Kristie's Notes

Tuesday, December 3, 2013

"The Promise" DVD Review & Giveaway!! (12/11)

*Disclosure: I was provided a copy of the following movie in exchange for my honest review. I was not compensated in any other way. All opinions are my own.

ABOUT THE PROMISE

The Promise: The Birth of the Messiah is an animated musical celebration of one of the most pivotal events in all human history, the birth of Jesus Christ. This beautifully crafted musical is a faithful adaptation of the birth narrative from the Gospel of Luke in both story and song. The animated production leverages optical motion technology to blend traditional animation techniques with the performance talents of ballet dancers and dramatic stage actors. The result is a unique and worshipful story experience that will inspire audiences young and old for years to come.

My Review:
I really enjoy musicals, so watching The Promise was really a delight for me. The way this movie is presented is really like watching animated characters performing a musical on stage. Such a beautiful and unique way to see the story of Jesus's birth!

The kids and I watched The Promise after our town's Christmas parade. We were so cold that we turned on the space heater (no fireplace), cuddled under blankets, and enjoyed hot cocoa and popcorn while watching it. Morgan and Blake thought it was neat and wished it continued beyond Jesus as a baby. Blake said he wanted to see what Jesus looked like all grown up...in the movie at least. ;-)

I would highly recommend watching The Promise this Christmas!

Buy It!
The Promise can be purchased through Family Christian Bookstores or amazon.com for $14.99. The running time is 45 minutes.

To learn more about The Promise, visit any of their following sites:
Website: http://www.gloriousfilms.com/thepromise/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GloriousFilms
Twitter: https://twitter.com/gloriousfilms

GIVEAWAY!

Congratulations to comment #12, tarter95!

One of my readers is going to win their own copy of "The Promise"!

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!

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Open to U.S. residents 18 years and older. Giveaway will end Wednesday, December 11th, 2013 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.

Monday, December 2, 2013

"When Calls the Heart" DVD Review

*Disclosure: I was provided a copy of the following movie in exchange for my honest review. I was not compensated in any other way. All opinions are my own.

About the Movie:

When Calls the Heart is the story of Elizabeth Thatcher, a cultured young school teacher in 1910 who, through the discovery of her aunt's secret diary, finds the courage to leave her big city home to accept a teaching position in a frontier coal mining town. And in the process, she also finds the potential for love with a handsome Royal Canadian Mountie.

When Calls the Heart debuted on the Hallmark Channel to more than 3.2 million viewers, making it the No. 1 movie of the week on ad-supported cable. Distributed by Word Entertainment, The DVD became available to purchase in Christian Retail November 19^th, 2013.

About the Director:

Michael Landon Jr., son of the late television legend Michael Landon, has been in the film business for over 25 years. With two of the highest rated films in the history of the Hallmark channel, and several top ten releases targeted to the Christian market, Michael has become known for creating heartfelt, inspiring films that connect to the family. He has developed and/or produced, directed, and written screenplays for Fox, CBS, NBC, Disney, Sony, Lifetime, and others.

My Review:
I have never been a big reader (until recently), so I have never been familiar with many authors, but one that I've heard of for a long time and knew I would enjoy reading her books is Janette Oke. So, when I was asked to review this When Calls the Heart, I was excited for the opportunity. Even if I hadn't read a Janette Oke book yet, I could at least see a movie based on one of her books! And if I liked the movie, I'm even more sure that I would like her books. After seeing When Calls the Heart, I have to say that I am HOOKED!

Not only am I hooked, but so are the kids! I would have never expected a 6 and 7 year old to get into this movie, but they LOVE it and have watched it on several occasions in the short time we've had it. I think the subtle love story, combined with the adventure, the humor and the heartache draws them in as much as it did me.

When Calls the Heart made me wish I had more than basic TV. This movie was the kick-off for a TV series that will be airing January 2014 on the Hallmark Channel and I'd love to see what happens next! I guess I'll have to settle for visiting my local library to get my Janette Oke fix... ;-)

Buy It!
When Calls the Heart retails for $19.98 and runs 89 minutes.

Monday, November 25, 2013

"The First Christmas Night" Book Review & GIVEAWAY! (12/8)

*Disclosure: I was provided a copy of the following book in exchange for my honest review. I was not compensated in any other way. All opinions are my own.

About the book:

The First Christmas Night is a beautiful retelling of the birth of Jesus on that joyous night in Bethlehem so long ago. The poem begins with the arrival of Mary and Joseph in Bethlehem and winds though Christ’s birth, the angels’ appearance to the shepherds, and the visit by the Wise Men. The simple, yet elegant, verses will appeal to little ones and are accompanied by the rich acrylic illustrations of Christine Kornacki.

