$500 ARV Skin Soho Facial Lightening Kit + $200 Visa GC Giveaway ENDS 9/30

I have decided to share a giveaway with you!  This giveaway is valued at approximately $500!!!  Wow!  Seriously that's some giveaway so you're going to want to make sure that you enter to win and enter as often as you can for better chances.  Also make sure to share with your friends on facebook, twitter, pinterest, etc!

Above you can see a picture of the main giveaway item.  It is a Skin Soho Facial Lightening Kit valued from almost $200 on up to over $300 with all the add ons!  This stuff sounds wonderful and I'm jealous that I'm not getting to try it out!  Plus the winner will also receive a gift card worth $200!

Giveaway ends 9/30.  ForHimandMyFamily is not responsible for choosing or notifying the winner, neither will we be responsible for shipping out the prize.

Remember you have to enter to win!  So get to entering on the rafflecopter below.


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Shades of Mercy -CFBA Review

This week, the Christian Fiction Blog Alliance is introducing Shades of Mercy River North; New Edition edition (September 1, 2013) by Anita Lustrea
and
Caryn Rivendara

ABOUT THE AUTHORS:

Authentic. That’s the word heard over and over when women describe Anita Lustrea. She is a popular speaker at women’s conferences and retreats, and an amazing communicator as co-host of the award winning Midday Connection radio broadcast. Her deep desire is to communicate freedom to women and help them nurture and care for their soul. Anita is the co-author of “Come to Our Table: A Midday Connection Cookbook” and “Daily Seeds from Women Who Walk in Faith”, a Devotional for women. Her first solo venture as an author releases in November, 2010, “What Women Tell Me: finding freedom from the secrets we keep.” Anita and her husband, Mike Murphy, a pastor, along with her teenage son John live in the Chicago suburbs. When she’s not traveling or speaking, you can find her reading and drinking a venti hot tea at her local Starbucks.

*******

Caryn is a sought-after writer and speaker. She’s the author of four books—Shades of Mercy: A Maine Chronicle (River North, September 2013), Known & Loved: 52 Devotions from the Psalms (Revell, April 2013), Grumble Hallelujah (Tyndale House, September 2011), and Mama’s Got a Fake I.D. (WaterBrook Press, March 2009)–and a regular contributor to Christianity Today’s Her.Meneutics as well as columnist for Re:Frame Media’s ThinkChristian blog. She has written dozens of magazine article. Her work has appeared in such publications as Christianity Today, Relevant, FamilyLife, and Engineering and Mining Journal (you read that right). Caryn leads workshops and speaks at conferences and church groups across the country. She’s also a regular guest on Moody Radio’s Midday Connection with Anita Lustrea and Melinda Schmidt and has been featured on such radio shows as The John and Kathy Show, Changing Worldviews/WOMANTalk with Sharon Hughes, I Thought She Said with Faith Daly, The Paul Edwards Program with Paul Edwards, and Talk from the Heart with Rich Buhler, among many others. Caryn also appeared on The Harvest Show. Caryn earned a B.A. in English from Calvin College and attended the University of Chicago’s publishing program. She lives in the western suburbs of Chicago with her husband, Rafael, her three kids, a rescued pit bull terrier, two hermit crabs, and several tank fulls of who-knows-what-kind-of fish. Caryn and her family are members of Elmhurst Christian Reformed Church in Elmhurst, Illinois, where Caryn recently joined the worship staff.
ABOUT THE BOOK

It's 1954 and the world-even the far Northwoods of Maine-is about to change. But that change can't happen soon enough for fourteen-year-old Mercy Millar. Long tired of being the "son" her father never had, Mercy's ready for the world to embrace her as the young woman she is-as well as embrace the forbidden love she feels.  When childhood playmates grow up and fall in love, the whole community celebrates. But in the case of Mercy and Mick, there would be no celebration. Instead their relationship must stay hidden. Good girls do not date young men from the Maliseet tribe. At least, not in Watsonville, Maine. When racial tensions escalate and Mick is thrown in jail under suspicion of murder, Mercy nearly loses all hope-in love, in her father, and in God himself.

