My Friend Cayla {Review}

We were recently given the chance to review a fun new interactive doll named My Friend Cayla. My girls were excited when they saw her and couldn't wait to play with her, but they were even more excited that she talked to them like a real friend! She doesn't just talk and say the same thing over and over, she can ask and answer questions and talk interactively! Cayla usually starts off talking with them with a greeting like "Hi! It's great to see you again! I like to play outside. Do you play outside?"  Then the girls can answer and even ask her questions which she will answer! Their favorite thing to do with her is play games, but she can also read stories or tell about the pictures in her picture albums.  Cayla is seven years old and talks about a lot of favorite topics of young girls like her pets, friends, shopping, and what she likes to do.  She is an 18 in. doll and so my girls can dress her in some of the clothes they already have from their other dolls. They also love styling her long hair! 

A few drawbacks that I have noticed are that when talking with Cayla, the room needs to be fairly quiet or she doesn't understand the girls.  This can be a little tricky at our house with several other kids playing around at the same time.  Another thing is that the girls are constantly asking to use the iPad.  We try to limit screen time at our house, and this is one more thing they want to use it for.  And finally, I am always a little leery about letting my kids loose with any internet related information.  I know that it is programmed with kid safe software, but somehow it seems that the hacker creeps can always find ways around things like that.  So for now, we allow the girls to play with her off-line and give them some special time to play with her interactively on-line when we can be nearby to monitor them.  We are also able to use a word exclusion feature to turn off any words we don't want Cayla to use.  She will simply tell the girls it is not something appropriate to talk about and they need to ask their parents.
Overall my girls have loved playing with her and beg to use the iPad to interact with her. I have been pleased with how fun she is and that there are safety features to help protect my girls. I think she will be a pretty hot toy for Christmas this year! Cayla will be available at Target, Walmart, Amazon, and other retailers tomorrow!

Cayla is:

International Best Seller

• Winner of Innovative Toy of the Year Award 2015

• Gadget of the Year recipient

• Fully compatible with most clothing and accessories for 18” dolls

• Available at major US retailers starting August 2015  






Blessings,

The Identical {Review & Giveaway!}



I recently had the opportunity to review another great family movie, The Identical. It is a story that begins in the 1930s during the depression with a life changing decision made by desperately poor parents to give away one of their newborn twin sons.  The son that remains with them grows up into a famous rock star.  The other is adopted by a preacher and his wife who were unable to have children The movie follows the life of Ryan Wade, a young man who loves singing but is trying to please his father by following in his footsteps to become a preacher.  He was unaware that he had a twin and other parents, but as the story progresses, begins to discover some of the secrets from his past.

 

I thought this was a great family-friendly movie that I can share with my kiddos some day.  I think mine are a little young to understand parts of it yet, but I would not be afraid to let them watch it.  With so many inappropriate movies out there it is nice to find some good ones.  I really enjoyed the story in this movie and thought the Elvis-style music was fun.  I was a little sad that it doesn't have a "happily ever after" type of ending, but I guess that makes it more real-life-like since life often doesn't have that perfect ending.   It also has a great message that you can choose to be content with the life God gives you instead of being bitter about it.  Hubby, who prefers action type movies, found it to be a little on the boring side, but I am glad this is one movie we can add to our family's collection.

 

 

The Identical, starring Ray Liotta, Ashley Judd, Seth Green, and Blake Rayne is a redemptive movie about a young man, the son of a preacher, who rejects his fathers desire for him to join the ministry and instead embarks on a career as a rock singer. As he struggles to pursue his dream and rise to stardom, he finds love, pain, success, failure and ultimately uncovers a hidden family secret that reveals who he really us. The Identical is a captivating story about a family restored and a life discovered that lifts your soul and warms your heart.

If you are interested in purchasing The Identical you can do so HERE where you will also find The Identity Series DVD free with your purchase!

And now for the GIVEAWAY! One of you will get to win your own copy of The Identical.  To enter, please just leave me a comment below with your favorite family movie.  Please make sure you also leave a way for me to contact you if you win!  I will pick a winner on January 10, 2015 at noon.  Only one entrant per mailing address, per giveaway. If you have won the same prize on another blog, you are not eligible to win it again. Winner is subject to eligibility verification.

Disclosure (in accordance with the FTCs 16 CFR, Part 255: Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising): Many thanks to Propeller Consulting, LLC for providing this prize for the giveaway. Choice of winners and opinions are 100% my own and NOT influenced by monetary compensation. I did receive a sample of the product in exchange for this review and post.

 

Blessings,

The Boxcar Children DVD {Review and GIVEAWAY!}

The Boxcar Children books are a great series that so many people have enjoyed.  I remember reading The Boxcar Children books as a kid and now my kids are enjoying reading them.  I think just about everyone has at least heard of them, if not read at least one of them. So when I was offered a chance to review the new DVD of The Boxcar Children, I was excited and knew that my kids would be too!

We all really enjoyed watching this one together.  It is really well done.  I usually don't care for watching cartoons, but since this one was of a great story, I didn't even mind too much.  I like that the children are great examples for my own kiddos, kind and well-mannered. This is one movie that I don't mind my kids watching over and over.  I highly recommend this DVD as a wholesome movie for your whole family!  I hope that they make more of these!

About the Film

Four orphaned and homeless siblings happen upon an abandoned boxcar, which with a little creativity and hard work, they gradually furnish with all the comforts of home. Fearful that they will be sent to live with the reputedly cruel grandfather they have never met, the children keep their new home a secret - until a serious illness forces them to reveal themselves in order to save young Violet.

