There's a New Name Written Down in Glory

Alaina decided she wanted to get baptized last Wednesday. Her dad had the pleasure of baptizing her after church Wednesday night after church. She has such a soft heart and sweet spirit.

Delaney got to thinking about when everyone else in the family had been baptized and she realized that Amber was baptized on Wednesday, April 25 as well in 2012.

Wordless Wednesday Wedding Cake #weddingcake #wordlesswednesday

Prone To Wander Phone Case Review and Giveaway #pronetowander #frontgatemedia #phonecase

I take my phone everywhere and I'm sure most of you do too. Usually when I put a phone case on it stays until I absolutely have to get a new one. I just received three beautiful cases for my iPhone 7 Plus from Prone To Wander LA and I'm so excited to be able to change my case whenever I feel like it. Make sure you read to the bottom to enter a giveaway for a chance to win 3 phone cases of your own.

Prone To Wander LA offers beautiful phone cases of different material and some that can be personalized. They also offer products for the home including canvas banners, art prints, pillow covers, and more. All their items are very pretty and offer reminders we could use throughout our day.

I received the Floral BOHO clear plastic case that says Seek First His Kingdom. This case is flexible and can be bent. It is completely opaque showing off the color of your phone.

I also received a case from the Shimmer Selection. The one I have is silver and says Love Never Fails with 1 Corinthians 13:8 across the bottom. It is very shiny, flexible and comes in four different colors.

The third case I received is Special Edition Wood phone case.  This special edition phone case is made of cherry wood and says Blessed surrounded by flowers. 

I have been enjoying all three of my new phone cases. I like them all three for different reasons, but f I had to choose a favorite it would probably be the Special Edition Wood case. Maybe because it is so different and I have never seen one of these before. 

Prone To Wander pays attention to the smallest details. The package I received was beautifully wrapped. I wanted to get a picture of my package but my girls and I were so excited to try out the new cases we forgot. 

Prone To Wander LA came up with their name from the hymn "Come Thou Fount". They recognize how it is so easy to stray away from the truth so they wanted to create products to be an encouragement and reminder for every day. We are all prone to wander and could all use a little encouragement throughout out the day. 

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Disclaimer: As a FrontGate Media blogger I received three phone cases from Prone To Wander free of charge to review. I received no other compensation and all opinions are my own. The giveaway is sponsored by Prone To Wander and they are responsible for choosing a winner and mailing the prize.

Princess Cut Movie Review #hsreviews #PrincessCut #romanticdrama #Christianfilm

Being part of the Crew has allowed us to review full sets of curriculum, supplements, unit studies, books, and even movies. This time we received Princess Cut from Watchman Pictures.
Princess Cut is a full-length Christian film about finding the right person to marry. Grace is a farm girl that has dreamed of finding Mr. Right her whole life. The soybean farm in North Carolina where Grace lives has been in the family for years and she has been dating Stewart for 15 months. Stewart is away at college and when he tells Grace he has something special planned she assumes he is going to propose. Her hopes are crushed when the special evening includes several of his friends and announces that he has proposed to someone else. She moves on to another guy that doesn't treat her right and tries to pressure her into doing things she isn't comfortable doing. She confides in her worldly friend that recommends a counselor to help her sort out her problems. This counselor basically tells Grace she should have a trial marriage so she could figure things out, but Grace wants a marriage like her parents that will last forever. Discouraged and unsure what to do she confides in her mom and they talk to her dad. Together they decide the dad will have more say in the relationships Grace has. The neighboring farm is sold to a young doctor and he comes around to help with the soybean crop when the combine is broken. This young man approaches the father to ask if he may pursue Grace for possible marriage. Things seem to be going well for the two of them until an ex-girlfriend teams up with an ex-boyfriend to cause trouble. In the end, love wins out and Grace gets the proposal she has longed for.

