Congratulations to the winners of the Tooth Soap® Happy Mother’s Day $100 Gift Certificate giveaway:

http://christlikemommy.blogspot.com/

http://hollowsinshaven.blogspot.com/

http://adventuresinallthingsfood.blogspot.com/

http://www.sharingthepagesoflife.com/

Winners have been notified. Thank you to Tooth Soap® and to all the participants!

Congratulations to Debby from Just Breathe!!

Debby was the lucky winner of The Letter Tree‘s giveaway for Monogrammed Picnic Deluxe Cooler! She has already been contacted via email and accepted!

Congrats Debby!!

Thank you to The Letter Tree for allowing me to do this review and giveaway.

Forget Me Not is written by Vicki Hinze.

Summary:

A mother who cannot face her future.
THEIR ELUSIVE ENEMIES TOOK EVERYTHING.  NOW THEY WANT MORE.

Crossroads Crisis Center owner Benjamin Brandt was a content man—in his faith, his work, and his family.  Then in a flash, everything he loved was snatched away.  His wife and son were murdered, and grief-stricken Ben lost faith.  Determination to find their killers keeps him going, but after three years of dead ends and torment, his hope is dying too.  Why had he survived?  He’d failed to protect his family.

Now, a mysterious woman appears at Crossroads seeking answers and help—a victim who eerily resembles Ben’s deceased wife, Susan.  A woman robbed of her identity, her life, of everything except her faith—and Susan’s necklace.

The connections between the two women mount, exceeding coincidence, and to keep the truth hidden, someone is willing to kill.  Finding out who and why turns Ben and the mystery woman’s situation from dangerous to deadly.  Their only hope for survival is to work together, trust each other, and face whatever they discover head on, no matter how painful. But will that be enough to save their lives and heal their tattered hearts?

My Thoughts:

This was one of those books that I just couldn’t put down.  Honestly, the summary that they gave for the book fooled me.  I was very nervous about reading the book.  To me the book was really about Kelly, the victim who looked like Benjamin Brandt’s deceased wife.  It was about a woman that lived her life through her faith.  Kelly was beaten so badly that she lost her memory of who she was but yet she still had her faith.  She remembered bits and pieces.  I liked how the author described it as being like swiss cheese.

There is a lot of action as a thriller.  It kept me on the edge of my seat wondering where we were going next.  There were some spot I wasn’t too sure what was happening.  The author does switch back and forth so you have to keep alert.  There was the developing love between Kelly and Benjamin that would heal by the end because of both of their faiths.  I highly recommend this story.

Not only did I get to read it..but I get to offer one of my readers a copy of it.  Would you like to read it?

TO ENTER THE GIVEAWAY:

Visit Waterbrook Multnomah and tell me what other book you would be interested in or purchase you can purchase Forget Me Not directly here.  This is the first and required entry.  Note:  If you win, you will receive the “Forget Me Not”.

EXTRA ENTRIES (leave a separate comment for each):

• Become a public blog follower of Hearts Make Families (1 entry)
• Follow Hearts Make Family on Twitter (1 entry)
• Follow Hearts Make Families on Facebook (1 entry)
• Subscribe to Hearts Make Families via Reader or Email (1 entry for each)
• Subscribe to Florence Macaroni Kid Newsletter (3 entry)
• Blog or “Share” (Stumble, Technorati, Digg, etc.) this giveaway (3 entries; leave post link)
• Grab my Hearts Make Families and Friday Follow buttons for your blog, or add my home page URL to your blogroll with a link back to me (see my left sidebar for buttons; 3 entries for each. )
• Tweet about this giveaway and be sure to include @hrtsmakefamily in your tweet. (1 entry each. Can be posted daily each counts as 1 entry).

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Deadline to enter is 11:59 pm EST on April 24, 2010. Include a valid email address in your comments or in profile to be contacted. The winner will be chosen using Random.org, posted on this site and notified via email; Winner will have 48 hours to acknowledge win or another random winner will be chosen. Prize will be sent directly by sponsor to chosen winner. Open to residents of U.S.

Good Luck to Everyone!

Welcome to Temptation Thursday. We are tempting your taste buds today with a wonderful, decadent cake from Bake Me A Wish. The cake of the month is the Carrot Cake. Yum.

I was so happy to be included in this review.  I believe that Lynn and Rita had both had the opportunity to try one of these cakes before and were bragging about how good they were.  Well, honestly, I didn’t think the cakes would live up to their description.  I was so wrong.

I received the Chocolate Truffle Lava Cake in the mail on Tuesday afternoon.  It came in the big brown box.  I’m going to tell you that I had a huge dingy moment.  You see when I opened the box there was a white bag on top.  All that was written on it was Bakeawish with a phone number.  I thought it was frosting so I put it in the fridge for later.  I wanted to try it with my husband when he got home.  So you can imagine my surprise when my husband asked why the ice pack was in the fridge.  The cake come in an insulated box with an ice pack.  Duh me.

