Family Camp 2015 ~ Review

first day of camp

The Colony had the privilege of being a part of Macedonian Call Ministries, Family Camp.

We have close ties to the families who began this great ministry so we are a little bias, but deep friendships aside, this was a week that our family will not soon forget.

15 Years of friendships and 3 quivers full

After being contacted by one of the families to see if we were interested in being a part of the week, we were a little confused.  Usually this means packing up all the music gear, putting a band together, and making sure our kids are taken care of so that we can minister to the attendees.

But not this time!
This time we got the leave the instruments and guitar picks behind, actually I still saw a few floating around our living space, but our sole purpose for attending this camp was to be a family and grow spiritually together.

Instead of music gear, we had boys clothes EVERYWHERE!

It also happened to be at the college where Josh and I attended and we were able to drive around and show our kids where we fell in love, the place we had our first date (and basically stared at each other eating for an hour) and the area we made our first home together.

The site of our first date

I know my kids had a blast.  Here is the proof:

They lived off of the cafeteria pizza and Lucky Charms.  So much so, that Jude actually began calling the cafeteria, "The Lucky Charms", ha!

I could write so much about this wonderful week, but bullet points usually get us farther in a blog setting, so here it goes:

• We LOVED getting to have family worship experiences with our kids because usually Josh and I are on stage away from the questions of our kids.  We were enabled to have times to teach them how to hold still during a service and to listen to teaching which I think is VERY important.  We just haven't had many opportunities to be able to do this as a family.
• The camp allowed us to meet other families who are seeking the Lord and His leading for their families.
• Each family is assigned a "family assistant", but because of the size of our family we had two awesome young adults/teenagers who served and loved our family all week long.  Our family assistants, Noel and Jackson, became part of our family that week.  They took our kids (Jude) out if they were restless during the teaching, they helped lead the family devotion times, they cleaned up spills and stood in line for 30 minutes to get our kids ice cream (a huge thank you;), they helped us with group activities.  I enjoyed every minute of my time with them.  In fact, I still keep in contact with a handful of the staffer assistants from the camp and I believe we have forged some deep friendships that will last a lifetime! (we can't wait to see you Tammy and Noel!!!)
  
• The planned activities were family focused and were all intentionally planned to create talking opportunities and bonding within your own family unit.
• The family teaching as well as the parent teaching (when the kids went to their age-appropriate classes) was excellent.  Everything was based on God's definition of Biblical family and the importance of the family unit. 
• I loved that a service project was part of the week, giving our families a chance to love on other families in the community!  THAT, my friends, is the church.
• My favorite time was the prayer night.  The staff had set up the main gathering place with fancy tables and decorations and prepared desserts in a restaurant atmosphere.  Each family "checked in" with the hostess who showed us to our table and we got to enjoy our evening snacks.  This lead into a super special prayer time where the head of the household was able to go around and pray with each of the people in his family.  I might have cried a lot:-)

I really can't say enough positive things about our experience.

And I'm happy to say that we have a jar saving our pennies so that we can go again next year!

We'd love to see you there.

Check out the website and please contact me with any questions.

It is NEVER a waste of time and money to spend time with your family and learn how to move forward in your spiritual walks together.

We were all exhausted in the best possible way!

A Download, A Discount Code and Something Way More Fulfilling Than Chocolate

So I have this amazing friend,

who knows a whole lot of stuff that makes me go "hmmmm" (as in, I have NO CLUE!).

She is passionate about kids and growing them up in the word.  You need to go check out her great resources at Kids In The Word.

Anyway, she encouraged me to revise my family devotional and make it into an ebook for easy access to busy moms and families (or maybe those families who don't have a single space for one more book in their house).  I said, "I don't have a clue as to how I would even begin!"  And she said, "Um, hello, that's what I'm awesome at!"

Well, she didn't really say that, but she did tell me what I needed to get to her in order for her to work her awesomeness and make this thing happen:)

So, for those of you who have been asking for a quick way to get a copy of the devotional because THIS IS THE FIRST WEEK, here it is.