Princess Cut gets its name because in the film we see Grace window shopping for engagement rings and that style is her favorite. This is a romantic drama, but there are several life lessons to be gotten from it as well. Grace's dad has a nice talk with her and uses a soybean seed packet to illustrate love because you can't harvest what hasn't been planted. Earlier in the movie, the mom and dad are discussing how Grace feels about Stewart. The dad is concerned that Grace is giving away her heart too soon. That makes me think that Grace was reading more into her relationship with Stewart than he was and that is why he could propose to someone else and she was shocked about it.

I watched Princess Cut with my three teenage girls. We enjoyed watching just for the sake of watching it and there were a lot of things to discuss while we watched the film and afterward. We all loved the little brother. He puts an ad in the newspaper about his sister making the best mac n cheese and wanting to get married. We see all these different types of guys show up at their house which was very funny at the time but it did show what some people really expect or want out of a spouse. Not only could we discuss romantic relationships we also discussed her friend. She was very worldly-minded and was actually pulled Grace down. We wondered why Grace was friends with her, but we do have people in our lives that have been there for a long time and have become more worldly over time and we are still "friends" with them but not in the same way. We do not let them influence us in our decision making and we wondered why Grace allowed that. The movie does end well for Grace and the Dr. when he proposes to her.

The actors and actresses have been in several movies before including War Room, 90 Minutes to Heaven, Courageous, Torn, Trainwreck, and more.

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Wordless Wednesday 50th Birthday Cake

My friend turned 50 last month so I made her a birthday cake. I forgot to take a good picture, but my daughter had taken this one. 

A New Edition of The Phoenix #teenswriting #homeschoolliterary

The Phoenix Issue No. 5 has been published. I am amazed at the talent of these high school students and commend the publisher for his hard work in putting this magazine together. Of course, Delaney has a story in the newest edition. Her story An Uncanny Rhapsody: Part One is on page 22.

40th Birthday Cake

My friend was going to turn 40 & we were going to have a surprise party for her after church one evening. I was going to make the cake, but Delaney wanted to decorate it. I baked it and iced it smooth and she came up with the design and decorated on her own. 

 I love all the detail she decided to add. It turned out really cute and unique. 

Creation Illustrated Unit Study Review #hsreviews #CreationIllustrated

Creation Illustrated is a magazine that shares the wonders of God's creation. Tom and Jennifer Ish have been publishing this magazine since 1993 and they are now offering unit studies to go with their magazines.

If you have never had the pleasure of reading a copy of Creation Illustrated you are missing out. These publications are beautiful. Tom and Jennifer do a wonderful job in publishing their magazine. They are full of beautiful color photos with articles that teach things God has made. Each issue is divided into 3 sections that shows Creation Illustrated...In Nature...In Scripture...In Living which is a balance of mental, spiritual, and physical enrichment. An Instructional Guide included can be used for homeschool lessons and there are also coloring pages, recipes, and contests for homeschool students. Creation Illustrated is a nonprofit, non-denominationally owned ministry that shares biblical truth and character-building lessons.

The Crew was given two of the eight Unit Studies that are available. We received the pdf unit study on Snow and Pine Trees.  They are both recommended for students in grades 3-8 and includes science, math, reading, bible study, geography, art, vocabulary & spelling as well as puzzles and other fun activities. At the beginning of each unit study are links for the reading and educational resources and video links for each topic. This includes a link to the free digital issue of Creation Illustrated that goes with the Study Guide and an answer key.

The Unit Study - Snow is a 17 page study. This is used with "Intricacy of Snow" in Creation Illustrated Winter 2018. The resources page of the unit study indicates this and includes a link to the free issue as well as the page numbers you will be using. The other educational links take us to web pages that talk about facts about snow, animal and cold. The video links talk about what makes snow and where snowflakes come from as well as how they form and more information.

Vocabulary and spelling words are taken directly from the magazine article. There is a bible study and spiritual lesson all about snow. The science lesson contains 10 questions about where snow comes from, what animals like the cold and snow, and why snow is white. An activity includes making snow looking crystals, and how igloos are made. A page of seven snow related story problems incorporate math skills into the study. And Geography is covered by looking at snowfall around the world.