Inside you will find this beautiful box which I believe is their signature box.  I can tell you that working for so many years in the corporate world that this would fit right in.

Now there are four little cakes in this box.  My first thought was that wouldn’t feed many.  But then I followed the instructions and microwaved it.  Let me tell you there is nothing more sinful tasting than that cake.  You don’t need more than they have in that one cake.  It is so rich and chocolatey with this lava which is more of a thicker chocolate syrup.  I was in heaven.  Of course, I had to have coffee with it.  It compliments my coffee perfectly.  They top this small piece of heaven off with powdered sugar on the top.  To me this was a masterpiece worth savoring.

I personally am thinking about sending my mother one soon.  I know how much she would love it.  Or maybe just ordering another one for myself.  It was that good.  My husband has threatened to hide the other one so that he is assured to have his other one.  That speaks volumes.  My husband does not make remarks like that unless he really likes something.  This fits the bill.  Try one you will love it.

Bake Me A Wish has always been a giving company helping organizations and people. They support Operation Birthday Cake where 5% of your order will be contributed to Bake Me A Wish!’s Operation: Birthday Cake, which, with our partner Soldiers’ Angels donates birthday cakes each month to soldiers overseas. With the purchase of the Change your Life Cake they support Friends of the Islands academy with 5% of the proceeds to this vibrant organization. They stepped in to help Angela with production of her Mortgage cakeswhich now 5% of your Mortgage Apple Cake order will be donated to GreenPath Debt Solutions.

All the good works and you get a fantastic great tasting cake with each order.

Join our Temptation Thursday! Visit Midday Escapadesand One 2 Try for more chances to win. Bake Me A Wish is giving away two cakes on each blog!

Here is your chance to win! Bake Me A Wish is providing a {cake type unknown yet TBA} to TWO lucky readers. Thanks very much Bake Me A Wish!

Mandatory Entry (First entry)

• Visit Bake Me A Wish and tell me which decadent cake you would most like to try or give as a gift.
• Include your email address (if not public in a profile) so I can contact you if you win.

Additional entries: Eligible after completing mandatory entry above: You can do any or all of the following for one entry each. Please leave a separate comment for each that you have done.

• Enter the Bake Me a Wish Giveaway at Midday Escapades. Leave a comment letting me know you entered.
• Enter the Bake Me a Wish Giveaway at One 2 Try. Leave a comment letting me know you entered.
• Sign up for the Bake Me A Wish Newsletter (top of page right corner)
• Become a public blog follower of Hearts Make Families
• Become a subscriber to Florence Macaroni Kids
• Follow HrtsMakeFamily on Twitter
• Subscribe to HeartsMakeFamilies via Reader or Email
• Follow Bake Me A Wish on Facebook
• Follow Bake Me A Wish on Twitter
• Tweet about this giveaway on Twitter and be sure to include @hrtsmakefamily in your tweet (1 entry for each tweet.  1 allowed per day).
• FOR 5 EXTRA ENTRIES – Blog about this giveaway, with a link to my blog AND Bake Me A Wish. Come back and leave the link to your blog post. Post FIVE separate comments that you’ve blogged about this.
• FOR 5 MORE ENTRIES – Make any purchase from Bake Me A Wish. Post FIVE separate comments about your purchase. (subject to verification).

Giveaway ends on April 22nd at 11:59 PM Pacific time. Open to US addresses only. No PO Boxes. Winner(s) will be chosen by random.org and contacted by email. Please respond in 48 hours or a new winner will be chosen. To be fair to everyone, comments not meeting requirements will be deleted.

Disclosure: The cake for this review was provided by Bakemeawish.  I was not paid to write this review other than receiving a cake to review as well as two for the giveaway.  As always all opinions are 100% mine.  Thank you Bakemeawish for the opportunity to do this review.

This Little Prayer of Mine is written by Anthony DeStefano and Illustrated by Mark Elliott. 

Summary:   Author Anthony DeStefano’s adult books, The Prayers God Always Says Yes To and A Travel Guide to Heaven, have sold a quarter-million copies. Illustrator Mark Elliott’s cherished artwork has appeared in popular picture books and novels for young readers, including Gail Carson Levine’s ever-popular Princess Tales series.

Now, these acclaimed inspirational experts have come together to create This Little Prayer of Mine, a beautiful and alluring book designed to guide children into a very simple, real and expressive relationship with God.

My Thoughts:

Realizing that this was a children’s book, I decided the best way to review it was to do it with my children’s reaction.  The book is written to show kids how to pray by using various situations like being scared at night to asking forgiveness when something is wrong.  The book assures children that they are being heard by God, that he loves them and is always there.  It is a very good book for teaching your children about praying.