And it get's even better!

If you enter the code Bunny2Off you can get a $2 discount at checkout until March 16th!

So here is what you need to do...

1. go check out KidsInTheWord
2. then go download So Much Bigger Than The Bunny at the "KidsInTheWord" site OR
3. at the amazon Kindle store HERE
4. download the Resurrection Songs that go along with the book
5. bring this Easter season to life with your family!

I'm A Believer!

A few years ago I was having some excruciating pain in my jaw.  I went to the Dentist because it was hurting so bad and they referred me to a chiropractor.

I was like, "Really?", but after several visits the pain went away.

I signed my hubby up right away.  His back just hasn't been the same after falling off of our roof in Charlotte...yes, that really did happen.

Long story short, it wasn't long before our entire family was going.

I believe in the benefits of Chiropractic care, but it's kind of like my Amber Beads experience.  We made a change, the ear infections went away...and STAYED away, so we were just gonna stick with that change.

But that has all changed for me!

On Monday night Josh called me while I was out and told me that Alethia was complaining about her left ear.  By the time she woke up in the morning she was very lethargic and crying off and on because of the pain.  When we got to our weekly chiropractic appointment that afternoon I told Dr. Joe about her ear.  He adjusted her and almost immediately I began to see a discharge draining from her ear.  (It was pretty disgusting.  I'd never seen anything like it!)

It continued to drain on through the day and night.  Her ear was sensitive to the touch and it was still hurting.  We gave her garlic oil drops for the pain, which seemed to take the edge off.

Then, the next morning, the drainage was gone, her pain was gone and she was ear-infection free!

Josh took her back to Dr. Joe for a follow-up adjustment and he said the subluxation was gone!

How incredible is that?!

I no longer doubt that what we are doing is beneficial.

Some of you are thinking that chiropractic care is so pricey.

Dr. Joe has us on a family plan.  We pay 1 fee a month (which is less than our entire family going 1 time a month, through our insurance!) for our entire family to go as many times as we want to a month. We typically go once a week, but like this week, sometimes more.  NO ADDITIONAL CHARGE!

Plus no co-pay at the pediatrician or medicine from pharmacy!

Dr. Joe and his family

So, if you live in the Raleigh area, and are interested in chiropractic care go check out Dr. Joe at Heritage Chiropractic Wellness Center.  He is amazing!

Toys Worth Keeping Around

It will come as no surprise when I say that I purge on a monthly, if not weekly, basis.  I purge blankets, towels, medicine in the closet, toys...just about anything that can be purged, is.  But, while I was looking around the house the other night I realized that I had actually hung on to a handful of toys through all of my kids!

LeapFrog Learning Friends™ Phonics Bus® Vehicle - Nope, I can't take credit for Areyna picking up her ABC's before she was three.  This school bus just happened to be one of her fav's in room time.  I'd find her cuddled up with it on her bead as she pushed buttons...over and over...

LEGOS-We have all the legos that we have ever gotten.  Our kids absolutely LOVE legos.  We have three different sizes.  I love that they can all sit down with their own sets and play "together" for hours.  Literally.Hours.  And besides the fact that these tiny, little pieces can get lost in any nook and cranny around the house and that they hurt like hates when you step on one in the middle of the night, I really have no other complaints:)

American Plastic Toy Homestyle Kitchen - Colors May Vary - This play kitchen may have been assembled with a couple curses and bad attitudes, but oh the hours of fun each of our kids has had with it!  It currently resides in Areyna's play closet where she can cook her Barbies and butterflies a 4-course meal!  Cai just loves putting things in and out...and in and out...

Fisher-Price Brilliant Basics Corn Popper Push Toy - We got this from Debbie Burgess for Areyna who found it at Goodwill.  ALL of our kids have enjoyed vacuuming around the house with me with this simple toy!  You better believe I will hang onto any toy that promotes help with cleaning and organizing:)

Good Night, Sweet Butterflies: A Color Dreamland - Our copy of this sweet book has seen it's better days.  We got it before Areyna was born and it has been a favorite of all three kiddos.  It may help that we sing it to the tune of "Hush Little Baby":)





These are just a few of their favorite things.

