's Hope" DVD can be purchased through the website for $24.99.

GIVEAWAY!

Congratulations to comment #2, Nancy!

One lucky reader is going to win a copy of "Susie's Hope"!

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

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.

Extra Entries:(1 extra entry per method. Leave a comment for each.)

*Subscribe to my blog in the upper left hand corner.

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Open to U.S. residents 18 years and older. Giveaway will end Sunday, November 30th, 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.

Melissa & Doug's Terrific 25 Holiday Gifts Giveaway!

*Disclosure: I received an entry to a blogger giveaway in exchange for this post.  All opinions are my own and I was not compensated in any way.

I've always enjoyed Melissa & Doug toys for my kids.  I think they're made well, they are either educational, or promote imaginative play, and the kids think they're wonderful!  With how much we enjoy their toys, I'm always excited to see when they come out with their "Terrific 25 Gifts", where they feature their best new toys for the Christmas season.  Not only can I enjoy browsing through the new toys, but I also have the chance to win some on their facebook page as well!  The chance of winning is just too exciting not to share, so I hope you take a moment to stop by each of the 25 days of giveaways.  There is still plenty of time to enter as the last day is November 27th!