There was wonderful engaging rhymes which my children caught onto quickly.  It is written in an easy format which my seven year old daughter, Pumpkin, was reading.  She’s in the beginning stages of learning to read.  The best recommendation I can give this book is every night since we read the book, both of my kids have asked to hear it.  I highly recommend this story.

Not only did I get to read it..but I get to offer one of my readers a copy of it.  Would you like to read it? 

TO ENTER THE GIVEAWAY:

Visit Random House.com and tell me what other book you would be interested in or purchase it directly from them here.  This is the first and required entry.  Note:  If you win, you will receive the “This Little Prayer of Mine”.

EXTRA ENTRIES (leave a separate comment for each):

• Become a public blog follower of Hearts Make Families (1 entry)
• Follow Hearts Make Family on Twitter (1 entry)
• Follow Hearts Make Families on Facebook (1 entry)
• Subscribe to Hearts Make Families via Reader or Email (1 entry for each)
• Blog or “Share” (Stumble, Technorati, Digg, etc.) this giveaway (3 entries; leave post link)
• Grab my Hearts Make Families and Friday Follow buttons for your blog, or add my home page URL to your blogroll with a link back to me (see my left sidebar for buttons; 3 entries for each. )
• Tweet about this giveaway and be sure to include @hrtsmakefamily in your tweet. (1 entry each. Can be posted daily each counts as 1 entry).

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Deadline to enter is 11:59 pm EST on April 13, 2010. Include a valid email address in your comments or in profile to be contacted. The winner will be chosen using Random.org, posted on this site and notified via email; Winner will have 48 hours to acknowledge win or another random winner will be chosen. Prize will be sent directly by sponsor to chosen winner. Open to residents of U.S.

Good Luck to Everyone!

An Absence so Great by Jane Kirkpatrick.  I have to tell you that I was torn about my feelings in this book.  This is the second in the Portraits of the Hearts Series.  The first I did not read.  I believe you need to read the first to be able to understand this book.  The series is about a young woman, Jessie Ann Gaebele, the author’s grandmother.  Jessie is an eighteen year old woman who is set out to succeed as an photographer on her own.  While she is starting her flight, she is leaving behind a forbidden romance with her married employer, Fred Bauer. 

I liked Jessie herself but I did not like Fred Bauer who is still running in the same circles.  Jessie truly wants to succeed as a photographer and own her own studio.  She was a woman alone during a time that it was hard for women to succeed.  She was fighting for women’s rights without knowing it.

I found the characters to be believable.  I enjoyed the fact that the author included pictures of Jessie’s actual photos as well as her original commentary about each photo.  I did enjoy the historical events and scenes that the author was able to portray so well in the 1900s.

However, I do not believe that this should be considered a Christian book since they are discussing her longing for a married man.  Although, the author did portray the guilt that Jessie experienced because of it quite well.

Not only did I get to read it..but I get to offer one of my readers a copy of it.  Would you like to read it? 

TO ENTER THE GIVEAWAY:

Visit Random House.com and tell me what other book you would be interested in or purchase it directly from them here.  This is the first and required entry.

EXTRA ENTRIES (leave a separate comment for each):

• Become a public blog follower of Hearts Make Families (1 entry)
• Follow Hearts Make Family on Twitter (1 entry)
• Follow Hearts Make Families on Facebook (1 entry)
• Subscribe to Hearts Make Families via Reader or Email (1 entry for each)
• Blog or “Share” (Stumble, Technorati, Digg, etc.) this giveaway (3 entries; leave post link)
• Grab my Hearts Make Families and Friday Follow buttons for your blog, or add my home page URL to your blogroll with a link back to me (see my left sidebar for buttons; 3 entries for each. )
• Tweet about this giveaway and be sure to include @hrtsmakefamily in your tweet. (1 entry each. Can be posted daily each counts as 1 entry).

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Deadline to enter is 11:59 pm EST on April 7, 2010. Include a valid email address in your comments or in profile to be contacted. The winner will be chosen using Random.org, posted on this site and notified via email; Winner will have 48 hours to acknowledge win or another random winner will be chosen. Prize will be sent directly by sponsor to chosen winner. Open to residents of U.S.

Good Luck to Everyone!

This book was provided for review by the WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group.

I was so very proud to be asked to do a Review and a Giveaway for Chili’s Grill and Bar Restaurant.  I’ve enjoyed Chili’s a few times in the past with my family but since I now live 45 minutes away from them it was a pleasure to get to go and visit.

They have this great new menu with Freshly Prepared Recipes.  I can tell you that the food was delicious.   My brother went for the Caribbean Salad w/ Chicken.  He said it was fresh and awesome tasting.  It has fresh pineapples, mandarin oranges, dried cherries, green onions, and a honey-limed dressing. 

