One Slient Night an FFH Christmas

Have you heard of FFH? They are my absolute favorite band! I have been a fan since high school and I go see them every chance I get. Never heard of them? They are a Contemporary Christian band with in my opinion the most uplifting music ever.

About FFH (taken from FFH.net) -
Pop vocal group FFH has released thirteen projects, sold more than two million albums, and garnered 24 radio hits, including seven No. 1 singles and ten Top 5 radio singles. In addition to multiple Dove Award nominations, FFH has been recognized at the Inspirational Life Awards as well as the Billboard Music Video Awards. The group has performed more than 1000 dates since 2000 and continues to be a favorite on the tour circuit. FFH is also known for its work with the “Make-A-Wish Foundation,” Kurt Warner’s “First Things First Foundation,” and for its contributions to national ad campaigns for Coca Cola and IBM.

I want to help them spread the news about their new album - One Silent Night. This is their first Christmas album and everyone is pretty exited about it. I know I am!! It came out on Oct. 11th and its on my shopping list. If you are looking for a little something to put you in the Christmas spirit this year check out One Silent Night.

One Silent Night Features:

• BABY IT’S COLD OUTSIDE
• JINGLE BELL ROCK
• ONE SILENT NIGHT
• I’LL BE HOME FOR CHRISTMAS
• THE BIRTHDAY OF A KING
• O COME O COME EMMANUEL
• WINTER WONDERLAND
• GLORIOUS IMPOSSIBLE
• O LITTLE TOWN OF BETHLEHEM
• HEAVEN AND NATURE SING

You can learn more about FFH and sample their music by following them on Facebook, twitter, FFH blog or their website.

Book Review: Lonestar Angel By Colleen Coble

Book Description: Eden’s hope is rekindled when Clay delivers astounding news: their baby girl has been found.

Five years ago Eden and Clay Larson’s baby was stolen. When they went to pay the ransom, what happened changed their lives forever—the kidnapper’s car with Baby Brianna inside sunk deep into the river. Eden blamed herself, Clay lost himself in work. Their young and rocky marriage ended. Or so Eden thought.

Now Eden’s moved to a new town. She’s found faith and is trying to rebuild her life. She’s even dating again—a sweet guy named Kent who plans to marry her. But then Clay arrives out of the blue and delivers shocking news: he never signed their divorce papers, so they’re still married. What’s more, Clay has been searching for Brianna all this time. And he believes he’s found her: their daughter is in Bluebird, Texas, at a youth ranch. All five little girls there are the right age—he’s just not sure which one is Brianna. Or how she survived.

To uncover the truth, Eden and Clay sign on as counselors at Bluebird Ranch. They move into small quarters in the bunkhouse and oversee the kids as they try to find out more. Working together, they rediscover their love for each other. But danger is closing in—Eden, Clay, and all their young charges are in jeopardy. As they fight to save their family, Eden realizes that God has been fighting for them all along. And His plans are for a more abundant life than they’d ever hoped.

My Thoughts: I’m a sucker for romance novels and this one seemed like it might be up that ally. I found this book to be a fast read for me. One I could pull out at a Dr.’s waiting room and polish off a chapter or two before my name was called. That’s a must for me lately because with two toddlers I don’t have much “Me” time.  The Author weaves a story of intrigue that keeps you guessing  with a fast-moving plot with plenty to keep you on the edge of your seat. Her characters are down-to-earth and believable. There is also an underlying message of trust found throughout the book but not in a overbearing way. I really enjoyed this book, and even though it is the fourth book in a series, it can stand alone. I plan to purchase and read the first three!

