• Kinect – One of this year’s most popular gifts is the Kinect Sensor with Kinect Adventures! for Xbox360, which has already sold 2.5 million units in less than a month.  If you have a gamer in your house, there are some great websites to help you familiarize yourself with products before and after purchasing them.  I recommend:
  • GetGameSmart.com – Learn to set parental controls
  • PluggedIn.com – Game reviews from Focus on the Family
  • TheOnlineMom.com – Weekly video game reviews written by a “wired” mom
• Tech firms work online programs to keep kids safe – USA Today on Internet Safety for Kids
• Jumo – A Social Networking site aimed at letting users discover and support charitable causes, now in Beta
• Connecting with Youth Via Facebook - A great article for parishes and youth ministers looking to really reach teens with social networking efforts that work and have meaning
• A Parent’s Pledge to Raise a Responsible Digital Citizen – Have you discussed this important part of your role as a parent?

I haven’t seen the film yet, but based on this great trailer, I can’t wait to pop a bowl of popcorn, gather my family and enjoy this together.

I hope you’ll view the trailer and please consider sharing it on your blogs, websites and with your social networking contacts.  We need to support and encourage programs like this if we hope to have more acceptable choices in the future for our families.  So tweet, share, and facebook this and ask your friends to do so as well!  Happy viewing!

A Walk In My Shoes – 2:33 TRLR from Moms4FamilyTV.com on Vimeo.

Here’s some additional information on “A Walk in My Shoes”:

“A Walk in My Shoes” makes viewers stop and think, “What would I learn if I stepped into someone else’s life?” Stressed-out high school teacher Trish Fahey (Nancy Travis, “Three Men and a Baby,” “Becker”) can’t understand her students’ lack of effort in the classroom and why their parents don’t seem to care. This is especially true of Justin Kremer (Cameron Deane Stewart), a popular, skateboard-loving, basketball star who is underperforming in her class. Trish has him suspended from the basketball team and quickly chalks up the situation as a case of bad parenting.

This perspective dramatically changes when Trish meets Molly (Yara Martinez, “My Own Worst Enemy”), a mysterious stranger intent on helping her see things differently. After a car accident, Trish wakes to find herself living the life of Cindy Kremer, the woman she has rashly judged and criticized. Molly helps Trishdiscover that there is more to the story and learns a powerful lesson that affects everyone she interacts with, including her husband, daughter and the Marine next door. No one is left unchanged.

“When I read the script for ‘A Walk in My Shoes’ I was instantly drawn to the character of Trish Fahey, because I think many of us have found ourselves in similar situations,” stated Nancy Travis. “It’s important to remember that today many families, especially those with members serving in the military, are balancing many pressures, so I was happy to work on a project that not only brought family-friendly programming to television, but addressed these life lessons.”

“A Walk in My Shoes” will take viewers on an inspirational journey, as they experience how families can come together in the face of adversity. The film’s main characters are forced to confront their pasts and learn valuable life lessons in an uplifting manner that families can enjoy together. This emotional story is an expansion into the dramatic genre for P&G and Walmart as the first two films, “Secrets of the Mountain” and “The Jensen Project” were family adventures.

Yara Martinez, best known for her work in CBS’s “The Unit,” plays the role of Molly. Philip Winchester, who starred as the title role of Robinson Crusoe in the NBC action series “Crusoe,” plays Jake, a Marine who lives next door to the Kremer family. The roles of Cindy and Justin Kremer are played by Jana Lee Hamblin and Cameron Deane Stewart, respectively.

“A Walk in My Shoes” will also feature a soundtrack produced by music mogul Randy Jackson that includes songs from artists such as Michael Johns, Judgment, and Walking In Space. The “A Walk in My Shoes” DVD and soundtrack will be sold together in a bonus pack exclusively at Walmart startingSaturday, Dec. 4. For more information visit www.awalkinmyshoes.com.

Q: Please briefly introduce yourself and tell us a bit about your family.

My name is Teresa Smith. I’m a singer, vocal instructor and homeschooling mother of eight. I’m married to my wonderful husband David who is a music producer for many Catholic recording artists. Also, I happen to sing the theme song, “Blooming”, for the Catholic Moments podcast.

Q: Please give us an overview of the “Gregorian Chant for Kids” project? How did it get started?