I went for the BBQ Pulled Pork sandwich with mash potatoes.  The potatoes were light and fluffy with lumps.  Yes I could have made them myself.  They were yummy.  But the pulled pork sandwich to this day still makes my mouth water thinking about it.  It had carmelized onions, served with a Shiner Rock BBQ sauce.  It was one of the best pulled pork sandwiches I have had.

Now the kids were happy with grilled cheese and fries.  My mom was, also, present and they had a great meal for a senior citizen.

Now with the main course, we got an appetizer.  I had yummy Southwestern egg rolls and my husband had texas cheese fries (they said it was a half order.. I don’t think so).

Now I know you are wondering how much for an appetizer and a main course, surprise it was $9.99.  Yes I was in shock too.  Great company.  Great food and all at a great price.

Note:  If you don’t have a Chili’s in your area, I noticed that the gift certificate is also usable at Romano’s Macaroni Grill, On the Border, and Maggiano’s Little Italy so this is probably good for most of my readers. 

Not only did I get to try them out.. but Chili’s is offering one of my readers a $50 Gift Certificate to come and try them out.

WIN A $50 GIFT CERTIFICATE TO CHILI’S GRILL AND BAR RESTAURANT

TO ENTER THE GIVEAWAY:

Visit Chili’s Grill and Bar Restaurant website and leave a comment about your favorite piece.  This is the first and required entry.

 EXTRA ENTRIES (leave a separate comment for each):

• Become a public blog follower of Hearts Make Families (1 entry)
• Follow @ShoutOut2EatOut on Twitter (1 entry)
• Follow Chili’s on Twitter (1 entry)
• Follow Hearts Make Family on Twitter (1 entry) 
• Follow Chilison Facebook (1 entry)
• Follow Hearts Make Families on Facebook (1 entry)
• Subscribe to Hearts Make Families via Reader or Email  (1 entry for each)
• Blog or “Share” (Stumble, Technorati, Digg, etc.) this giveaway (3 entries; leave post link)
• Grab my Hearts Make Families and Friday Follow buttons for your blog, or add my home page URL to your blogroll with a link back to me (see my left sidebar for buttons; 3 entries for each)
• Tweet about this giveaway and be sure to include @hrtsmakefamily and @chilis in your tweet.  (1 entry each.  Can be posted daily each counts as 1 entry).

Also, be sure to stay tuned because soon Chili’s will be announcing a contest called “Shout Out To Eat Out”  where one gift card will be given away each day. To enter, you will have to make a short video (10-30 seconds) telling why you don’t want to cook tonight!  I could come with TONS of reasons.  Can’t you?

Good Luck to Everyone!

Liz Curtis Higg’s has a great way of making history come alive again through her writing. The book was set in the 18th century Scotland with a little bit of romance, scandal, faith, redemption, intrigue and historical fiction. The characters are believable which is always a great thing.

Lady Elisabeth Kerr struggles with the knowledge that her husband, Lord Donald Kerr, might be unfaithful to her. Lord Donald Kerr declares his undying love for Elisabeth, but he has a roving eye. At the same time, Lady Marjory, hides gold under her floorboards and tries to keep control of her sons. Lady Marjory was always concerned about her place in society to the point of worrying how her family acted. She has secrets that slowly come out in the book. You watch their family drama going on while outside their doors the entire country during the uprising of Bonnie Prince Charlie and his defeat at the hands of King George II.

I am very excited that I found a new author to read. It is hard for me to find ones that I love. This was not one of those books that I just picked up and lost myself in though. It did take me a while to read it. But I found myself wondering as I went about chores what was next. If you love historical fiction, this is a must read.

I was provided a complimentary book to review for Waterbrook Multinomah Publishers. If you would like to purchase this book, please click the link below.

http://waterbrookmultnomah.com/catalog.php?isbn=9781400070015

Published remarks:

Determined, smart and a master of both the sword and the bow, Lady Carliss has proven herself as a veteran Knight of the Prince. Returning from a mission of aid, Carliss is plunged into adventure once again as she searches for the marauders responsible for kidnapping a friends’ family. Along the way she is reunited with Sir Dalton and discovers that the struggle in her heart is far from over. When Dalton falls to the vicious attack of a mysterious, poisonous creature, Carliss finds herself in a race against time. As Dalton clings perilously to life, she must find the antidote in the distant and strange city of Moorue.

 While there, Carliss uncovers the master plot of a powerful Shadow Warrior that will soon overtake the entire Kingdom. Her faith in the Prince and her courage as a knight are tested as she faces evil Shadow Warriors and a swamp full of dreadful creatures. The lives of many, including Dalton’s, depend on Carliss. But she cannot save them all, for time is running out.  She faces an impossible choice: save Dalton, or let him die so that others may live.

