Wow! Wow! Wubbzy! Pirate Treasure

Our kids really enjoy Wow Wow Wubbzy, and he is a very positive character that promotes good things! We have a few of the Wow! Wow! Wubbzy DVD's and we just got the new one (came out March 24th) from Mom Central for review. Wow! Wow! Wubbzy Pirate Treasure is a collection of fun times with Wubbzy and his friends!
Here are a few of the fun adventures you will see: Wubbzy, Widget and Walden search to find buried pirate treasure. Find out what happens when Wubbzy gets lost in the woods and why Walden is afraid of the beach. Take a trip with the gang to the nearby town of Plaidsville.
My kids are entertained by Wow! Wow! Wubbzy and his pals! The Pirate Treasure is 82 minutes, and it includes 5 regular episodes, 2 bonus episodes (and one never seen before). The DVD provides preschoolers great entertainment while still teaching them important social lessons about how to treat others. This DVD, along with the other Wow! Wow! Wubbzy DVD's, have prompted great conversations with my pre-schooler and I about manners and how we treat others. I think Wow! Wow! Wubbzy is a great show for our kids to watch!

Norton Online Family: Free Trial

When I my generation was younger, we didn't have the technology like kids do now. We looked in encyclopedias, and went to the library for research. Now kids are using computers and the Internet for everything from talking with new friends living halfway across the world, to playing their favorite online games and researching subjects for homework. The Internet is an endless tool in the hands of our kids. So, we need to make their online world safe for them, because there are so many lurking dangers online. I have a difficult time allowing my son to just sit down and work on the net.
To help families facing this dilemma, Norton, a trusted provider of Internet safety products, has developed Norton Online Family. Unlike most products that simply block or monitor kids' Internet activities, Norton Online Family is an online service that connects parents to kids' online lives.
Key Norton Online Family features include:
Simple, One-Time Set Up: Create an account online and customize each family member's profile based on age and maturity level.
Easy to Use and Access: Check a child's activity or modify a child's profile, preferences, or time allotment anytime and anywhere using any Internet-connected device.
Clear Reporting: All activities are reported in chronological order and only show the Web sites a child intended to visit - eliminating all the extra URLs, like ads, from Web sites.
Helpful Search Insight: Easily view what words and phrases a child uses to search and where those searches lead online.
Convenient Web Site Control: Control the Web content that flows into the home by prohibiting more than 40 topic categories.
Secured Personal Information: Track, report and prevent personal information that a child may purposely or accidentally try to send via e-mail, IM or social networking site.
Access to Social Network Information: Monitor activity on social networks like Facebook and MySpace with the ability to see how kids represent themselves, when they login and how often.
Real-time Messaging: Built-in messaging allows parents to have real-time discussions with children about activities and better understand their intentions when visiting a Web site.True Transparency: Children are able to view the "house rules" they established with parents at any time and are notified when Norton Online Family is active, so there is no "stealth" mode.
Custom Alerts: Parents can customize e-mail alerts to address urgent events so they know immediately when a child has reached a time limit or visited a blocked site, etc.
Useful Time Management: An easy-to-use time management feature that - if parents find it necessary - gives each child a "curfew" that will limit computer usage.
Norton and Mom Central have made it possible to participate in a free Sneak Preview of Norton Online Family. You can sign-up for a sneak peak at the Norton Online Family application just click HERE.
I signed up for this service, and I am excited to see how it monitors the online usage in our home. I know that I can't protect the online threats 100%, but I am thankful that Norton has created a service to help protect our children's usage and activity.

Must have children's books!

I love finding great new books to read to my kids! I have really enjoyed the new books I got! The illustrations, and the words said in them are great! They are totally geared for kids(and adults, too), spark great conversations, and can be read over and over! The first one is:

Lisa Tawn Bergren is the great author of God gave us Heaven! The Illustrations were delightfully drawn by Laura J. Bryant.
Little Cub awakens one morning with some important questions on her mind: What is heaven like? How do we get there? Will we eat in heaven? Will we be angels?
During a delightful day spent wandering their arctic world, Papa gently answers each question, assuring Little Cub that heaven is a wonderful place, “a million times better” than she can imagine. He explains how God has made a way for those who love him to enter their heavenly home forever after their lives on earth are over. Reuniting the best-selling author-illustrator team from God Gave Us You, this gentle story provides satisfying answers for a young child’s most difficult questions about heaven. Parents, grandparents, childcare professionals, librarians, Sunday school teachers, and others will appreciate the gentle approach to a topic that’s on the minds of so many “little cubs.”
I love the Biblical teaching and storytelling of God Gave us Heaven! Caleb really enjoyed this book, and he talked about Heaven, too. I think the author, Lisa Tawn Bergren, did a great job giving information and doesn't go out of context of the Bible. I know this book will spark more conversations!