Gregorian Chant for Kids is a CD recording designed to introduce children (and families unfamiliar with Chant) to Gregorian Chant. It is unique in that it is performed exclusively by children rather than by adults. Along with the CD, we also offer download-able .pdf files of simplified notation and phonetic pronunciation of the Latin to make it easier to learn.

The idea came about when David was working with a Catholic recording artist at the studio, helping with production on her Gregorian Chant CD in 2008. David and I were both struck with the beauty and the sacred and reverent “other-worldliness” of the chants while working on that CD. After those recording sessions were completed, David and I were driving this artist back to the airport and we were having a conversation about our kids and how they love to sing. During the conversation, this artist briefly said something like “you ought to consider making a chant CD with your kids”, or something to that effect. David and I thought it was an interesting idea but nothing really registered. However, after a few weeks, and like most decisions in our life, during our time in adoration, David and I noticed the idea kept coming back to us. Soon we began to feel urgency about following through with the idea. We knew the idea would fit in well with our homeschooling activities whether anyone else would be interested in the CD or not, helping to meet our music requirements in their education. We also noticed that there was nothing else being made available by any other home school curriculum that taught children how to sing chants. We noticed most recordings were sung by adults or poorly recorded too. We felt that children would learn best by hearing voices most like their own.

Q: Who are the kids involved in the CD and how did they learn to sing Gregorian Chant?

The children involved are our own children: Nate, Patrick, Brian and Regina. We have two older teens whose voices just don’t sound like children’s anymore! And we have two younger boys too young to sing. We taught them chant simply by taking time everyday to sit down, as you would in a music class, going over the pronunciation and practicing the melodies in sections. Once we had a whole chant completed, we’d take them to our recording studio (which is attached to our home) and record that chant. Then we’d start the process over for the next chant. Finally, David adds the organ parts and mixes everything. It took about 3 months to get everything recorded but the kids loved it. Plus, we just consider it a part of the home schooling curriculum and they kids love being able to sing the chants at the Latin Mass.

Q: What is your goal for the project?

First, we feel that God’s calling for us in this project and future chant projects is to provide an accessible musical resource that families use to introduce their children to this beautiful musical treasury of the Church so that it does not become lost. We want families to know that is possible for their children to learn chant – and that children truly enjoy it!

Second, we love being able to provide a recording that is so unique with the children’s voices. Listeners have said over and over that it is so beautiful and angelic to hear the chants being sung by children’s voices. Very soothing and prayerful.

Q: What type of reaction have you received to the CD?

The reactions to the CD range from strong to ecstatic. As I mentioned above, many people tell us they don’t use the CD to teach children; they just love it for listening pleasure. The comment we hear most often is that they imagine angels singing sounds like.

Q: What do the kids think about having their own CD?

They are genuinely excited and very proud of it because they weren’t sure they could do it when we first began. Also, we can tell they feel a real sense of accomplishment when they see David packaging and shipping out a large order of the CD’s to distributors like Catholic Heritage Curricula, who have made the CD a part of their curriculum. They often talk about all of the hard work they put into it.

Q: Do you have plans for future “Chant for Kids” CDs?

Yes, we are currently working on Volume 2. Plus, we will be making teaching DVD’s for Volumes 1 and 2 that include little music lessons for each chant to provide even more help for families to teach their children Gregorian chant. We will keep producing volumes until we run out of chants or until all our children reach puberty and their voices change! Also, we are working on a CD/DVD for teaching children how to sing the older, pre-Vatican II, English language hymns of the Church.

Q: How can readers order the CD and find more information about Chant for Kids?

People can get more information on our website: www.ChantforKids.com

Q: Are there any closing thoughts you’d like to share with our readers?

I would just like to encourage families to introduce themselves to Gregorian chant. It is well worth the effort because they’ll be learning a singularly Catholic, beautiful and reverent musical treasure of our Church. At the same time I would encourage anyone who simply would love to be soothed and their faith inspired to buy Gregorian Chant for Kids!

I hope you enjoy the following video of the Smith family singing Gregorian Chant for Kids and that you’ll check out www.ChantforKids.com and consider sharing Gregorian Chant with the special children in your life!