My thoughts on the book:

At first I had a hard time getting into the book but once I did, I was amazed at how involved I was.  I have to give it to the author, Chuck Black, he kept this book full of action and adventure.  Lady Carliss is a servant to the Prince, who represents Jesus Christ.  She must save her friend’s family from the evil, Lord Malco.  During it she will run into a lot of different characters both good and evil.  The story is a great example of how we all fight evil vs good all the time.

Although this is the fourth book of the series, The Knights of Arrethtrae, I had no difficulties getting into the book.  I found it to be a exciting fast paced book.  I would recommend it to anyone.

If you would like to purchase this book, you can find it here from RandomHouse.com.

Disclaimer:   This book was provided for review by the WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group.

Ok ladies and gents… grab your drink and get comfy. I got lots to say and little space to say it.

Calmly waits for you.

I’m serious grab your drink!!!

Did you get it yet?

Last chance here we go!

It’s Thursday and it’s time for Random Thoughts. I’ve been sick and I have so much to say. So here we go.

First thing is:

I was so touched by all the support that I get from you during everything that has been happening. It’s amazing to know that I have such incredible bloggy friends. I do count you all among my friends whether you are reading me on reader or on the post.

Ok ok…I’d like you to comment more though. I LOVE Comments. Did I mention that I love them? I do I do. Please leave me comments. I’ll comment back. I’m behind but I’m coming. I joined this incredibly new group, CCWA, that my friend, Lee at Headaches, Hormones and Hot Flashes created with two other great bloggers, Erin over at Mother Load and my good friend, Tracie (KYS too) over at Stir Fry Awesomeness. Now I really suggest that you check them all out since they are all awesome. CCWA stands for… are you ready for this? I’m still shocked but I love it. Comment Crack Whores Anonymous. Does it fit you? Well it surely does me. If you would like to join, please go here.

Number Two:

Thank you so much for returning my husband to me. He has been found!! I would have missed him terribly if he hadn’t been. Ok that is not totally true. We’ll wait yes it is. He does watch the kids sometimes. Now wait wait. Well can we call it watching? He does keep the kids while I run around some times. Not sure it’s called watching. I did come home to Monkeyboy’s new awful hair cut. Did I mention awful? I was so mad. He was the one who watched them with the Tattoo Disaster. He was the one that let Pumpkin become the green monster. I just realized I may have to make a post about this one. Future post. It’s a hilarious story. Pumpkin ended up in the hospital twice during his watch. Once when the dog bites her right in front of hubs and once when she fell in the tub with hubs standing there. Ok maybe my kids need to be protected from him. Oh well I still love him.

Item Three:

Remember me telling you that Pumpkin did not want to go down to the bus stop by herself. She made me walk her halfway and then she would stand by me until it was time to run down to the end of the street. Yesterday, she begged me not to watch her go down. She is growing up. I wanted to cry and celebrate at the same moment. It was odd. I felt so confused. It’s a good thing but do you think I didn’t watch?? Heck no, I stood by the window out of sight and watched. My baby doesn’t need to know that so be quiet…DON’T TELL HER!
Item Four:

I mentioned that I’m the new General Hospital Brand Ambassador. I have to tell you that my shoes about fell off when they told me that I had been accepted. I get new feedback about what’s going on every Monday morning. Are you watching General Hospital?

Have you been watching General Hospital lately? It’s getting really dicey. There is this awesome connection between Lulu and Dante. Lulu is Luke and Laura’s daughter while Dante is Sonny’s long lost son. Talk about a match made in heaven. Now the two of them are HOT made all over.

Not to mention the storyline between Sonny and Dante. Sonny is the king of the mobster in town while Dante is a cop. Yes, you got it. Dante was an undercover cop trying to bring Sonny down when he got to town. His mother, Olivia, kept even Dante in the dark about his father all these years so there was no conflict about him going after his father. If Sonny had known would he have shot his own son? I doubt it very much. The father/son clash is a great story line. I hope that they finally in the end make up. Now, Sonny is standing trial for the murder of his wife, Claudia who actually was killed by his other son, Michael. Will Michael tell Dante the truth before Sonny goes to prison for something he actually didn’t do? Sonny is guilty of all kinds of other things just not this. Will father/son get the chance to patch up the relationship between the two of them? Will Dante have a change of heart about Sonny if Michael confesses?

Now while all this is going on Johnny is coming on back side to take over Sonny’s territory since he believes that Sonny will not pay for his sister’s death.

Great stuff..Stayed tuned.

“I am a participant in a Mom Central campaign for ABC Daytime and will receive a tote bag or other General Hospital branded items to facilitate my review.”

Item Five:
I told you it was going to be long.

Congratulations… You are a DIGIORNO Champions House Party host!!