About the Author:

Keith Christopher is a composer, arranger, orchestrator, and educator, and he has served as editor and producer for several major music publishers. In addition to writing and studio producing, Keith is on the faculty at the Blair School of Music of Vanderbilt University in Nashville. He lives in Hendersonville, Tennessee, with his wife and two children.

About the Illustrator:

At a very early age, Christine Kornacki developed a love for painting and bringing stories to life. After receiving a BFA in illustration from the University of Hartford, her dreams of illustrating children's books began to take shape, including illustrating the best-selling The Sparkle Box for Ideal's Children's Books. Christine's recent work also includes illustrating the six-book series for the American Girl historical doll characters Marie-Grace and Cecile. She spends her days painting in her studio, which adjoins a charming cafe in New Haven, Connecticut.

My Review:
I actually had Morgan read The First Christmas Night to Blake for this review. Blake used to complain when Morgan would practice reading and now he enjoys her reading to him...on occassion. ;-) This was one occassion where Blake thoroughly loved it!

The First Christmas Night is written in a similar style as The Night Before Christmas, which makes it a fun and enjoyable way to hear, and read, the story of Jesus's birth. On top of that, the large, beautiful illustrations really grab your attention pull you into the book.

If you're looking for a fun, new way to share the story of our savior's birth, I highly recommend The First Christmas Night! I know this book will be a favorite book to read each Christmas in our home from now on.

An excerpt from The First Christmas Night:

’Twas the very first Christmas when all through the town

not a creature was stirring—there was not a sound.

The moon shining bright in the heavens so high

gave the look of midday to the Bethlehem sky.

The animals were nestled in warm, cozy places

with looks of contentment on each of their faces.

Buy It!:

The First Christmas Night is 32 pages and the hardcover book can be purchased through Ideals Books for $16.99

GIVEAWAY!

Congratulations to comment #30, Zuzu!!

One of my readers is going to win

their own copy of "The First Christmas Night"!

*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.

Open to U.S. residents 18 years and older. Giveaway will end Sunday, December 8th, 2013 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.

Thursday, November 21, 2013

Garden Harvest 2013

Our little garden did quite well this year.

The one thing that I wish did a little better was the zucchini, but I still got all sorts of zucchini salsa and ate way too much zucchini bread and zucchini brownies...SO YUMMY!

The apple tree made up for last year and was bursting with apples. Last year we had a warm week in March causing it to blossom early, then frost came and killed the blossoms. We think there were maybe 10 apples on the tree. :-/

The kids loved climbing the ladder and finding the best apples to make applesauce out of. We canned about 8 pints. I think the tree could have given us hundreds of pints-LOL!

These are the tomatoes we had when we cleaned out our garden. It felt so good to have the garden cleaned out, but the amount of tomatoes from just 9 plants was beyond overwhelming! My sister ended up with most of them because I had canned all the salsa, tomatoes and spaghetti sauce that I had wanted. We gave more away to my dad and my mother-in-law, but ended up throwing out the rest.

We planted about the same number of potatoes this year, but they flourished in our cooler, wet summer! I bet we had double to triple the potatoes and they were HUGE! They'll last us most of the winter and we'll replant what's left.

These pumpkins started off so cute! The kids really wanted to carve them and I thought I'd probably cook up one or two. Unfortunately, when we set them out as decorations, the chickens decided they looked tasty and pecked away at them. At least the fed and made the chickens happy. ;-)

The end of the day we cleaned out (most of) the garden. Our picnic table is quite big and it was FULL!

Morgan and Blake are awesome helpers when it comes to picking and husking the Indian popcorn! This is a small portion of what we got.

It's currently hanging up in the mudroom to dry. It's all across the sliding glass doors and the window. We'll shell it soon and then have some tasty popcorn to eat through the winter.

We also planted 2 sweet potato plants that produced more than we could have imagined.

They turned out quite big. From our experience last year, the big ones didn't have as much flavor, but I hope that's not true this year...

...we have A LOT of them! :-)

I'd say I can't wait for next year's garden but, to be honest, I'm glad...ecstatic actually...to be done for the year. The work from the garden in the Spring, Summer and Fall sure makes me look forward to winter! ;-)

Wednesday, November 20, 2013

Blake's Fall Art Class Projects

Blake enjoyed another art session this fall once soccer and cross country were finished. There is another session going now that we decided not to do. We've been going nonstop with activities, appointments, etc, since school started and just needed a little break before the holidays.