If you would like to read the first chapter of Shades of Mercy, go HERE.

My thoughts:  I really didn't know a lot about this time period or this area.  I went into this book knowing nothing about the troubles of the area and came out knowing so much more.  I really enjoyed this book.  I also found myself ready to start on the next one when it comes out but sadly it's not out yet.  I also find myself wanting to research more into that area and time and tribes.  I can actually see this still happening in our society which is sad.  Not necessarily over races as much nowadays but over incomes and societal limits.  It is good that the book did show some that did not believe in the segregation as well as those that were extremely racial.  I loved the ending of course as we all love the endings that are at least somewhat happy!

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Unforeseeable by Nancy Mehl -CFBA Review

This week, the Christian Fiction Blog Alliance is introducing Unforeseeable Bethany House Publishers (September 1, 2013) by Nancy Mehl

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Nancy Mehl lives in Wichita, Kansas with her husband Norman and their dog, Watson. She’s authored thirteen books and is currently at work on her newest series for Bethany House Publishing.

All of Nancy’s novels have an added touch – something for your spirit as well as your soul. “I welcome the opportunity to share my faith through my writing,” Nancy says. “It’s a part of me and of everything I think or do. God is number one in my life. I wouldn’t be writing at all if I didn’t believe that this is what He’s called me to do. I hope everyone who reads my books will walk away with the most important message I can give them: God is good, and He loves you more than you can imagine. He has a good plan especially for your life, and there is nothing you can’t overcome with His help.”

She and her husband attend Believer’s Tabernacle in Wichita.

ABOUT THE BOOK

Mystery, Romance, and Suspense Seamlessly Combined in a Mennonite Small-Town Setting Callie Hoffman knows she has a good life in Kingdom, Kansas. She's thrilled to be engaged to Levi Housler, the new pastor of Kingdom Mennonite Church, and she spends her days working with her friend and soon-to-be sister-in-law, Lizzie Housler, at Cora's Cafe. However, Callie's idyllic life is interrupted when a body is discovered on the road outside Kingdom and the deceased turns out to be a victim of a serial killer. As Washington County's new sheriff begins questioning Kingdom residents, Callie and the rest of the town are appalled at the prospect of a killer among them. The very reason Kingdom exists is to protect the people from the temptations and dangers of the outside world, but all the town founders' attempts to plan ahead couldn't prevent a threat like this. Unsettled at this unforeseen danger, Callie is concerned when it appears Levi knows more than he's telling. Desperate to find answers for herself, Callie never expected that she'd have to face some of her own past's skeletons. As Callie and the residents of Kingdom fear this danger for which they never planned, they must learn anew that only God knows the future and their trust must always lie in Him.

If you would like to read the first chapter of Unforeseeable, go HERE.

My thoughts:  I have to start out by saying that I LOVE this series!  I've read the other two and had been anxiously awaiting this one.  I love to read as you all know and this Mennonite series has me captivated!  The mystery is awesome!  I loved this and knew from the beginning who the murderer in this book was going to be!  I loved getting to know Callie and Levi better and revisiting our other main characters.  So glad that Hope and Lizzie were in this one as well.  And definitely glad that I have no need to be saved from flying glass windows!  Make sure you pick this one up for a great read and read the first 2 if you haven't!

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Time4Learning Review -TOS Crew #hsreviews

Recently as a member of the TOS Crew Review Team we received a 6 month subscription for free to Time4Learning to review.  We have been using it with our oldest who is in 2nd grade.  She is 8.  They offer learning programs for preschool through high school as well so really any student could learn from this site and use it.

Time4Learning covers the five main subjects so really it is an entire curriculum in and of itself.  You can use it without having to use another curriculum.  We, however, do still like to include Bible as a subject and you don't find that on here.  You do have access to math, science, social studies, language arts, and LA extensions.