How about your kids?  What are the toys that they actually DO play with on a regular basis?

Lessons From The Classroom

We have really picked up speed in the education department over the last couple of weeks.

I know, I know...it's June.  Most schools are gearing down for the summer.  But I've decided that we are going to stick pretty close to the year-round schedule that goes along with our kid's base school.  Why, you ask?  Well, I actually do have a couple of reasons for doing what I do, believe it or not.

1 - If, for any reason we decide to transfer them into public school they will already be on that schedule. 
2 - We have great momentum right now and I'm not going to slow down (even though our own schedule says that the June 10th is break time).  We'll take breaks here and there but want to keep going through the hot, hot summer until the schedule picks back up.  Then we will officially start.
3 - I like the idea of just taking a few weeks here and there for breaks instead of one big chunk in the summer.  It will fit better with our traveling schedule.  Besides, who wants to sit at a school desk instead of being able to enjoy the best seasons of all? - Fall and Spring!

As far as the curriculum I've chosen to do this year...
I talked to several different friends who homeschool did a lot of research and decided on two separate curriculums.  Josh and I ventured into The Homeschool Gathering Place to look around and then priced the books online.  You can't beat thumbing through all your options which you just can't do online.  Amazon and CBD had the best prices, FYI.

For Phonics, reading and spelling I chose Complete Explode the Code Primer Set A, B and C for Zeke and Explode the Code 1 and Explode the Code/Book 1 1/2 for Areyna.  I chose to go ahead and use the first 3 books as a review for Areyna so she can get used to this curriculum.  She is flying through the lessons!  But, I am most excited about this for Zeke's sake.  Here's why.  Book A starts with "f".  I love that it doesn't start at "a" because I feel like we've started at "a" so many times and failed.  But "f"...oh "f"...Zeke remembers that his first sound is /f/ and he remembers that the current sound is /b/.  Before, he couldn't remember what letter we were working on from 1 minute to the next.  I wish I could express how excited I am that these books are working!

For Math I chose Horizons Math K SET of 2 Student Workbooks K-1 and K-2.  Again, I started Areyna in the Kindergarten books because there are a lot of things in these books that we didn't cover, plus I want to get her used to this curriculum.  Like I've said so many times before, my main goal this year was to get her to read, so math wasn't top priority.  Through these new books I have realized that Areyna LOVES math!  And she is SO good at it too!  I have been using this to work on her reading as well.  I help her read through the directions and this allows her to work on her comprehension and listening.  She is flying through these lessons as well.  This first book is VERY basic.  I think that Zeke could do many of the activities, but she insists on going through each page instead of skipping ahead.  Who can argue with that:)

I've also found a fun way to help Areyna learn days of the week and new words.  Every morning I write her a "secret message" on the chalk board that she has to figure out.

So, I'm excited about this summer.  I'm motivated for next year.  And the kids... well, the kids just love having their own "office" to do their work in, ha!:)

Super Proud Mom!

Yes, you read these sticker chart titles correctly.

And YES, every sticker on these two charts has been earned!

A couple of months ago we did a youth retreat for some friends.  They had a thumb sucker who is just a little younger than Areyna.  She told me about a thumb guard (Stop Thumb Sucking with Thumb Guard Kit (Size Medium/Ages 5-6) that they got that worked an absolute miracle for their son!  After a couple of weeks he kicked the habit!

After hearing of their success I was determined that this would be a worthy investment for our kids.

We told Areyna that if she could stop sucking her thumb by the time we left for Africa we would take her to get her ears pierced.  She was more than willing to agree to using a thumb guard to "help" her kick her habit too:)

The next week while Josh and I were away for our anniversary, Josh's mom did a little research of her own and found these little hand-made thumb guards for a fraction of the cost.