Video Link

If you’re single and looking to connect with other Catholic singles, we invite you to visitCatholicMatch.com for additional resources. Today’s article was written by Jessica Zimanske forCatholicMatch.com.

The calendar had just barely turned from October to November when I first heard the sound of jingle bells and Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas is You” booming from my radio.

With my Halloween decorations still up and a large bowl of chocolate treats taking up real estate in my apartment, the distinct sound of Christmas music seemed out of place on this early November day.

With the Christmas season being pushed earlier and earlier each year, the entire calendar seems to also fall out place. School supplies appear in July. Halloween candy materializes in September. Valentine’s Day cards pop up right after the New Year.

We all know that this cycle is tied to strategic planning on behalf of retailers as they try to tap into the psyche of the American consumer, but I am continuously frustrated by this man-made timeline.

Researchers this year, though, say 2010’s holiday sales are coming later due to the slow economic recovery. Sixty-three percent of consumers say they won’t start shopping until November, according to the National Retail Federation, while many of these shoppers are used to searching for deals earlier in the fall.

The holiday merchandise we’re accustomed to seeing early in the season may not be on display quite yet at many retailers try to line up their stock with the needs of these now late-fall shoppers.

This news came as a surprise, but I immediately felt a sense of relief. I don’t need to be focusing on Christmas gifts, holiday parties and work functions when this month I should be counting my blessings with family and friends and anticipating a cold, yet cozy, Minnesota winter. The Christmas cookies and hot cocoa can wait a few more weeks while I appreciate the season we’re currently in and enjoy today for exactly what it is: today.

So for now, there will be no Christmas carols blaring from my car radio – at least until after Thanksgiving.

If you’re single and looking to connect with other Catholic singles, we invite you to visit CatholicMatch.com for additional resources.

And now, through December 24th, CatholicQuiz.com is offering you a 2 for 1 Advent Special.  All purchases between November 20th and December 24th are eligible for a second FREE membership of the same value. Purchase any Individual, Family or Teacher Membership and receive a second one to give as a gift (a $19.95, $39.95 or $49.95 value – FREE).  Visitors who complete a purchase at CatholicQuiz.com will receive an email with an e-Gift Card Membership purchase code. This code is redeemable at www.CatholicQuiz.com/redeem any time in the future. No expiration date. No limit. Ever.

This is an opportunity for your family to begin really incorporating the gospel message into your home, and to share it with a friend, relative or teacher at the same time! The games are fun, interactive, and age appropriate. Your subscription rate also includes a small donation to CatholicMom.com, which enables us to continue to provide our resources free of charge to parishes in over 100 countries around the world!

Why not skip the mall this year and give the gift of CatholicQuiz.com to everyone on your Christmas list this year?  You could have all of your shopping done now, and enjoy the Advent season with your family!  Click here for all of the details and be sure to tell a friend!

Thank you to CatholicQuiz.com for your ongoing support of CatholicMom.com!

• Facebook Messaging - This week, social networking giant Facebook announced a new messaging platform that will incorporate email, texting, and Facebook messages as they currently exist on the site.  The ramification for parents:  this will allow your child to receive contacts and communications from anyone that they have “friended” on Facebook, and may also let them receive contacts from “friends of friends” and others, depending upon how they configure their privacy settings.  Some teens also have their Facebook linked with mobile devices and could begin receiving even more texts than usual.  We’ll watch this story as it unfolds over the next few months, but — as always — parents need to be very vigilant about their teens’ use of social networking sites and privacy settings.
• Bishops Urged to Embrace Social Media - At this week’s Fall Assembly of the USCCB, Bishop Ronald Herzog of Alexandria, Louisiana, a member of the USCCB Communications Committee delivered an important address urging his brother bishops to embrace the potential of social media.  This doesn’t necessarily mean more “Facebooking” bishops, but hopefully it means that their staffs will receive the funding and policy permissions necessary to effectively utilize social media in ministering to Catholic families.  As parents, we need support and guidance from our spiritual shepherds in forming our children’s consciences around the use of these tools.
• Parents Television Council Report – From the PTC website, news on this newly released look at the prevelance of television programming online: “In a new report, the Parents Television Council™ found that four of the most popular online distributors of commercially-generated video are failing to protect kids from explicit content. PTC’s report, “Untangling the Web of Internet Video” is the most comprehensive on the matter to date and includes Hulu (NBC/Universal, Fox and Disney/ABC), Fancast (Comcast), /Slashcontrol (AOL) and AT&T. Each provider was graded on the effectiveness of its content ratings, homepage content decency, advertiser accountability and parental controls.”  Read the report here.
• Cell Phones and Cancer Risks - The New York Times reported again this week on cell phone manufacturers advising consumers to hold mobile devices at a distance from their head and ears.  Pregnant women are also advised to keep phones away from the abdomen.  Children’s use of these devices should also be limited to avoid radiation exposure.

