A Very Thankful Prayer Book Review and Giveaway

I received this book free to facilitate this review. Affiliate links may be in this posting. Thanks for supporting my blog.

A Very Thankful Prayer is a board book by bestselling author Bonnie Rickner Jensen and illustrated by Natalia Moore. It uses fun rhyme and sweet illustrations to give a wonderful message of thankfulness to its readers. This delightful book shows illustrations of cute furry or feathery animals showing their gratefulness to God for the many blessings that autumn holds.

Zari reading the A Very Thankful Prayer book.

What We Thought:
This lovely family-friendly story is perfect for little ones because of its sturdy pages, rhyming verse, and gorgeous illustrations by Natalia Moore. I love the shiny, eye-catching, foil-embellished cover too. This book portrays fall perfectly including: the changing & falling leaves, to pumpkin patches, picking apples at the orchard, and sharing Thanksgiving around the table with family and friends. Each moment shown is something that children can relate to and are great to share together with family and friends.

I recommend this board book for toddlers, preschoolers, and kindergartners most of all. My youngest daughter, Zari, who is in first grade also loves this book! It is the perfect size for little hands to hold and the sturdy pages are less vulnerable to tearing. She is learning to read and it has the perfect amount of words on each page for her. She also loves looking at the adorable illustrations as well.

This book celebrates Autumn, Fall, and Thanksgiving. It is a great reminder to thank God for all that we have no matter how small. We cherish this book and its message of family and of being grateful. It would be a perfect gift for Thanksgiving.

BUY IT


WIN IT
Prize: A Very Thankful Prayer Book
Host: Thomas Nelson Publishing and FrontGate Media.
Who Can Enter: Open to US Residents 18 years or older.
Selection Process: winners will be selected on 9/25/2017 and notified by email.
Where to Enter: Go to this link http://www.blessedfreebies.com/averythankfulprayer.html and fill out the form to enter.

DISCLOSURE/DISCLAIMER: I received this product for free to facilitate this review. My thoughts are mine and my family's own opinion and have not been altered by anyone else. I did not receive any other compensation for doing this review.

Thanksgiving: The Holiday At The Heart Of The American Experience Book Review

Thanksgiving: The Holiday At The Heart Of The American Experience by Melanie Kirkpatrick is a wonderful book to read and cherish for Thanksgiving. Simple, yet elegant, illustrations grace the pages of this informative book. It is a compilation of religion, history, hospitality, economics, philanthropy, culture, food, traditions, and politics that surround this beloved holiday. Within its passages it holds timeless tales of how Thanksgiving came to be: from the Puritans and Wampanoag Indians and their feast together to how Thanksgiving became the holiday as it is today. It delves into four centuries of history to paint a more complete picture of our nation's celebration of family, friends, food, fellowship, gratitude, and faith than that you may have learned from school. Besides the history, it also includes Readings For Thanksgiving Day, which are excerpts from famous people like: Mark Twain, George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Ben Franklin, William Bradford, Edward Winslow, Abigail Adams, Louisa May Alcott, Laura Ingalls Wilder, etc. and yummy Thanksgiving Recipes and Bills of Fare from households, cookbooks, and media passed down through the ages.

The Thanksgiving holiday has always been a time of joy, celebration, and gratitude in my home. We thank God for the blessings and bounty He has bestowed on our family and friends. The greatness of the delicious food and drink on the table and multitude of family and friends that will surround us on this Thanksgiving Day are only a few things that I am thankful for. I am also so very grateful to live in a country where religious freedom is practiced and allowed and am glad that I am alive on this gorgeous planet.

Thanksgiving: The Holiday At The Heart Of The American Experience is a comprehensive resource for understanding and coming to know the Thanksgiving holiday better. I highly recommend it for gift giving around the holiday. It would also be wonderful to share with your host or hostess this Thanksgiving or next. It is a great companion for a homeschool study on the holiday too.

BUY IT


DISCLOSURE/DISCLAIMER: I received this product for free to facilitate this review. My thoughts are mine and my family's own opinion and have not been altered by anyone else. I did not receive any other compensation for doing this review. Affiliate links may be in this posting. Thanks for supporting my blog.

Rainier, Oregon Giving Tree 2012

Rainier, Oregon, where I live, is having their Community Giving Tree again. I was one of the families blessed by the giving tree last year. It was wonderful! I feel so blessed living in a community that cares so much. I feel that getting the word out about this awesome program is important!

There are 8 trees total. Trees are located at Cornerstone Cafe, El Tapatio, Chevron, Cole's Coffee, Deli Store and More (Mini Mart), Hometown Pizza, Rainier Community Church of God and Riverside Community Church.

