17 hours ago
One thing that I want to teach my kids to do well as they grow is to look for opportunities to bless others.
This is easy to do when someone is going through a rough time, or even when they are in the midst of exciting events in their lives. But what about just every day, ordinary, for-no-reason opportunities to bless people? I want them to grow to be the kind of adults who will buy their sibling something just because they love them, who will write their friends an encouraging note, who will call their grandma just to tell her they are glad God put her in their life. I want them to not just think of the grand gestures, but the little ways to make someone else's day a little happier.
A resource that I am really excited about for this is the book Share A Blessing from Tommy Nelson. This book makes it so easy for kids to think of others and send some of those every day encouragements to those they care about! This book contains 24 notecards or postcards that kids can write a quick note on, and it also includes 1,000 stickers (yes, 1,000 - I didn't mistype) that they can use to decorate the cards (or whatever else they want). I was looking through it, and I would have loved this book as a girl! I think they need to make one for adults.
The book is definitely more geared toward girls (lots of pink and flowers and hearts), but I think girls are generally the ones who send cards. Boys seem more likely to just hang out and play games, call someone, or punch someone to say "I love you" (though I don't recommend the punching - I'm just saying). So I think Gwen will be the one who will really love this as she gets older!
It's recommended for children ages 8 and up, but I'm not letting that stop me. I think I'm going to let the kids put together a card now, maybe for someone we don't get to see as often. I think both of them will really enjoy it - because even though Wyatt is more into cars and dinosaurs than flowers and hearts, did I mention that there are 1,000 stickers in this book? When you are three, any stickers are way better than no stickers. We're going to have fun with it, and it's the perfect training tool to teach being thoughtful toward others.
Click here to check out some of the cards in this book!
Note: I received this book for free from Tommy Nelson in exchange for this review. This is my honest opinion.
This is easy to do when someone is going through a rough time, or even when they are in the midst of exciting events in their lives. But what about just every day, ordinary, for-no-reason opportunities to bless people? I want them to grow to be the kind of adults who will buy their sibling something just because they love them, who will write their friends an encouraging note, who will call their grandma just to tell her they are glad God put her in their life. I want them to not just think of the grand gestures, but the little ways to make someone else's day a little happier.
A resource that I am really excited about for this is the book Share A Blessing from Tommy Nelson. This book makes it so easy for kids to think of others and send some of those every day encouragements to those they care about! This book contains 24 notecards or postcards that kids can write a quick note on, and it also includes 1,000 stickers (yes, 1,000 - I didn't mistype) that they can use to decorate the cards (or whatever else they want). I was looking through it, and I would have loved this book as a girl! I think they need to make one for adults.
The book is definitely more geared toward girls (lots of pink and flowers and hearts), but I think girls are generally the ones who send cards. Boys seem more likely to just hang out and play games, call someone, or punch someone to say "I love you" (though I don't recommend the punching - I'm just saying). So I think Gwen will be the one who will really love this as she gets older!
It's recommended for children ages 8 and up, but I'm not letting that stop me. I think I'm going to let the kids put together a card now, maybe for someone we don't get to see as often. I think both of them will really enjoy it - because even though Wyatt is more into cars and dinosaurs than flowers and hearts, did I mention that there are 1,000 stickers in this book? When you are three, any stickers are way better than no stickers. We're going to have fun with it, and it's the perfect training tool to teach being thoughtful toward others.
Click here to check out some of the cards in this book!
Note: I received this book for free from Tommy Nelson in exchange for this review. This is my honest opinion.
Can I just say how much I love board books for this age?
So many of our books end up looking like this. And it's just sad.
I know the books are here to serve us, not the other way around. These are just things, so I try to be laid back about when pages get ripped accidentally. I try to teach the kids to be gentle with the pages of their books, but their little fingers can only be so gentle at this stage. It's not like they do it on purpose.
Of course there's the whole "I ripped a little corner of the page, so let's just rip the whole thing out" philosophy that Wyatt ascribes to, but we're working on it.
But I have to say, my book-loving heart drops a bit at the sight of a colorful page lying on the floor. So board books? They make me happy.
Do you remember those Little Critter books I reviewed several months ago? I used to love Little Critter books growing up, and I love that Tommy Nelson is publishing some faith-based versions of these books! The only thing I was bummed about at the time? The pages were regular old paper. I retired those books to our bookshelf until the kids get a little older.
I was expecting to do the same with this next set of Little Critter books, but when I opened the package, what did I see? Board books! These books come in a board book version! I was probably a little overly excited about this.