Check back next Wednesday for our next Tech Notes update and be sure to join me Thursday at 8:50 am ET/5:50 am PT on the Son Rise Morning Show with Brian Patrick.

You can obtain information on the book and order a copy for yourself or a friend through The Catholic Company, Amazon, Aquinas and More, or Barnes & Noble.

• Reviews of The Handbook for Catholic Moms
• Catholic Bookstores selling The Handbook for Catholic Moms

As we near the holiday season, I want to share a few “book news” updates with you:

• Free Reading Discussion Guide - My wonderful publisher, Ave Maria Press, has worked with me to create a free companion to the book.  The downloadable Reading Discussion Guide offers discussion and reflection questions for every chapter of the book.  You may use these for your own private journaling or prayer time, or share them with friends, a bible study group, a moms group, or even your own family members.  Click here to download the Free Reading Discussion Guide and please share it with friends and family.
• Kindle Version – The Handbook for Catholic Moms – As a Kindle user, I’m thrilled to share the good news that you can now read the “e” version of The Handbook for Catholic Moms.   This also enables readers to obtain a free sample chapter of the book – and you don’t need to own a Kindle to read the e book.  Simply download the free Kindle app for your phone or computer and get started reading today.  Find the Kindle Version of The Handbook for Catholic Moms here.
  
• Chat with me online! I’ve been lucky enough to meet several of our readers in person during the past few months, but if you have a small group of women reading the book together and would like to “meet” me to lead a discussion or simply have a “girls night out” online with you, we can arrange to have meet join your group online via Skype.  Contact me about this opportunity – I’m always thrilled to chat with women who share our vocation to motherhood.

As we near the holidays, I hope you’ll consider purchasing The Handbook for Catholic Moms: Nurturing Your Heart, Mind, Body and Soul as a gift for special friends in your life.  It makes a fun and economical idea for a teacher’s present, a “gift exchange” or secret santa swap, a gift for your parish volunteers, or something to share with a friend or sister.  If you have any questions about the book or if you’d like to share your feedback, I welcome your comments below or feel free to contact me by email any time.  Thanks again for all of your support!

You can obtain information on the book and order a copy for yourself or a friend through The Catholic Company, Amazon, Aquinas and More, or Barnes & Noble.

• Reviews of The Handbook for Catholic Moms
• Catholic Bookstores selling The Handbook for Catholic Moms

Cool It is a bold, new approach to looking at the environmental issue that everyone is talking about. The film explores real solutions to our world’s environmental concerns and considers the fact that saving the planet is really about saving its people.

For Catholics, its exactly what the Church’s social teaching is all about – stewardship of one another.   It looks at important issues such as poverty, world hunger, access to education, clean drinking water, as well as demonstrating how careful solutions to the climate change problems can save the planet.

The film comes out Nov 19th but there are a few special ADVANCE screenings and we have several free tickets available.

Click here for some sneak peeks, a chance to win in a sweepstakes, bible study and more:

http://reeltruths.com/cool-it/

To RSVP:

http://www.flypropeller.com/rsvp/

Please pass this along to others in your area who would be passionate about the role of stewardship to people and planet.

Etextbook Teaching Strategies from Ave Maria Press on Vimeo.

I just wanted to invite you to watch The Journey Home on EWTN tonight (Monday) at 8 pm eastern.  I will be a guest on the show and will tell the story of how I turned away from my faith for many years before finally finding my way back “home” to my Catholic faith.   I’m hoping and praying that the story of my “reversion” can inspire others to strengthen their faith as well.

The show will also air on Tuesday at 1 am and 9 am eastern, Thursday at 2 pm eastern and Saturday at 11 pm eastern.