The Books of the Lonestar series:

Lonestar Sanctuary (Lonestar Series)

Paperback: $10.98 Kindle Edition: $7.16

 Lonestar Secrets (Lonestar Series, Book 2) 

Paperback: $11.99 Kindle Edition: $8.79

Lonestar Homecoming (Lonestar, Book 3) 

Paperback: $10.87 Kindle Edition: $8.99

Lonestar Angel (Lonestar Series, Book 4)

Paperback: $10.87 Kindle Edition: $9.99

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Thomas Nelson Publishers through their Booksneeze blogger program in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Book Review: Just in Case You Ever Wonder By Max Lucado

Book Description: There are certain words that every child longs to hear . . . affirmation of unconditional love, promises of support, and words of encouragement. Just in Case You Ever Wonder wraps your children in its tender message of love, comfort, and protection, showing them that as they grow and change, you'll always be there for them—whether it's "monsters in the closet" or hard times when other kids are mean. Beloved author, Max Lucado, helps express unconditional love for a child—simply, powerfully, and forever.
My Thoughts: I choose this book to review because I wanted it for my 3 and 4 year old children, and I'm not sure its the right book for this age group. It has a beautiful, heartwarming message about parental love, the gift that each child is from God and Gods eternal love. But it dose have some dark themes in it, such as death, monsters, negative situations your child might face. I think if you have an older child who is able to grasp these messages then you should check this book out. It just might be your new family favorite book! As for my family I will tuck this one away until my children get older.
* Disclaimer: I received this book for free from BookSneeze.com in exchange for my honest review of it.

Book Review: Thank You, God, For Blessing Me By Max Lucado

Book Description: Meet Little Hermie—the cutest baby caterpillar in the garden! Little Hermie’s thankful heart shows toddlers how to be thankful for God’s blessings. Little Hermie is thankful for everything God has given him. He goes through his day thanking God for his many blessings in this adorable board book with flocking on the cover! With over 5.5 million brands units sold, the new Little Hermie books open the wonderful world of the Hermie & Friends garden to an entirely new audience.

My Thoughts: This book sends a beautiful message to thank God as Hermie thanks God for lots of things like nature, a place to sleep, health, friends and family. My toddlers love the book and I love that is short enough to hold and keep my youngest child's attention while also being a easy book for my four year old to learn to read on her own.

* Disclaimer: I received this book for free from BookSneeze.com in exchange for my honest review of it.

Book Review: The Canary List by Sigmund Brouwer

Book Description: Protected by the dark of night, Jaimie Piper runs. But is anywhere safe when Evil is hunting you?

She’s just a twelve year-old girl, bumped around between foster homes and relegated to school classes for challenged kids, those lagging in their test scores or with behavioral issues. But her real problem is that she can sense something the other kids can’t—something dark. Something compelling her to run for her life.

All Crockett Grey wants is to mark the anniversary of his daughter’s death alone.

But when his student Jaimie comes to him, terrified, her need for protection collides with his grief, and a tangled web of bizarre events sends them both spiraling toward destruction.
Crockett’s one hope of getting his life back is to uncover the mysterious secrets of Jaimie’s past and her strange gift. It isn’t long before his discoveries lead him to a darker conspiracy, secrets guarded by the highest seat of power in the world—the Vatican.

My Thoughts: I usually don’t go for mystery/suspense/horror books but this one caught my eye and I’m glad it did. I was a little confused by the description of it as a Christian thriller. Christian thriller? Really!? that just sounded impossible, sure I read Christian romance and fiction stories. They usually center around over coming a big hardship and how with faith you pull through, but how to that write a Christian thriller. Well I was pleasantly surprised. I was hooked by the first chapter! The storyline itself was interesting and engaging. Puzzling at most times, I must admit, but a very gripping read. It is one of those books that you find yourself sitting on the edge of your seat, one that you want the lights on while your reading it. I highly recommend it!

I received this book free from Blogging for Books the blogger review program for Waterbrook Press. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

The WAT-AHH challenge

A few weeks ago I was asked to take the WAT-AHH! challenge. I was sent four 8oz bottles of WAT-AHH! for my kids to try. The WAT-AHH challenge asked parents to put WAT-AHH in the refrigerator next to the other beverages and have your child pick their own drink. So as soon as I opened the bow I put them the and waited. Lorelai woke from her nap about an hour alter and took the ‘challenge’ -

Ha-ha she is such a ham

Oh, what is this mommy?

I pick this one!!                 

What you don’t see – I have a shelf of beverages at their level that they can choose from it includes milk, juice boxes and on special occasions some soda. These colorful bottles won them over and I was pleased with the fact that they are healthy and motivate my children to drink more water.