Now, I had my doubts that these would work.  For starters, they are fabric and Velcro...that's it!  My kids can take them off, and if they were smart enough to get this stuff off then I thought these new contraptions would be a joke.

I have been pleasantly surprised at the success we've had.  The kids got to pick out their own design, which I think has been a big reason for the success.  We also did a 21-day chart to begin a new habit of NOT sucking their thumbs.  As you can tell, Areyna has had a couple set backs, but overall, they have done excellent!  They don't even have to sleep with "Bubby" and "Bear" anymore!

The only rules are that the thumbguards have to be ON and DRY in order to get a sticker for their chart.

Areyna has informed us that she really doesn't want to get her ears pierced...she'd rather have a bunny.  Hmmm...we'll have to see about that, ha!  Zeke has been more than excited to get to pick out whatever he wants at the Dollar Store:)  Oh, the simple pleasure of a child...

Now, if we could just get Cai on board...

It's Time For Christmas Cards

My friend, Heidi, just took our annual family photos last week and we are beginning to put together our Christmas cards to send out.  There are SO many companies to decide from when it comes to getting your Christmas cards out.

This year we're going with Shutterfly.  One of the reasons we like Shutterfly because they have set shipping, and when we order pictures, WE.ORDER.PICTURES!  Not only do they have your standard Christmas Photo Cards, but they have Photo Christmas Gifts, Photo Invitations and Photo Gift Tags so you can personalize your whole Christmas Season:)

This year we are doing a bit more than just your standard Christmas card.  We are going to make some photo cards as prayer cards for our Adoption!

As an added Bonus for Bloggers, Shutterfly is willing to partner with you.  They are giving away 50 FREE Christmas cards!  So, go to SHUTTERFLY and inquire about their Blogger Promotion...and go look around at their great selection of Photo Gifts and Christmas Cards while you are there!

Potty Mouth

We are in the thick of our cloth diaper experience and still loving it! It's been almost 2 weeks and here's our experience with cloth diapering so far.

Yes, I love it!

No, I don't have to change diapers any more or less than normal. He goes through 4-5 a day.

Yes, I have used ones.

No, I don't have to do laundry any more than normal. Let me take that back...I am keeping up with my dirty laundry more efficiently!

Yes, they really work.

No, I don't have to use a single diaper pin.

Yes, I plan on using them when I travel. I'll definitely let you know how that goes! We have our first road trip this week.

Here's my stash and what I like/dislike about each one:)

BUMMIS SUPER WHISPER WRAP

I love this wrap. I use this mainly at night because it seems to keep him dry all night. This is all trial and error for me, so if it works then we repeat:) I like this one because the elastic is snug enough to keep everything in, but doesn't rub on his skin. Also, the velcro is low enough to stay off his chubby tummy.

I'll probably use this one in the car when we travel.

Leaks: NONE

DIAPERAPS

There are so many diaper wraps around but this is the particular one that was handed down to me. I have several of these. I let Cai crawl around in this one for a while and it started to give him little red lines from rubbing him up where the velcro was. Not my favorite, but works fine as a backup.

Leaks: TWO - I've tried it with 2 different kinds of inserts and he has been wet both mornings. It may only be used as a daytime backup diaper, although the print is a little misleading.

PREFOLDS

My Fuzzibunz didn't come with inserts so I've been using prefolds as my inserts and they have been working great. They are really bulky, though, so I have invested in some regular inserts. The time Cai leaked out of his wrap I had tried to wrap him up a special way instead of tri-folding it and just wrapping it up. Let's just say that the stuffed animal that I practiced on was a bit smaller and quite a bit more stationary. I don't like to use these alone but are excellent for diaper wraps as a tri-fold or as an insert to a pocket diaper.

FUZZIBUNZ

These are my absolute favorite! You put an insert or prefold inside of the little pocket (hence the name "pocket diaper") and the only thing left to go around your babies bootie is the fleece. It's so soft and even after already going through 2 kids there are NO stains! The snaps are adjustable around the legs and tummy.