Author Bio: Lisa Tawn Bergren is the award-winning author of nearly thirty titles, totaling more than one million books in print. She writes in a broad range of genres, from adult fiction to devotional. God Gave Us Heaven is Lisa’s fourth children’s book, following in the tradition of the best-selling God Gave Us You. She makes her home in Colorado, with her husband, Tim, and their children, Olivia, Emma, and Jack.

Illustrator Bio: Laura J. Bryant studied painting, printmaking, and sculpture at the Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore. She has illustrated numerous award-winning children’s books, including God Gave Us You, Smudge Bunny, and If You Were My Baby. Laura lives in Asheville, North Carolina.

In two new books from best-selling children’s author Dandi Daley Mackall, clever rhymes and delightful illustrations help young children, ages three and up, understand God’s huge love for them and his joy in creating them. These enchanting picture books from the writer-illustrator team of Dandi Mackall and David Hohn will instill awe in young children as they revel in each page. Parents alike will appreciate the engaging stories that communicate God’s perfect plan and his divine purpose for little hearts.

In God Loves Me More Than That, children learn that God loves them deeper than a wishing well, wider than a semi-truck, louder than thunder, and softer than a kitten’s sneeze. Each question, presented with charming child-like faith will help young ones grasp the great love of God through comparisons and descriptions they can easily understand. In short, they’ll discover that His love is bigger, wider, higher, and deeper than anything they could imagine!

In When God Created My Toes, kids are drawn into the wonder of their creation by God. Their masterful artist who fashioned them just right for amazing and delightful adventures, such as roller skating, finger-painting, doing flips, and drinking cocoa. Children will come to an understanding that God shaped each part of their amazing bodies with joy, delight, and humor.

Caleb was completely thrilled with these books, and I think the Illustrator, David Hohn, is extremely talented. The pictures are full of animation! I know these books won't collect dust on our shelves!

Author Bio: Dandi Daley Mackall has published more than 400 books for children and adults, with more than 3 million combined copies sold. She is the author of WaterBrook’s two other delightful Dandilion Rhymes books, A Gaggle of Geese & A Clutter of Cats and The Blanket Show. A popular keynote speaker at conferences and Young Author events, Mackall lives in rural Ohio with her husband, three children, and a menagerie of horses, dogs, and cats.

Illustrator Bio: David Hohn is an award-winning illustrator who graduated with honors from the Maryland Institute College of Art. He has worked as both a staff artist and an art director for a children’s software company in Portland, Oregon, a position which led to his art directing an award-winning project for Fisher-Price. Hohn’s recent projects include Lisa Tawn Bergren’s God Gave Us Christmas.

Last Night at MOPS

I absolutely love being a member of our MOPS group! I have been in this group for 3 years now. I was in MOPS when Nathaniel was younger at my home church, too. I think MOPS is a great place to connect with other moms, learn from them, talk about struggles, share experiences, pray for each other, and learn new ideas. It is also a great night out to fellowship, mingle, hear a great speaker, EAT, and make crafts. MOPS is for Mothers with kids from pregnancy-age 5! Since I am newly pregnant, I will be in it for quite awhile yet! Yahoo~

Last night, we had a leader from the local Moms In Touch group to speak. She was very encouraging and full of great ideas. I know that praying for our children is so crucial! We live in a tough world.
The main idea behind MIT is to gather (as moms) together to pray scripture over our kids, teachers, schools, bus rides, etc. They have a set plan with scripture, and blanks in the spots where you insert your child's name. For example, "May You fill________with the knowledge of Your will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding. And I pray this in order that_______may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please You in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of You." (Colossians 1:9b-10).
Our speaker talked about the Basics of Prayer, which is communication. Communication involves talking, listening, getting to know God (through His scriptures), and sharing my heart with Him.
She also touched on Why we should pray...and Why don't we pray. Why should we pray? To see God's will done on earth. We are following Jesus' example~ He always went to his Father (God) to pray!
PLUS~ we don't have to carry the "load of worry around on our back," because HE WILL CARRY IT FOR US! There are 3 other good reasons to pray:
1. Because God knows more than we do! 2. God desires our companionship! 3. God's Power is released when we PRAY not when we think/talk about praying. When we pray, we are inviting God's presence.

I was very encouraged to pray daily for my kids, my husband, and so much more. My daily time with God is lacking right now, and I really need to just make the time for HIM! He craves our attention, and He is begging me. Prayer is His GIFT to us! A beautiful, daily gift...and he will bless us for praying! When I need peace...he will supply! When I need Joy, He will supply! When I need comfort...He will supply!
We have an enemy (Satan) who doesn't want us to pray...and he (tries) to keep us from Prayer~
(John 10:10).

I need to make a plan...what can I do? How much time can I start with?
I need to set apart a time (morning/evening).
I need to pick a special place of refuge.
I need to have a plan to read the scriptures, get a prayer journal to write down my requests and praises!

I was very encouraged and excited about this topic covered in MOPS last night. MITI is a great ministry, and very effective!
Do you have a daily devotional time with God? When do you do it? What helps you stay focused and committed?