If you don’t get EWTN, you can watch the show live online tonight at 8 pm eastern, or the video will be available until next week at the EWTN Journey Home webpage.  After that, it will be on the EWTN youtube channel.

If you’re single and looking to connect with other Catholic singles, we invite you to visit CatholicMatch.com for additional resources. Today’s article was written by Christina Ries for CatholicMatch.com.

On Nov. 7, Daylight Saving Time ends, and we all get an extra hour. Here are three suggestions:

1.)    The first (and most obvious) option is: sleep, blessed sleep, perchance to dream! Today’s lifestyle leaves many of us stressed out and drained from too many activities and projects, too little time to rest. Studies show that lack of sleep contributes to obesity, heart disease, and even increased mortality. So let your body get that extra hour of much needed sleep.

2.)    Get out to the country! Or even your own backyard. Recent studies have found that “green exercise” — any activity outdoors, in nature, has many health benefits. Even as little as five minutes spent in the beauty of God’s creation offers improved mood, increased sense of well-being, and reduced risk of mental illness.

You can take a walk in the park, putter in your garden, hike a mountain trail, or spend time by the water, “simply messing about in boats,” as Ratty says to Mole in The Wind in the Willows.

3.)    Pray. “Prayer is the raising of one’s mind and heart to God,” the cathechism eloquently asserts. It is a gift and a mystery. We speak with the One whom our soul loves. It is the one gateway out of this world, Father Romano Guardini writes in The Lord. We can listen to the Lord as he speaks to us, guides us in His will, calms our anxieties, heals our souls.

God calls us to prayer, and through prayer we can bring to him our troubles, our joys, our needs. It was Abraham’s intercessory prayer that saved the city of Sodom from destruction — even if there were only 10 innocent people in the whole city. “For the sake of those ten,” replied the Lord, “I will not destroy it” (Genesis 18: 22-32). God listened to Abraham’s plea. When we spend time with Christ in prayer, we become more like Him.

The fruits of true prayer are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness, and self-control (Galatians 5:22). Take this opportunity to establish a new daily habit of prayer.

What will you do with your extra hour?

If you’re single and looking to connect with other Catholic singles, we invite you to visit CatholicMatch.com for additional resources.

Please join me in thanking our Catholic Moments contributors by visiting their sites:  Deacon Tom Fox, Lisa Mladnich, Avery, Sarah Reinhard.

This episode of Catholic Moments is sponsored by CatholicMatch.com, the Leading Catholic Singles Community.  Share your feedback at 206-339-9272, comment here on the blog or email lisa@catholicmom.com.

Links for this Episode:

• Amy Bonaccorso – Book, Blog
• Saint Solutions
• Catholic Moments Podcast Facebook Page
• Catholic Moments at SQPN
• Current CatholicMom.com Contests
• CatholicMom.com Book Club
• The Handbook for Catholic Moms:  The Catholic Company, Amazon, Aquinas and More or Barnes & Noble
• Lisa’s Facebook Profile, Twitter

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Here’s some background on these lovely women, and a bit of their history:

Our mission is simple:    Strengthen your Body, Strengthen your Soul.

We are three moms who love walking for exercise.  In 2009 we decided to train for the Columbus Half Marathon.  Our team walks took place on Saturday mornings and we often talked about how wonderful it was to take time for ourselves.  Each week we prayed a rosary together and as our devotion to the Blessed Mother grew our hearts became filled with peace and we felt a closer connection to our Lord.  We began to fully appreciate and understand the phrase “To Jesus through Mary”.  With increased endurance and enriched faith we completed the Columbus Half Marathon and called ourselves “Mamas Movin’ With Mary”.

It is now our goal to inspire others to take time for themselves and “Get Movin’ With Mary”.

Clearly, the Mamas are about more than just selling t-shirts.  They promote Marian devotion with instructions on how to pray the Rosary, provide fitness support and information, and a forum for sharing your story.  All this is wonderful, plus their shirt is now my favorite article of workout attire. The sight of it puts a smile on my face, and wearing it affords me opportunities to share the good news with people who see me and comment on my shirt.  It’s happened several times already, as I make it a point of wearing my “Mamas” shirt when I’m working out in various places during my travels.