This online program is student focused so it moves at the pace that the student sets.  There are no deadlines or strict standards for how fast a child has to complete the course or how many lessons must be done per week.  It's a really simple program that requires very little adult supervision.  All I had to do was be available if she didn't understand something or needed help with a word she didn't know.  During the very beginning there were some issues with the fact that she isn't extremely comfortable with the computer yet as we haven't done a lot online.  That just gets better the more she uses it and she now is pretty much a pro with clicking and doing her lessons.

The cost  really isn't too bad.  For the preschool through 8th grade courses it is $19.95 for the first student each month and $14.95 for each additional student per month.   High school coursework is a bit more at $30.00 for the month which includes four courses.  My children are far from being close to starting high school so I really didn't dig too deep into that one.  We used the 2nd grade course as we have two children in that grade.  All my others are younger than that.

Our favorite subject was math.  I say was because I think the course we used last year for math must have been an advanced first grade course as we knew most of the second grade lessons already and she was able to breeze right through them.  That most likely is why it's her favorite subject!  It's done!

Next was science.  Oh my but she loved the Earth and Space section.  We hadn't covered that at all in our school yet and she just loved learning about the planets and moon.  This was one of those where she'd get done a lesson for the day and need to move on to her other subjects and try to tell me she hadn't done her science yet so she could do another lesson.  I would be giggling in my head because I LOVE that my kids love to learn so much.  It's a great feeling to know that your child is engaged and interested enough in a subject to want to keep learning even after they're supposed to be done for the day.

Our least favorite subject was reading.  She tends  to struggle with reading still.  This program is very good for struggling readers as it does let them move at their own pace.  The "reading" or language arts  is divided into two sections.  You have language arts and language arts extensions.  In the extensions you have 22 chapters that help children work on their vocabulary and building their vocabulary as well as work on learning to write short sentences using proper grammar and punctuation.

Social studies was a good one too as it really seemed to work into what we're doing in school as well.  It took her on "virtual tours" really and let her see more of what our monuments and such are like.  It went perfectly with the section we were doing on states as well.  She liked this and we often brought things out of what she learned on the computer into our school discussions with the rest of the kids.

You can learn more about the entire second grade coursework by visiting this page on Time4Learning which gives you an overview.  I've tried to highlight some of the specifics that we liked about the program.  The only thing to dislike is that it is all on the computer and there are no hands on books.  It also requires a computer of course which some families may not have.  Our problem would be if we used it with more than one student that we only have one computer and it would not work very well with that set up.

All in all we loved this and recommend to others.  Main things, you need a computer and your child needs to have special time set aside to use it.  Make sure you're available to help with questions especially for the younger grades.

As members of the Crew Review Team we all reviewed Time4Learning but different grades and levels.  Crew reviewers can tell you about preschool through 8th grade as we did not review the High School levels though they are available now.  Make sure to hop on over to the Main Crew Blog and read all the Crew Reviews!

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$100 Victoria's Secret Gift Card Giveaway ends 9/23 US only

Welcome to the Victoria’s Secret Giveaway! Whether you love their lingerie, comfy clothes or fragrances, you’re sure to find something you absolutely loooove. One lucky reader will win a $100 VS gift card… will it be you?

Make sure to pop over and visit all of the sponsors!  Sunshine and Sippy Cups, Randomly Speaking, Poetically Thinking..., you justincredible, [oomph.], Blog by Donna, Barbara's Beat, The Funky Monkey, For Him and My Family, Beyond Beauty Lounge, Clare's Weight Loss journey with plexus Slim   

Make sure to enter to win the $100 Victoria's Secret gift card below on the rafflecopter.  Because everyone needs to pamper themselves a little bit!  I am not responsible for choosing the winner or notifying them.  Prize will not be shipped my this blog either.

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A Child's Geography -Review and Giveaway #hsgeography

Recently we were asked to help promote a book launch by reviewing it.  This book was A Child's Geography which is the third volume in the series from Knowledge Quest.  A Child's Geography is geared towards grades 1-6 and priced at $34.95.  This third volume was written by Terri Johnson which is a different author than the previous two volumes.  I know some people might have been wary by that.  I've not used the other two volumes but I know that if you like one person's writing style you normally don't approve of changing that up, or at least I don't.  I'm kind of set in my ways.   