I loved both of these books. In "Being Thankful", Little Critter is wishing for everything he doesn't have, until his grandma shows him that we need to be thankful for the things that God gives us. She reminds him by giving him a blue "thankful rock" to remind him to be thankful for what he has. I thought this was a really cute story to show kids where they could be more thankful. And how cute is the thankful rock idea? I know it's just a story, but it reminds me of those rocks that people carry around and rub when they get stressed out. I think a thankful rock is a much better and more meaningful idea.
In "We All Need Forgiveness", Little Critter is forgiven multiple times throughout the book in small ways, even while he is unforgiving toward others. Then he makes a big mistake and messes up his school play, and thinks his friends will never forgive him. His mom reminds him that we need to forgive each other just like God forgives us, and Little Critter sees that he needs to forgive others when they make mistakes as well.
Both of these books were sweet. The illustrations are fun and detailed (which I know I always loved as a kid), and I like how these books teach lessons by making the right and wrong behavior really obvious to kids. Wyatt definitely likes listening to the story and we talk about how Little Critter could be nicer/do better as we read.
I especially love that these versions also include a lesson about God as well - being thankful to God, and teaching about how God forgives us. It makes me feel good knowing they aren't just reading a fun book, but are learning important truths and values as well.
And they are board books! I don't have to worry about whether these ones will last until they are old enough to read! Cue my sigh of relief.
You can preview these books yourself here and here!
Note: I received these books for free from Tommy Nelson in exchange for this review. This is my honest opinion.
Tommy Nelson has also offered a copy of these books to one of my readers! Enter below for a chance to win!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
So many of our books end up looking like this. And it's just sad.
I know the books are here to serve us, not the other way around. These are just things, so I try to be laid back about when pages get ripped accidentally. I try to teach the kids to be gentle with the pages of their books, but their little fingers can only be so gentle at this stage. It's not like they do it on purpose.
Of course there's the whole "I ripped a little corner of the page, so let's just rip the whole thing out" philosophy that Wyatt ascribes to, but we're working on it.
But I have to say, my book-loving heart drops a bit at the sight of a colorful page lying on the floor. So board books? They make me happy.
Do you remember those Little Critter books I reviewed several months ago? I used to love Little Critter books growing up, and I love that Tommy Nelson is publishing some faith-based versions of these books! The only thing I was bummed about at the time? The pages were regular old paper. I retired those books to our bookshelf until the kids get a little older.
I was expecting to do the same with this next set of Little Critter books, but when I opened the package, what did I see? Board books! These books come in a board book version! I was probably a little overly excited about this.
I loved both of these books. In "Being Thankful", Little Critter is wishing for everything he doesn't have, until his grandma shows him that we need to be thankful for the things that God gives us. She reminds him by giving him a blue "thankful rock" to remind him to be thankful for what he has. I thought this was a really cute story to show kids where they could be more thankful. And how cute is the thankful rock idea? I know it's just a story, but it reminds me of those rocks that people carry around and rub when they get stressed out. I think a thankful rock is a much better and more meaningful idea.
In "We All Need Forgiveness", Little Critter is forgiven multiple times throughout the book in small ways, even while he is unforgiving toward others. Then he makes a big mistake and messes up his school play, and thinks his friends will never forgive him. His mom reminds him that we need to forgive each other just like God forgives us, and Little Critter sees that he needs to forgive others when they make mistakes as well.
Both of these books were sweet. The illustrations are fun and detailed (which I know I always loved as a kid), and I like how these books teach lessons by making the right and wrong behavior really obvious to kids. Wyatt definitely likes listening to the story and we talk about how Little Critter could be nicer/do better as we read.
I especially love that these versions also include a lesson about God as well - being thankful to God, and teaching about how God forgives us. It makes me feel good knowing they aren't just reading a fun book, but are learning important truths and values as well.
And they are board books! I don't have to worry about whether these ones will last until they are old enough to read! Cue my sigh of relief.
You can preview these books yourself here and here!
Note: I received these books for free from Tommy Nelson in exchange for this review. This is my honest opinion.
Tommy Nelson has also offered a copy of these books to one of my readers! Enter below for a chance to win!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
I picked up Annie Down's Let's All Be Brave book, because the word "brave" caught my attention, since the MOPS theme this year has to do with being brave.
There were a few things that I liked about this book, and a few things that bugged me.
----
Things I Liked
-Down's writing style is very casual, almost as if you are having a cup of coffee with her. I did like her conversational tone and the quirky jokes she throws in here and there - it made the book an easy read.
-I liked her overall point in the book, which seemed to be to encourage women to be brave in doing what God has called them individually to do with their lives.