Woohoo!! I can’t believe that I get to host a Digiorno Champions House Party on March 20th at my house. I have been applying for parties forever from HouseParty.com. I didn’t think I was ever going to be accepted but I was. Now let me tell you what they are going to send me for the party. It includes:

• 1 Party Planner Booklet — with 6 host coupons for free pizza and 15 guest coupons for $4.00 off pizza
• 1 Supreme Pizza Cutter
• 15 Party Rally Beads
• 1 Referee Apron
• 1 Refrigerator Magnet
• 16 Drink Coasters
• 2 Trivia Table Tent Cards
• 1 Basketball “Hoops” Beverage Can Game

So not only are they supplying me the pizza and bread sticks but this great stuff as well. I pretty much get to have a party on them except of course drinks. They even have an event program to send out invitations as well.  All I have to do is have a party and tell about it on their website.  It’s easy and free to me! 

Now you can’t get in on this party, but there are lots of other ones to try for. I saw a Windows party, card party, Eco party, and various other parties. All you need to do is go set up an account here and then apply for the parties. I wanted to be accepted before I told you about it.

Item Six:

Specials that I just found out about:

• Portrait Innovations – you all know that I have issues with them. I had a very nasty time with one of their photographers, check it out here. But I still love their work so the offer is as follows:

It’s their spring special for $9.95 plus tax is One 10×13, Two 8×10’s, Four 5×7’s, Four 3×5, 32 wallets and six personalized portrait cards.

Yes you can just get the package. Although I will tell you that they hate that. I love their work. Just to let you know they will take hundreds of pictures of you. You need to narrow it down to as few as possible. And be upfront if you just want the package.

• Snapfish has their spring special going on as well. When you make an Express Classic Photo Book, you get the second one FREE! Our Express Photo Books will let you create a memorable keepsake in just minutes. The best part is it’s fast, easy and fun.

Use coupon code SPRINGBOOK at checkout by March 9. Hurry! This is available for a limited time.*

I made one of these books for my parents and Ken’s parents for Christmas this year. They loved it.

Hope you stayed through all of this. I know it was a lot.

Press Release

The Golden Cross

By Angela Elwell Hunt – Aidan O’Connor may be a poor barmaid but she’s also a gifted artists. When a famous cartographer takes her on as a student, Aidan is swept into an adventure that will bring her back to her heavenly Father, and into marriage with the love of her life.

My thoughts on the book:

I absolutely loved this book.  I couldn’t put it down.  The storyline was very fast pace so you wanted to keep reading.  I was worried about being able to follow the book since I have not read the first in the series, The Silver Sword.  This book had everything. 

I adored how Angela Elwell Hunt transitioned from the present day to the year 1642 in the first chapter.  It was beautifully written and believable.  She managed to peak my interest in that chapter by itself.  The story starts out with Kathleen O’Connor, in the present day researching her ancestors.  Kathleen is researching her ancestors and finds that her descendents were very strong women who fought for what was right for women.  She feels that it is her responsibility to tell the tale of her ancestors.

Angela Elwell Hunt created a story mixed with characters that are rich and well rounded.  The dialogue between the characters was believable.  Aidan O’Connor may have been a poor barmaid but she had the determination to leave her family to make something of herself.   As a reader, you can’t help but champion Aidan’s way as she fights to pull herself out of the life of the lower income.  You watch as she is unable to see the natural ability she has to draw that the famous cartographer, Schuyler Van Dyck, sees she has.  You champion Mr. Van Dyck as he steps outside of common tradition to help and encourage her.

So the journey begins.  The story takes you on an ocean voyage where Aidan’s accepts her faith in God again, through treacherous deeds, sorrows that she must suffer, and finally to finding an unconditional love that she never knew existed.  It is an incredible journey that will keep you on the edge of your seat.

I would recommend it to everyone.  I haven’t read the first book of the series but I am planning to the first chance I get.
This book was supplied by Waterbrook Multinomah Publishing Group

Angela Elwell Hunt created a story mixed with characters that are rich and well rounded.  The dialogue between the characters was believable.  Aidan O’Connor may have been a poor barmaid but she had the determination to leave her family to make something of herself.   As a reader, you can’t help but champion Aidan’s way as she fights to pull herself out of the life of the lower income.  You watch as she is unable to see the natural ability she has to draw that the famous cartographer, Schuyler Van Dyck, sees she has.  You champion Mr. Van Dyck as he steps outside of common tradition to help and encourage her.

So the journey begins.  The story takes you on an ocean voyage where Aidan’s accepts her faith in God again, through treacherous deeds, sorrows that she must suffer, and finally to finding an unconditional love that she never knew existed.  It is an incredible journey that will keep you on the edge of your seat.