We need your help! If you live in or around Rainier, Oregon and have not already done so, please think about adopting a family or a child in need this year for Christmas. Please go take a "Giving Tree Tag" off the trees and bless a child from our little town of Rainier, Oregon. These are done anonymously. We have over 280 tags that need to be taken which is a total of over 30 families.

The deadline for those that are getting gifts for people off the trees (wrapped or unwrapped with gift tag attached) is December 18th. They need to be dropped off at either of the two churches involved. Drop off dates and times are Monday, Wednesday and Friday 9:30am-12:30pm at both churches, Wednesday evenings from 5-8pm at Rainier Community Church of God and Tuesday & Wednesday evenings at 6-8pm at Riverside Community Church.

For more information click on the above image to make it larger and then you will be able to read it. Thank you!!

Rainier, Oregon Christmas Toy and Gift Exchange

This is my friend's son's Eagle scout project. They've collected an amazing amount of toys, books, games and other gifts. Anyone you who is struggling this Christmas is invited to come and pick out some of the items for your child(ren). It is today at my church chapel! Also, they will be having the exchange again on Tuesday December 18th from 4-7:30pm at the LDS church chapel. Although they are requesting donations for the foodbank, no one will be turned away for lack of ability to make a donation.

For more information click on the above image to make it larger and then you will be able to read it. Thank you!!

A Visit From the Fairy Hobmother

I received a visit in my email box from the Fairy Hobmother on June 21, 2012. Here is what was written:

Hi there!

I'm the Fairy Hobmother, spreading light and joy across the blogosphere with the help of talented bloggers like you! I stumbled across your comment on a post about me today and it was enough to entice me to take a look at your blog
http://finamoon.blogspot.co.uk

In recognition of your bloggish efforts I'd like to send you a gift in the form of a $50 voucher for Amazon!

All that I'd ask is that you mention me, and a little about what I do, in one of your blog posts. I don't need a whole post to myself, just a small note, and as an added bonus if any other bloggers comment on the post I may well be paying them a visit before long as well!

If this sounds like something you'd be interested in please let me know and I'll get things moving this end. In the mean time take care, and keep up the good work!

Matthew Mitchell

So, who is this Fairy Hobmother? He is a guy...yep who knew? He also works for Appliances Online, and loves to spread the word by giving gifts.

So if you have a blog of your own, be sure to leave a comment here on this post and with luck the Fairy Hobmother might visit you too! Just make sure you leave a way to be contacted (email or blog url). Check out these cool fridge freezers while you are online also so that he may share the love some more.

You can also follow him on Twitter.

Thank you so much Fairy Hobmother! I truly appreciate everything that you do for us bloggers!

DISCLOSURE/DISCLAIMER: In sharing about the Fairy Hobmother and writing this blog post I am receiving $50 Amazon Gift Code. My thoughts are mine and my family's own opinion and have not been altered by anyone else. I did not receive any other compensation for doing this post.

Rainier Oregon Gift-Giving Program

My good friend and fellow homeschooling neighbor, Talina Aubian, has been tremendously busy giving her time and her love to the Rainier Gift-Giving Program with the Angel Trees that have been posted around Rainier Oregon. She and others have been making sure kids in this community don't go without this Christmas. The number of kids that have been provided for is an astounding number of over 200! Each child was selected by a member in the community that witnessed their need and the entire process is anonymous.

My family was among the ones on the receiving end of all of this selfless charity. We were not expecting this at all and want to thank whoever put our name in and whoever got gifts for our kids. They are so excited! I also want to thank Talina and whoever donated them to her for the awesome real Christmas tree for our home! I love the wonderful smell it brings. The kids loved decorating it and placing the new gifts under it! We are so very grateful and are truly blessed. God is good!

Blanket and Quilt Charities For Children

My daughter, Tatiana, was so very blessed while she was on this Earth with us and we were very blessed to have her as long as we did. Over and over she was showered with gifts from various charities and organizations. Among them were the people that made quilts and blankets for her and her siblings. Tatiana spent a lot of her time at Doernbecher Children's Hospital in Portland, Oregon and the majority of the time she was greeted to her room with a handmade, homemade treasure to have while she was in the hospital and to take home with her. I want to thank everyone who volunteer and contribute their time and effort into making these and other lovely items for children who are in need of some comfort. I know that my daughter appreciated every one of these beautiful expressions of love and compassion and so did I.

I recently received an email from Better Homes and Gardens about P&Gs Downy Touch of Comfort Program that partnerships with and benefits Quilts For Kids, because I am a member of Better Homes and Gardens Reader Panel. You can help donate 10,000 comforting, handmade quilts to hospitalized children. When you purchase specially marked Downy with the quilted label, 5¢ goes to Downy's charity partner, Quilts For Kids. You can even make a Downy Touch of Comfort Heart Quilt with this free pattern.