In this book your budding historian will be allowed to explore the classic world.  While exploring the classic world in geography/history, my children also explored other books to add to what they were learning.  This curriculum is full and complete in itself, but I'm a lover of unit studies so we incorporate our spelling, vocabulary, and reading all back into what we're learning.  I'd love to incorporate science in there too, but I'm a little behind when it comes to science and don't always know what would work well.  Maybe by the time I'm done homeschooling I'll have it all figured out! 

So to recap this counts as history, this counts as geography, add in some reading books associated with the time period and you have your reading, add in some vocabulary words to study and use that correlate, and add in spelling words and you have a nice study going on.  There are activities that go along with the curriculum as well.  This can either take you a year or a semester.  I tend to let my studies go longer when I can as some of my kiddos are slow learners so for us this is going to turn into a full year study.

I feel I should say here that this book is a full stand alone course in geography  and history so you don't have to add to it, I just prefer to add to it so that everything we are studying ties in together and my children learn the most and are fairly well immersed in their study.  I am not saying that everyone else has to do it that way.  The world would be very boring indeed if everyone was like me!

I had never actually heard of A Child's Geography before joining this launch though I had heard GREAT things about Knowledge Quest.  Knowledge Quest has several products that are on my homeschool wish list for when we can afford other things.  And now of course I have had to add the first two volumes of A Child's Geography to that growing exceedingly long list.

In this third volume there are 15 chapters, so if you do each chapter over the course of 2 weeks you have a 30 week course which equals out to roughly a years worth.  Our school year normally consists of 36 weeks so this means that I will have to find a few weeks worth at the end to fill in.  Most likely I will use that time to do reviews of what we have learned.  During these 15 chapters you visit 12 different countries and learn not only about the country physically but about what was going on in that country during this particular point in time.   

Here's a  bit of information from the website highlighting all that is included and the countries:

Greece, Macedonia, Albania, Montenegro, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Slovenia, Italy, San Marino, the Vatican and Malta - situated around the Mediterranean Sea with:
* the engaging text and vivid full-color photos of a “living book”
* narration prompts to cement learning and understanding
* notebooking, timeline and mapping activities for context
* helpful pronunciations and full definitions in glossary
* activities that focus on art, music, poetry and the delicious food of each country
* optional prayer walk for each country
* 224 page full color print book
* bonus content on CD-ROM


My kids of course are in love with the activities.  What child doesn't love to do hands on activities while learning(okay so maybe they don't realize that they're still learning).  And that of course is the most important piece when working with this age group, making learning fun.  Knowledge Quest has definitely succeeded with making learning fun in their 3rd Volume of A Child's Geography and we highly recommend it. 

Because we recommend it we're jumping at the chance to giveaway one free copy of the ebook version of this book!  Yeah!  Yeap so excited.  And in addition to that you can also enter to win in the Grand Prize Woohoo the book is finally Released Giveaway!  Please go HERE to enter in that giveaway with over $650 worth of prizes!

To enter to win the free ebook copy please leave me a comment below telling me how old your child is and what their favorite subject is.  Bonus points for following Knowledge Quest on Facebook and Twitter as well as following my blog on these sites.  Each entry requires a comment below.  Each comment will be assigned a number and random.org will choose the winning comment.  Make sure you either leave your email address or that I will be able to find it when clicking on your commenting name.

So here are you entry options:
1) Comment with how old your child is and their favorite subject.  I'd also love to know how you'd use the curriculum.
2)  Follow Knowledge Quest on Twitter
3) Follow Knowledge Quest on Facebook
4)  Follow me on Twitter
5)  Follow me on Facebook

Remember to leave a comment letting me know that you did each of the additional entries.

Giveaway is open worldwide for one free copy of the A Child's Geography Ebook.  I am not responsible for the shipment of the prize.  Winner will have 48 hours to respond to the winning email before a new winner is chosen.  



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