Both my children loved the bottles. They kept calling it their special water and they ask for more ‘special’ water a lot!  I plan to purchase WAT-AHH, if it gets my children to drink more water. I buy bottled water for myself so I have no problem getting it for my children as well.

There are four different WAT-AHHs to choose from:

Brain - Ultra purified water with no sugar and kid-friendly electrolytes.

Bones - Ultra purified water with again, no sugar, and bone-building magnesium.

Body – Pure Spring water. No chemicals, no sodium and no sugar.

Energy – Ultra purified water, no sugar and energizing oxygen.

Have your kids ever had WAT-AHH!? I’d love to hear how much they like it and why you like it as well. To learn even more about WAT-AHH! and what they have to offer, as well as where it is available, please click here to visit their site and order some for your kids today.

*I did receive some WAT-AHH! to review for free in order to properly do this honest review. However, I was not paid and all opinions and experiences here are my own.*

I’m a GetGlue junkie

I joined almost 2 months ago and here is my activity -
My check-ins

View Krystal Russell's check-ins on GetGlue

My Stickers

View Krystal Russell's stickers on GetGlue

The only thin I dont like about it. You can only get 20 of your stickers a month so for someone like me who has over 400, its going to be more than a year before I see them all :(

And the winning numbers are

21,5,23,2 and 1. Oh, you wanted the winning numbers for the Freschetta and General Mills giveaways? Ok, you win here they are.

The Freschetta Proud to Support Pink winner is #13 Robert

Anonymous said...

My wife and I loved the 5 cheese brick oven pizza – Robert

 

The General Mills Pink Together Giveaway winner is # 19 Kate

Anonymous said...

I follow you publicly and I have been touched by BC - because I am a survivor. - Kate

5 years?

Wow, I cant believe its five years, already!! Happy Anniversary to Us. Love you baby -

BISSELL STOMP 'N GO REVIEW and Mommy Party

With two toddlers , a dog, and a rabbit, I spent A LOT of time cleaning our carpets.  Everyday there is some sort of stain on the carpets.  If it’s not my son or daughter spilling something, it’s our dog making a mess.  The Rabbit is no better, her cage tend to leak leaving her ‘offerings’ on my rug. So, at least weekly I have my husband drag out the steam cleaner – something that’s generally a huge hassle.  Bissell’s new Stomp and Go pads are meant to make carpet cleaning fun or at the least more convenient.

Bissell Stomp and Go pads include an oxy-based formula to help “stomp” out stains.  When you see a stain, you just open the package, place the pad over the stain, and then stomp.  If you leave the pad on the stain – for as little as 30 minutes – the stain will begin lifting the mess.

So far, I’ve used the Stomp and Go pads on juice stains courtesy of not so spill-proof Sippy cups that my children love to leave laying around, and they work well.  To get them to work the quickest, I’ve found that it’s best to use them as soon as you find the stain – set in stains can take longer than 30 minutes to remove (up to 24 hours, according the manufacturer).  I also tried them on our Rabbit’s urine stains and it worked!!  I’ll definitely be buying more of these to keep on hand every time my carpets get stained!

Party Time: Mom Central and Bissell sent me enough Stomp and Go packs to host a Party to demonstrate how they work. My guests where amazed to see how easy they are to use and that they work. They were also excited to find out they were able to take home a box of their own! Check out the album below to see a few guests trying out the Bissell Stomp and Go products.

		Bissell Mommy Party VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

To learn more about his and other Bissell Products and where to buy them, visit the Bissell Stomp and Go site.

Disclosure: I wrote this review while participating in a campaign by Mom Central Consulting on behalf of BISSELL and received product samples and a promotional item to thank me for taking the time to participate.

General Mills Pink Together Giveaway! - CLOSED

 

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month! I know I’ve been seeing a lot of pink in the grocery isles. General Mills has teamed up with Komen organization to be Pick together!
Do you know anyone that has been touched by breast cancer?
Find hope. Be inspired. Know you are not alone. Join the 2011 Pink Together campaign - now in its fifth year of celebrating hope - by visiting PinkTogether.com to connect with a unique online community of people who have been touched by breast cancer and share a passion for the cause. Individually we are strong, but together we are stronger.