This email reminded me of the many blankets and quilts my family has received from organizations like Quilts For Kids. I wanted to list them here too because I am grateful. Click on the links to learn more about them:

♥Project Linus♥ See Tatiana with one of her Project Linus quilts.
♥Love Quilts♥ See Tatiana with her Love Quilt.
♥Binky Patrol♥ See Tati and her siblings with their Binky Patrol blankets.

If you are a quilter or a blanket maker and would like to donate your talents to one of these wonderful organizations please consider doing so! They need your help! Thanks!

P&G's Thank You Mom Reunions Contest

My mother doesn't live that far away so I get to see her more often than a lot of people do their mothers. Above is a picture of her with my daughter, Teela, when my daughter was a newborn. My mom is wonderful and I am so very grateful she is around to help when things get stressful or just when I need her. I am comforted by her not just on the phone long distance, but since she only lives 3 hours from me she can visit. When my daughter, Teela, had her birthday party on the 9th of April she was there and when my daughter, Tatiana, passed away she was also there. I am glad we don't live too far away from each other. A while back I wrote about my mother and how she was there for my family and I...especially for my daughter Tatiana (I didn't mention there, but my dad had been just as helpful with her.). They both miss her just as much as we do because they got to know her quite a bit. I am very thankful to both my parents for all their help and support!!

Mother's Day is almost here and in celebration Proctor & Gamble is kicking off the "Thank You Mom Reunions" contest to reunite Moms and their children for milestone family moments they otherwise might have missed.

Thank You Mom Reunion Contest Details

"Thank You Mom Reunions" will bring together 105 moms with their children, who are unable to do so on their own. Consumers are invited to log onto Thank You Mom and enter to win a travel voucher to help cover the cost of a special reunion with their mom or mom figure in their life.

How to Win a 'Thank You Mom' Reunion

* Entrants must submit a 100 word essay describing why they’d like to be united with their mom.
* Consumers vote for their favorite entries.
* 15 winners will be chosen every month through November.
* Enter to win a travel voucher to help cover the cost of a special reunion with their mom or mom figure in their life.
* Winners will also receive a portable digital video camera to capture their reunion and are encouraged to share the video on http://bit.ly/PGtymO2O.

Specific contest rules and regulations can be found online at www.thankyoumom.com.

P&G's "Thank You Mom" campaign is aimed to touch and improve the lives of families across the country in small, but meaningful ways & help celebrate the role moms play in our families.

DISCLAIMER: Thanks to One2One Network that provided me with this information to share with my readers. I did not receive any compensation for sharing this information, but by posting about this campaign and reporting the link to One2One Network by May 31st, I will be entered to win one of ten gift cards (1x $100, 2x$75, 3x$50, 4x$25). I also thought that it was for a very good cause and wanted to share.

World Gratitude Day

It is World Gratitude Day today! So I would like to take time and thank each and every one of my readers and soon to be subscribers. You are wonderful! I also want to take time to thank God for all the trials and tribulations in my life that have made me stronger. I am so very blessed to have a wonderful family who looks out for me and wonderful friends who are there for me. Thanks! I am grateful to you all!


These pictures of Tatiana were taken shortly after Christmas of last year. She had to spend Christmas in the hospital and my parents helped watching her while she was there so she would not feel alone. The hospital staff gave her Patti the pink platypus to hug and cuddle. During that time we had trial after trial thrown at us at home: our toilet backed up, our water heater broke, and our furnace broke. When my husband went to go see Tatiana in the hospital both back tires on our van blew out and we had numerous times the chains on his tires kept breaking. In January our family and friends sent blankets to keep us warm while the furnace was being fixed and despite the trials we got through it all. I am so grateful to my friends, family and strangers that helped pull us through.


I am also posting this video from Mom Fuse. They and Tiny Prints asked several well known bloggers to volunteer their time and to take part in a 21 day challenge that encouraged them to take note of the brighter side of life. Now they are asking for more participation. Join the Gratitude Challenge! Seek out things that that you feel gratitude for and share them on your blog, Facebook, Twitter or wherever you express yourself.


Follow them on Twitter @TakeNoteGiveThx hashtag: #GratitudeChallenge
Fan them on Facebook. You can even add an interactive 21-day gratitude calendar widget to your blog or website.

Thanks to Mom Fuse POP (Post Our Pitch) Alerts for this information!

Gratitude Challenge

Share This Widget

» Join the challenge

» Read participating blogs

tiny prints