I also like that you can use the Fuzzibunz as a wrap and put the insert or prefold against the booty. That way you don't have to go through so many covers. This is probably the route we'll go when traveling.

You can visit their seconds factory to get discounts on new diapers!

Leaks: NONE

BIODEGRADABLE LINERS

These are what make cloth diapering SO easy! They look like dryer sheets. You can buy these to line your prefold, wrap or fuzzybunz so all the poop and pee go directly on it. When you take the diaper off all you have to do is dump the mess in the toilet and flush it down. It's that easy!

Rash: NONE

INSERTS

I was realizing how bulky the prefolds were and was interested in getting some inserts to go in my Fuzzibunz. I found a store that sells cloth diapers and accessories locally so the kids and I headed out to see what they had to offer. They didn't sell Fuzzibunz but they did sell Thirsties, BumGenius and Flip, all of which I've heard excellent things about. I bought a Flip insert and it worked GREAT! I literally got HOURS out of that insert with my Fuzzibunz cover.

I ordered the rest of my inserts off of the Fuzzibunz website. They even sent me an extra 3-pack of the 4-layered insert! They work awesome! I tried to use 1 with my Bummis wrap 2 nights ago and he leaked through so I'll either need to try to double up or just stick with the night-time pre-fold for bedtime.

WET BAG

I am going to try cloth diapering on the road so I needed to get something to put all our soiled diapers in until we can wash them. I got the green Bummis Wet Bag. We don't use a diaper pail.

When we used disposables we just threw them right in the trash can. Now instead of the trash we take a step to the left of the trash and throw them in the washing machine instead. I put a little water and vinegar in the washing machine to soak them until I have a full load.

CLIPPIES

This is the substitute to diaper pins. They are for those brave souls who like to use the prefolds on their own or with their wrap in other folding styles besides the trifold.

Swim Diaper

This has worked well so far for swimming. I may get another 1 or 2:)

Here are a list of reputable websites to get cloth diapers from:

Cotton Babies

Diaper Junction

The Happy Baby - this one has free shipping

Remember - check to see if your brand has a seconds factory or store for discounted new diapers!

Here is what my typical nighttime gettup consists of:

A Bummis wrap...a prefold which is trifolded inside the wrap...I double up the front a little bit for some extra absorbency in the front since he's a boy...biodegradable liner on top. Every time I've used this method he's been dry in the morning and can make it through breakfast until he poops:)

So, questions...concerns...suggestions?

Have You Ever Tried One Of These?

I signed up for a FREE SAMPLE, you know how I am about free samples=), of Purex complete 3-in-1 laundry sheets and got a 2-pack in the mail and absolutely LOVE them!

Now, I've never priced them in the grocery store but I imagine they are a bit high. But, not only did I get to do 2 loads of laundry for free but I just threw one of these sheets in the washer instead of having to measure out laundry detergent (and softener). It was awesome. Then you just throw it, along with your load of laundry, into the dryer.

So easy. Smells so good. Loved it!

(and NO they didn't pay me to say that=)

This Little Prayer Of Mine

I had the opportunity to get an advance copy of "This Little Prayer of Mine" by Anthony DeStefano.

It is a sweet book about a child's prayer to God. It steps into their world as they pray about things they are going through and emotions they are feeling, like being scared, feeling sad, acting in a way they know they shouldn't and not knowing what they are going to be when they grow up. Areyna likes the words and Zeke loves the pictures (probably because there is a little boy playing an electric guitar on one page=).

Thank you Anthony for the great book!

Toy Review

Picking toys is not easy when it comes to thinking about safety.  There is a toy website called ebeanstalk who has great baby toys and toys for 1 year olds etc. They are dedicated to selecting good, safe learning toys. They allowed me to test a toy with Areyna and Zeke and write a review about it.  