I would recommend it to everyone.  I haven’t read the first book of the series but I am planning to the first chance I get.
This book was supplied by Waterbrook Multinomah Publishing Group 

Angela Elwell Hunt created a story mixed with characters that are rich and well rounded.  The dialogue between the characters was believable.  Aidan O’Connor may have been a poor barmaid but she had the determination to leave her family to make something of herself.   As a reader, you can’t help but champion Aidan’s way as she fights to pull herself out of the life of the lower income.  You watch as she is unable to see the natural ability she has to draw that the famous cartographer, Schuyler Van Dyck, sees she has.  You champion Mr. Van Dyck as he steps outside of common tradition to help and encourage her.

So the journey begins.  The story takes you on an ocean voyage where Aidan’s accepts her faith in God again, through treacherous deeds, sorrows that she must suffer, and finally to finding an unconditional love that she never knew existed.  It is an incredible journey that will keep you on the edge of your seat.

I would recommend it to everyone.  I haven’t read the first book of the series but I am planning to the first chance I get.  This book was supplied to me by Waterbrook Multinomah Publishing Group for my honest review.  No other compensation was received.

Angela Elwell Hunt created a story mixed with characters that are rich and well rounded.  The dialogue between the characters was believable.  Aidan O’Connor may have been a poor barmaid but she had the determination to leave her family to make something of herself.   As a reader, you can’t help but champion Aidan’s way as she fights to pull herself out of the life of the lower income.  You watch as she is unable to see the natural ability she has to draw that the famous cartographer, Schuyler Van Dyck, sees she has.  You champion Mr. Van Dyck as he steps outside of common tradition to help and encourage her.

So the journey begins.  The story takes you on an ocean voyage where Aidan’s accepts her faith in God again, through treacherous deeds, sorrows that she must suffer, and finally to finding an unconditional love that she never knew existed.  It is an incredible journey that will keep you on the edge of your seat.

I would recommend it to everyone.  I haven’t read the first book of the series but I am planning to the first chance I get.  You can find this book as well as other great books at http://waterbrookmultnomah.com. 

Press Release Portion:

Faithful Heart

 By Al and Joanna Lacy – The adventures of certified medical nurse and dedicated Christian Breanna Baylor continue as she travels by wagon train to visit her sister, Dottie, in California. Little does she know that her most dangerous encounter might be with Jerrod, her brother-in-law, who’s suffering from dementia caused by combat fatigue.

This book was provided to me by WaterBrookMutlnomah.com for my review.

My Thoughts on this book:

This is the first book of the Angel of Mercy series by Al Lacy.  It is, however, the second book of the series.  I was pleasantly surprised to find that I did not have an issue having not read the first book.  The author did an excellent job there.  Most of the time when you start a book out of series, you have a hard time understanding what is going on.  The author in this case provided you with a prologue which helped me to feel comfortable starting right off. 

The story is set in the 1870s traveling between Breanna Baylor and her sister Dottie Harper.  Breanna spends most of the story on the way to California to her sister serving as a nurse for the wagon train she is on.  There was a nice romance going between Breanna and John Stranger throughout the train ride which was very nice.  Unfortunately, I had a lot of issues with the medical terminology that was used throughout most of the book.  Not that I’m an expert there but I don’t believe that nurses were allowed to perform surgery back at that stage of history.  I think a lot of the technology was more modern medicine and since there was a lot of dialogue regarding it.  It made the story hard to believe. This is a Christian based book and there was a lot of reference to religion in it.

I was able to connect with Breanna but never really had the chance to connect with Dottie since most of the story was on the ride to California with Breanna.  I had an issue with how long it took Dottie to take her children away from a violent situation with her husband who was suffering from a mental illness.  In my mind, she did not have a reason to put her children in harm’s way.  The violence that the children endured in this book was hard for me to stomach.

Although I do believe if all the technical verbiage was not in the book, it would have been a better read.  I did enjoy parts of the book.  Just not all of it.  I found that I was easily able to figure out the plot which makes it hard for me to continue to read.  I want a book that makes me wonder what is going to happen next to make me want to continue to read.  For someone else, it might be the perfect read.  I’m not that much on Christian or war books. 

You can find this book as well as other great books at http://waterbrookmultnomah.com/. 

This book was furnished by Waterbrook Mutlnomah Publishing for my personal review.

This giveaway was officially closed on February 13 at 11:59 a.m. EST.  The winner has been selected using Random.org.

The Winner is #17:  Stephanie

Congratulations to the winner!  Notification email will be sent and winner will have 48 hours to claim this prize.  

Thank you to everyone for participating!