About the Cast

Featuring an all-star cast of voice actors, including Academy Award Nominee Martin Sheen (Apocalypse Now), J.K. Simmons (Spiderman), Zach Gordon (Diary of a Wimpy Kid), Joey King (Fargo), Mackenzie Foy (Twilight series), and Jadon Sand (LEGO: The Movie), this is the very first full-length, animated feature adaptation of Gertrude Chandler Warner's best-selling classic!
If you would like to pre-order, you may do so HERE.

And now for the giveaway!  One of you will also be able to add this great movie to your collection!  To enter, please leave me a comment below letting me know your favorite book or series as a kid.  Please also leave a way for me to contact you in case you win!  This giveaway will end Sunday, August 24, 2014 at noon when I will choose a winner via random.org. Open to US and Canada only.

"Disclosure (in accordance with the FTC’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising”): Many thanks to Propeller Consulting, LLC for providing this prize for the giveaway. Choice of winners and opinions are 100% my own and NOT influenced by monetary compensation. I did receive a sample of the product in exchange for this review and post.

 Only one entrant per mailing address, per giveaway. If you have won the same prize on another blog, you are not eligible to win it again. Winner is subject to eligibility verification.”

Blessings,

Gathering Shadows {Review}

I recently had the opportunity to read Gathering Shadows by Nancy Mehl for review.  Although not my usual favorite historical romance, I thought the description sounded interesting and decided to try it.  I enjoyed it quite a bit.

From the back cover:

Wynter Evans is a promising young reporter for a television station in St. Louis, but even a bright future doesn't take away her pain over the disappearance of her brother nine years ago. So when she stumbles across a photograph of a boy with an eerie resemblance to him, she can't pass up the chance to track him down. With research for work as her cover, she sets out with one of the station's photogs for the place where the picture was taken: the town of Sanctuary.

Almost as soon as she arrives, she meets the town's handsome young mayor, Rueben King, and together they begin to uncover long held secrets that could tear the small town apart and change everything Wynter thought she knew about her life. As the truth of her family's past hides in the shadows, it's clear someone will stop at nothing to keep the answers she's searching for hidden forever--even if the cost is Wynter's very life.

I really enjoyed the mystery of this story.  Nancy Mehl did a great job of coming up with a suspenseful plot, interesting characters, and an overall well-written story.  Most mysteries I've read have been fairly easy to guess what the outcome would be, but not this one.  I was still trying to guess almost all the way through!  Nancy also did a nice job of developing Wynter's spiritual life in a natural, believable way.  One area of the story I found unbelievable though was the romance between Wynter and Rueben.  It was very rushed and lacked depth.  If you like mysteries, I would recommend Gathering Shadows, but if you are looking for a good romance story, you might want to find a different book.

I received this book for free for review from Bethany House Publishers.

Blessings,

Signed, Sealed, Delivered {Review}

Did you ever watch the show Touched By An Angel?  It was one of our family's favorite shows when I was young.  We didn't watch a whole lot of TV and my parents were pretty particular about what we did watch, so having a wholesome show we could watch together as a family was great!

Recently the creator of Touched By An Angel, Martha Williamson, has come out with a new series, Signed, Sealed, Delivered. I had heard about it a few weeks ago and thought that maybe this could be a another good family show. I didn't get a chance to check it out until today, though.  It airs on Sundays at 8/7c on the Hallmark channel, but I got to preview this coming week's show just to be able to tell you all about it!

I thought this show was delightful!  It is definitely one that could be watched with my family without fear of them being exposed to all the negative things that fill most TV shows these days.  I don't know that our 5 and under crowd would sit and watch for too long, but our older kiddos would enjoy most of it.  The main characters, a team of postal workers named Oliver, Shane, Rita, and Norman, are quite likable as they work to deliver undeliverable mail. In the process they are drawn into the lives of the recipients. In this episode they meet a couple with down syndrome who are trying to be allowed to live their own lives.  There is also another storyline about Rita entering an office competition against the supervisor's daughter.  Both Rita and the couple with down syndrome learn to not let other people squash you or your dreams like a bug!

I love that scripture is incorporated into this series, something that is so rare in any TV show these days!  The American Bible Society has even created a 7 day study to go with each episode!  So after you've finished watching each week, you can still dig deeper into the scripture with this helpful study all week long! To sign up for this you need to head HERE, but hurry because it is currently only available for one week.  You can also watch previously aired episodes that you missed or want to watch again through that link.  I know that I will be finding some time to go back and watch the ones that I missed!

About the Series - Signed, Sealed, Delivered
From Martha Williamson, the creative force behind "Touched By An Angel"

The new original series "Signed, Sealed, Delivered" is a wonderful combination of romance, comedy and drama that follows the lives of four postal detectives who transform themselves into a team of detectives to track down intended recipients of undeliverable mail. Their missions take them out of the office and into an unpredictable world where redirected letters and packages can save lives, solve crimes, reunite old loves and change futures by arriving late but somehow always on time. The team includes charming Oliver O’Toole (Eric Mabius), a genius postal detective and the group’s leader; new team member, Shane McInerney (Kristin Booth), a technophile who brings 21st century sensibility to the group; free-spirited, “girl next door” Rita Haywith (Crystal Lowe) who has a photographic memory; and lovable Norman Dorman (Geoff Gustafson), a master in conventional research methods.

Be sure to check out the Hallmark channel on Sundays at 8/7c to watch this delightful new series! If you want to find out more about Signed, Sealed, Delivered, please feel free to check out the Hallmark Channel or the Facebook page. 

Thanks to FlyBy Promotions I was given the opportunity to preview the upcoming episode of Signed, Sealed, Delivered.  All opinions are mine.  As a participant in this preview I will be entered in a drawing for a prize pack.

Blessings,