• Visit PinkTogether.com to share your personal story and messages of hope and read about others´ personal journeys. To encourage personal connections, General Mills will donate $1 to the Komen organization for each Message of Hope that is sent to someone who has shared their story on PinkTogether.com (up to $25,000) during October. This is in addition to a $2 million donation General Mills is making to the Komen organization.
• This year, for the first time in its five-year history, at PinkTogether.com consumers can choose how $1 million of this donation will be shared between two important Komen programs: the Treatment and Assistance Program, which assists women in securing care they otherwise may not be able to afford, and Prevention Research, which helps unlock the keys to preventing breast cancer. Visit PinkTogether.com from September 19, 2011 through April 14, 2012 to make your choice. Results will be announced on Mother´s Day 2012 - Sunday, May 13.
• Meet the 2011 Pink Together Survivor Ambassadors, and hear their amazing stories of courage and survival on PinkTogether.com and the Pink Together YouTube Channel.
• General Mills will also be turning the packaging of participating products pink in recognition of National Breast Cancer Awareness Month this October.

Now for the giveaway, General Mills through MyBlogSpark sent me this great prize pack and there is one to give away as well to one Family Treasures reader, US residents only, ...
Giveaway prize pack will contain:

• A 16 oz. box of Total cereal
• VIP coupons valid for one box of Cheerios and Multigrain Cheerios cereal and one cup of Yoplait yogurt
• Betty Crocker Living with Cancer Cookbook Pink Together Edition, which includes a collection of more than 150 delicious recipes with complete nutrition information and a 32-page Pink Together Survivor Ambassador bonus section that shares inspirational personal stories of survival as well as recipes
• Water bottle and removable silicone awareness bracelet
• Drawstring sport backpack
• Rhinestone ear buds

Here is what you need to do to enter:
Be a Public Family Treasures Follower and Answer one of the questions below, Mandatory. (1 Entry)

• How have you been touched by breast cancer
• How have you interacted with the community onPinkTogether.com
• What you find most inspiring about the Pink Together community
• If you have chosen the Komen program, you feel most passionate about at PinkTogether.com

Extra Entries:

• Like PinkTogether.com on Facebook: http://bit.ly/PinkTogether (1 Entry)
• Watch a video on Pink Together’s YouTube Channel: http://bit.ly/PinkTogetherVid (1 Entry)
• Tweet this giveaway linking back to this post and leave me a link to your tweet. (1 Entry)
• Subscribe to family treasures. (1 Entry)
• Post about this giveaway on Facebook. (1 Entry)
• Blog this giveaway don’t forget to link back to me. (1 Entry)

Please include a email address.
The winner would be randomly chosen via random.org on October 24, 2011.
Disclaimer:
The Pink Together prize pack, information and coupons have been provided free of charge by General Mills through MyBlogSpark.

Fiber One Bars Winner!

Congrats to Comment #9 -

 

 

pinkghosta said...

i reach for a granola bar
amandahoffman35@yahoo.com

Amanda You have 24 hours to claim your prizes. Enjoy!!

Chef Boyardee HouseParty!

I was chosen to host a "Be a Chef with Chef Boyardee" party through houseparty.com. They provided me with coupons for 6 free cans of Chef Boyardee products, a Chef Hat, cooler tote and 5 recipes to try out on my guests.
In addition my guests got to take home a recipe information card, note pad, and a .50$ coupon towards one can of Chef Boyardee. As well as Goodies I personally included in their gift bags.
Here are a few pictures from my Chef Boyardee House Party!





Set up -
Making recipe bundles for my guests.







Goodie Bags w/ printed logo – I printed all the recipes used that night, a few dinner mints, the $.50 coupon, note pad and information card.






Children’s activity








Prize Drawing – winner won the Chef Hat and a can of Chef Boyardee







The food! -

		The Food VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

and the Fun -

		Party Time VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

All in all it was fun and we found a few new meals to try with our favorite Chef Boyardee products!