For years I have hated bleach.  It just breaks me out.  I use it but I can’t stand the smell that it releases into my house.  I don’t like having to use such harsh chemicals on my clothes.  I was approached recently by EcostoreUSA about doing a review for them.  I’m all for cleaning up my environment but I’m not as good as I should be.  So I went to look at their website.  Low and behold they had a product that I couldn’t wait to try Pure Oxygen Whitener. It contains oil of citrus and Coconut and other plant-based ingredients.  I tried it the other night to find that it cleaned out all of the stains that Monkeyboy puts on his clothes as well as my husbands.  We don’t want to talk about that!! It is resembling price as well.    The first time I used it.  It didn’t really change anything.  Then I figured I should read the directions.  I had to let the clothes soak for awhile and my husband’s boxers came clean.  I was amazed.  I very much recommend this product.

Not only that but my house didn’t smell like bleach.  There was a nice citrus smell in my house.  I’m looking forward to using it more.  It was fairly reasonable as well.  You could buy 35.3 oz for just $12.00.  If my clothes are going to look this good, I’m going to continue buying it.

EcoStoreUSA, also, let me try out another product.  I have dogs so when I saw the Hypoallergenic Shampoo for Dogs.  I just had to try it out.  Lucky didn’t seem quite as willing to try it though.  So I pick up him up and run upstairs to give him a bath.  Have to lock him in the bathroom because every time he hears water he runs for cover.  I warm up the water and put him in the tub and I pour some of the shampoo on him.  Well first thing I noticed was the lovely smell of it.  It smelled like a sweet honey.  Then I start shampooing Lucky.  Let me tell you I was surprised.  Every time I have had to wash him I have all these bubbles that didn’t happen this time.  No bubbles!!  It is always harder to tell if you are getting them clean because when you go to rinse them off the bubbles take forever to get out.  Well in this case it was no problem at all.  In the end, Lucky actually seemed to have liked his wash.  I dried him off and his coat was softer and shiner than it had been in a while.  I do suggest that if you have a dog that you look at this shampoo.  I won’t be going back to anything else.

About EcostoreUSA

Their products also help to ensure value for the dollar for their customers. They know it can be expensive to buy natural or organic products but they’ve found a way to safely super-concentrate our formulations. Their super-concentrates means that a little really does go a long way – saving you money by cutting down significantly on cost per use.  This is totally awesome.

Check out their website.  They have great videos and podcasts.  Not only that they offer FREE shipping on any orders of $25 or more.   Now the great find I had because I do know that I love their products now that I can find them in my local Meijer stores.

EcostoreUSA Giveaway

I know you were all waiting for this part.  EcostoreUSA, not only allowed me to review their products, they are offering one of my reader a $25 gift certificate to use at their site!  What a win for one of you!

To enter the giveaway

First thing you need to do is visit their website, then come back here to post what you would like to try.  This is a required entry.

Extra Entries (leave a seperate comment for each entry.)

** Become a Fan of EcoStore USA on Facebook (1 entry)

** Sign up for the Ecostore USA free No Nasty Chemicals monthly newsletter to receive updates, coupons, and deals & more (1 entry)

** Follow EcoStore USA on Twitter (1 entry)

** Follow HrtsMakeFamily on Twitter (1 entry)

** Tweet this giveaway (1 entry daily): “Win a $25 Gift Certificate to @EcoStoreUSA #giveaway @hrtsmakefamily http://heartsmakefamilies.com/?p=381 RT”

** Enter to the same EcoStore USA giveaway at Lynn at MiddayEscapades blog (1 entry)

** Blog or “Share” (Stumble, Technorati, Digg, etc.) this giveaway (3 entries; leave post link)

** Subscribe to my blogs (1 entry for each):

** Become a public follower of my blog (1 entry)

** Grab my HeartsMakeFamilies and Friday Follow buttons for your blog, or add my home page URL to your blogroll with a link back to me (see my left sidebar for buttons; 3 entries for each)

Deadlines:

Deadline to enter is 11:59 pm EST on February 13, 2010. Include a valid email address in your comments or in profile to be contacted. The winner will be chosen using Random.org, posted on this site and notified via email; Winner will have 48 hours to acknowledge win or another random winner will be chosen. Prize will be shipped directly by sponsor to chosen winner.  Only residents of U.S. are eligible to win.  Images and information courtesy of the sponsor website.

Anna’s voice is soothing and calm. In the first part of the video, she talks about restoring mind-body integration and balance which I think this video does. I liked how she explained scientifically how doing the yoga will ease the stress that you experience when you are dealing with trying to get pregnant. I remember those feelings and they are hard to cope with.

I haven’t done much yoga. I have always wanted to get back into it. I really enjoyed the video. I found it to be very calming and relaxing. It is a great stress reliever. My husband said I appeared more happy and positive after using it for a week. I, also, noticed that I am beginning to tone. I did it about 3 times a week for the two weeks that I have had it. It is a 60 minute workout so plan on spending the time.

I have to say with my limited knowledge of yoga that I did find it hard to pick up the poses that she is doing. She did not give explanations on how so I did struggle for a bit with them. But I did figure them out as well. She presented the relaxing techniques very well. I would definitely recommend it to you.