The Unit Study - Pine Trees This 16 page unit study is set up the same way as the Snow one but it talks about pine trees. It uses the "Enduring Pine Tree" article in Creation Illustrated Fall 2017 issue. We haven't started this study yet, but I looked through it and it talks about the Fibonacci number series which we have just been talking about in our school.

We have had more snow this winter than we have had for years so Alaina decided she wanted to use the Unit Study on Snow first and to our surprise, we got another 4 1/2 inches of snow on Easter Sunday. We both really like these studies. They are a great break from regular school, but they don't take up a huge chunk of time. Alaina is 13 and could complete the study on her own, but I also found some of the information useful. I know when we read an article we sometimes have questions that we want answered and these studies are a great way to follow up an article and answer our questions.

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Homeschool Diploma Review #hsreviews #HSGraduation #Diplomas

When you first start homeschooling a child graduation seems so far away. I'm guessing most people don't even think about that day, but it does come quicker than anyone can imagine. The Crew was given the opportunity to review the Standard Diploma with the option to add on other items from Homeschool Diploma.  

We chose to order the Personalized Diploma. It can be purchased in two different sizes and can be personalized with the student name, school name & city, and graduation date. Different paper types, embossed seals, and quotes may be chosen as well as an attractive cover to create a one of a kind diploma to commemorate your homeschool graduation. 

Amber and I sat down together to choose her diploma. The process was very easy and we enjoyed our time making our choices. After deciding on the 8.5 X 11 size we were able to select a raised sealed from 8 choices. Next, we filled in the student name, school name & address, and a graduation date. We had 4 options to choose from for our wording and several bible verses and quotes to add also. There were two paper choices, an Ivory Parchment which is an 80# slightly textured paper, and a 65# cover-weight stock Cream Paper. We opted for the Ivory Parchment. For the diploma cover, we had 7 colors and 8 designs to choose from. Amber liked the black cover with a crest with our school name on the front. I decided we would include two signature lines at the bottom. One for the administrator and one for the instructor. That way my husband and I can both sign her diploma. 

There are a few extra things that can be added to your order. You can add an honors designation on the diploma which we decided not to do or have your name in handwritten calligraphy. We did order the free archive diploma that comes in an archival glassine envelope because my kids aren't perfect and she could possibly misplace her original. There are optional wallet diplomas as well as a cap, gown, or tassel at a package discount.

After finishing our diploma order we decided on ordering a few extra items. Of course, every graduate needs a tassel. Amber had chosen the colors black and purple for her graduation and Homeschool Diploma had her colors, so we ordered two tassels with a silver 18 charm. We also decided on ordering return address labels, gold 2018 seals, and a graduate photo portfolio. 

The photo portfolio is in a padded cover and has places for four to six photos. It includes three mats one with an oval section to fit a 5X7 photo. The other two will hold three pictures each. One matting has three rectangle slots for a horizontal 4X6 and two wallet sized photos. The final mat has a vertical rectangle and two small circles. Our tassels, return address labels, and our gold seals are all very good quality and will make any graduate feel special. 

The ordering process was very easy, each time we made a selection for our diploma we hit the next button to complete that ordering option. The total price of your diploma order is at the bottom of each item so you always know where you are on your total. We thought the customizable choices were enough to make the diploma unique but not too many choices that it became overwhelming. The hardest part was choosing the quote we wanted to be printed on the diploma. The choices were all so good Amber finally decided on one from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. I can't remember how many days it took for our order to arrive, but I was shocked that it came as fast as it did. 

Amber is very pleased with her diploma. It is very professional looking. Although we are not having a ceremony we are planning on hosting a reception where we can display some things that represent Amber and her accomplishments as well as her diploma and graduate photo portfolio. 

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Members of the Homeschool Review Crew were also offered graduation items for Kindergarten and 8th grade.