The toy they sent is called "Activity Bus" from Plan Toys, who makes eco-friendly wooden toys.  As soon as the toy arrived I KNEW Areyna would like it. It is a wooden bus that opens up and becomes a classroom.  There are 3 removable desks and a chalkboard along with a teacher and 1 student.  It really is pretty cute.  Areyna played school with it for 2 days straight=)  Zeke liked it too, although he just wanted to carry the little people around or race the bus on the floor, HA!  

Overall, it is a Great, eco-friendly toy and very age appropriate for my kids.  I thought it was cool that it is made out of recycled wood and that the paint is all natural.  I was a little afraid that it would leave marks on our wood floors but it didn't.  

The only thing that I didn't like about it was that the people's legs didn't stay bent under the desk.  Areyna would get a little frustrated when the student would topple out of his seat because his legs just wouldn't stay bent.

Other than than, I definitely recommend this toy.

Ahhh, Sleep

I was given the opportunity to sample and review some rather nice pillows from Tempur-Pedic.  Free pillows...BRING IT ON!

You can follow THIS LINK to read all about their line of pillows.  They have several different pillows.  They mailed me two of them that I'll give my expert advice on=)

The first was the Standard Comfort Pillow.  This was my favorite of the two.  I slept on it for about 3 days in a row before trying the other one=)  The first morning I woke up and for the first time in weeks did not feel stiff.  It really was nice.  I did wake up with a headache the following 2 days after that but that doesn't mean it is from the pillow though.  

The next pillow I tried was the Neck Pillow.  Both Josh and I tried this one.  Well, we tried to try it.  It was shaped a little weird and it wasn't the most comfortable fit to my head.  I went back to the Comfort Pillow after one night.  

Now, these are some heavy-duty pillows.  Kind of like that memory foam stuff.  Very heavy in weight, not soft and fluffy by any means.  I just wasn't used to such high quality material so it would just take me some getting used to.  I know some people that would die before sleeping on my $10 Target pillows=)

So, thank you Tempur-Pedic for allowing me to try your products.  Make sure you check out the links above for more detailed information.

$25 Gift Card Giveaway

I had the opportunity to try a few products from Ecostore USA for a product review and a give-away on my blog (see below).  I thought, sweet, free products and give-away on my blog, why not=)

The Ecostore foundation is "No Nasty Chemicals".  All of their products are made from plant- and mineral-based ingredients, free of toxic chemicals that are environmentally safe.  

I was so excited when my package showed up with all 3 of the samples I requested to try.

Here's what I thought...

Baby Sleepytime Bath - The smell is so calming and relaxing.  It reminded me of a spa.  It was very gentle on the kids skin and eyes and I LOVED it so much that I stole a little for my own bath the other night=)

Baby Moisturizer - This stuff was amazing.  Areyna has been battling eczema since she was born.  She never had that soft baby skin.  We've tried everything for her breakouts and settled on a strong steroid cream which we weren't even sure worked but thought it was at least something.  Well, the past two times we've given her a bath we have put nothing on her except for this moisturizer and she hasn't complained ONCE about her eczema or itchy skin.  This one product has sold me for sure!  It smells great too.

Citrus Spray Cleaner - I was anxious to try this stuff.  I've cut back on all of my cleaning supplies and was just using a vinegar/water mix to do all my cleaning so that I could get my kids to help with the cleaning (they LOVE to help me clean).  The Citrus Spray Cleaner works well and is environmentally safe but if you are looking for something that is kid-safe I don't recommend this cleaner.  The back says to keep out of reach of children and to keep out of eyes and try not to inhale the spray.  So, although it works I probably will just stick to my vinegar solution for cleaning.

Thank you Ecostore for the opportunity to try your products!

***NOW, on to the give-away!***

Ecostore is giving away a $25 Gift Card to use toward their on-line products.  Here's how you can win!

1. Leave a comment with your name and e-mail address
   
2. I will randomly choose a winner next Tuesday
3. I will e-mail the winner and post their name on my blog that morning
4. You have 24 hours to contact me back with your address before I pick another winner.

You can check out the Ecostore USA blog HERE to get even more details about their merchandise.