Monday, July 29, 2024

When Stars Are Scattered Book Review

I want to share with you today a fun graphic novel from Timberdoodle, When Stars Are Scattered.  This book follows Omar and his brother Hassan's journey in an African refugee camp and is recommended for kids 10 and older or 5th grade and up.

D and E were the first ones in our family to read it.

This book dives into the refugee experience of Omar and his brother Hassan, who has developmental disabilities, and their foster mother.  This book is based on a true story and it really highlights the bond between siblings and the importance of family.

A peek inside our book

As many graphic novels, the illustrations are fun and really help tell the story along with the words.  Even reluctant readers will be drawn to the graphic novel style.  This story helps readers become aware of life with poverty, how valuable education really is, and the strength and importance of family.  There are some hard topics that come up that I think is great material for discussion and general conversations.  I'm looking forward to having F read it next and talk with him about it!  If you are looking for a fun, graphic novel, we recommend you pick this one up!

Disclosure:  Huge shout out to Timberdoodle for selecting me as a Timberdoodle Blogger.  I received When Stars Are Scattered in exchange for my honest review.  All opinions are my own.

Friday, July 26, 2024

Unshakable Moxie Kit Review & Giveaway

I'm super excited to share with you the Unshakable Moxie Study Pack that I received.  It contains a 6-lesson Bible Study (with QR codes to the 6 video episodes), a hardcover prayer journal and inspirational cards that share Scripture and powerful quotes from the series.

This 6-episode video series is from Our Daily Bread Ministries, a donor-supported and non-profit ministry committed to nurturing a love for God's Word for more than 85 years.  This series explores topics like forgiveness, disillusionment and hardship just to name a few.  When answers are tough, these resources dive into Scripture to help encourage women to grow in their faith even amidst challenging times.  Hosts Moriah Smallbone and Toni Collier help take you on faith journeys with special guests along the way.

The Journey Begins

I really like the inspiration for this study, exploring the characteristics that produce resolute faith.  I want that!  This kit is set-up to make your journey easy, and yet there is so much packed with it.  Videos, journal questions, scripture readings, and so on.  I like the relatablility and authenticity of the hosts, Toni and Moriah.  This is such a great set-up and series for a women's small group.

A few of my double-sided scripture cards

Check out the trailer below to get a feel for Unshakable Moxie yourself!

Want to order your own Unshakable Moxie Kit, check it out here - you can also order items individually if your prefer.  Watch this series now - Unshakable Moxie!

Giveaway:  Enter to win a copy of the Bible Study, Prayer Journal, Scripture Cards and a $20 Amazon giftcard ($70 retail value)!  Limited to US winners only.  And sorry guys, this giveaway is a quick one, it ends 7/29 so enter quick.

Simply comment on this blog post and let me know what you did to enter, that's it!

Disclosure:  Thanks to Our Daily Break Ministries for providing me with my Unshakable Moxie kit is exchange for my review.  Opinions are 100% my own.

Sunday, July 21, 2024

Happy National Ice Cream Day

It's National Ice Cream Day!  One of our family's favorite days.  My kids invited their entire youth group this year, so fun!  Hope you were able to have a cool treat.

The best kind of freezer, we have over 25 flavors of Blue Bell!

The toppings table

And the sauces and extra toppings

Hope you were able to have a cool treat.  If not, there is always next year.

Friday, July 19, 2024

Timberdoodle Romi Rami Review

I want to share with you today a fun game from Timberdoodle, Romi Rami.  Romi Rami is a 2-4 player game similar to classic Rummy but with a twist and is recommended for kids 8 and older or 3rd grade and up.  Games are estimated to last ~ 30 minutes.

What's included in our game?  Our game includes 92 number cards, 36 contract cards, 4 trophy tokens, 4 joker tokens, 1 First Player token and game rules.

How to set up the game?  After shuffling both decks of cards separately, you need to set up the number market with six cards and the contract market with 4 contract cards in the middle of your table or playing area - this is the main market.  You also need to toss up the trophy tokens as they are double sided, whatever side they land on will be the trophies that are up for grabs this game.  Each player is given 3 number cards as well as a joker token.

Playing with A

How do you play?  The youngest player begins by taking the first player token.  A player's turn consists of 3 steps: 

  • take up to 3 number cards from the number market with a common characteristic (same number or same suit)
  • fill one of more contracts in the contract market (this step is optional) and lastly
  • refill the markets and check hand size (mandatory step).  

You must have at least 3 cards and at most 10 cards in your hand at the end of your turn.  If you have less than 3, you will use the number deck to refill your hand to 3 cards and if you have more than 10, you will discard until you have only 10 cards.  Play proceeds in a clockwise order.

The ultimate goal of the game is to score the most points by filling contracts taking into account:

  • the number of points on the contracts
  • the trophy tokens for the current game and
  • the suit bonuses associated with the different contracts.  

The game ends when a player fill their 7th contract (when playing with 2 players), 6th contract (when playing with 3 players) and 5th contract (when playing with 4 players).  When this happens players move on to counting points.  Remember, player with most points wins!

Players count trophy points, contract points, suit bonus cards (1 point per card in your suit bonus pile), and unspent joker token (players score 1 point if they still have their joker token at the end of the game).  In the case of a tie, the player with the most suit bonus cards wins.


Romi Rami is quick and you learn a lot every time you play it!  I think it is fun adapting to the various contracts and suit bonuses.  When possible, I highly recommending using the suit cards as those points really do add up.  I also try to go for the larger point contracts unless I can make a lower point one easily or it's the last one I need.  I have yet to hang on to my joker token as I find using it to fulfill a larger contract has always been worth it for me.  I am currently undefeated so I feel like this is good advice 😉.  If you are looking for a fun card game that's fairly easy, quick to play and lots of fun, we highly recommend Romi Rami!  I love that everyone in my family can play.

Disclosure:  Huge shout out to Timberdoodle for selecting me as a Timberdoodle Blogger.  I received Romi Rami in exchange for my honest review.  All opinions are my own.