Things That Bothered Me
-Even though I liked the conversational tone of her writing, the downside is that the book felt very disorganized to me. Most of the chapters are compromised of stories, with little points hidden in here and there - but sometimes I feel like Downs gets so caught up in her stories that she loses her point. In certain chapters you really have to be paying attention to catch what she's getting at, and she loses some impact because of that.
-I wouldn't say that everything in this book is theologically sound - in particular, this point bothered me:
"If we go back to the book of Genesis, where the world began, we see that God started it all with words . . .And we are made in His image. We speak, and things are created." -Chapter on "Your Words"
This is not a biblical concept. Yes, God spoke everything into existence, but nowhere in Scripture does it say that we have that same capability as a result of "being made in the image of God". The suggestion that we can actually bring things into existence with our words is reminiscent of the New Age "Christian science" or the word-faith movement, which I think are dangerous and unbiblical ideologies.
I think Downs is probably just trying to make the point that our words have impact, rather than saying that she believes we can physically bring something about with our words - it may be just an unfortunate choice of words on her part. I'm willing to give her the benefit of a doubt since I didn't find anything else too concerning in the book.
----
Overall, I enjoyed this book - the majority of it was stories, but Downs always brought her stories around to an encouragement to her readers to be brave, in a lovable, big sister kind of way. I laughed out loud throughout the book, and thought about areas where I could be more courageous in my own life, so it was a winner in that I felt uplifted after reading it.
Note: I received this book for free in e-book format from the publisher through NetGalley. This is my honest opinion.
I have been changing up a lot of things about the upstairs in my house lately. I have been trying to brighten up my living room. I hung some new Ikea curtains, and I have been working on a gallery wall.
I feel like I need to do a house tour video at some point so you guys can see what I'm talking about, but basically my living room and dining room kind of blend in to each other, so when you first come up the stairs you can see my living room and dining room at the same time.
For my dining room window, I had a sage green valance that had been there forever. As I was looking at my gallery wall and the dining room in the background, I decided that window needed some new curtains.
Pretty quickly I figured out that I wanted some white and yellow striped curtains. There are hints of cream/yellow in my gallery wall, and I thought it would tie everything in nicely and brighten things up.
I searched high and low for thick-striped fabric before I got desperate and checked Pinterest - and then I realized that I could just make my own! I read a tutorial on making them which gave me courage, so I bought some fabric. However, I feel like that tutorial (which I can't find now, of course) made the process of making striped curtains seem much more intimidating - it wasn't really hard at all!
1. To start with, I just got three yards (each) of two different types of fabric. The fabric I got was 54 inches wide. I tried to make sure both of the fabrics I picked had a similar weight. I ended up with a $4 per yard yellow clearance fabric, and a $6 per yard fabric that is actually supposed to be for lining curtains (I didn't tell the clerk that I was planning to use it for my actual curtains!).
2. I just stuck with the 54 inch width for my two curtains, so I didn't have to trim the width of the fabric - I just cut it straight into strips. I used a rotary cutter and trimmed the edge so that I was starting with a straight line. I decided I wanted 8 inch striped, so I cut one 11 inch white strip for each curtain (for the top of the curtain, so I could hang it), and I cut 9 inch strips for the rest of the length.
3. I sewed them together, leaving the 11 inch strip on the top of my curtain.
4. Once I had all my pieces sewn together, I trimmed the excess so the edges were straight, then hemmed the edges. I took the side with the 11 inch strip, and I folded it over three inches and sewed it into place, making a "tube" that I could slide the curtain rod into.
5. Then I hung my nice new curtains!
I was a bit intimidated about sewing stripes, because I was afraid if I cut them a little crooked the whole thing would be crooked. But it actually wasn't hard to cut straight strips - I just laid all the pieces out to make sure they looked right before I sewed them together, and it turned out fine! The striped curtains are actually pretty forgiving too - there are a few puckers, and some of my hems ended up bunching a little, but you can't really tell. If you have ever wanted striped curtains, definitely try making your own - it wasn't hard at all!
I really like the way they turned out. I feel like they add a lot of style to my dining room, and it brightens everything up so much. It looks much more cheerful upstairs now!
One of the things that has surprised me as my kids have grown older has been what I call the “happy chaos” that comes along with having toddlers. Before I had kids, I used to tell myself that my household would not be one of chaos – I was convinced that I could still maintain an orderly, peaceful house with children running around.
I can almost hear you all laughing at me, because any mom knows that with kids comes a certain level of chaos. A person can only maintain so much order with even one child in the house, and now we have three children, 3 and under, who make my life so much more fun . . . and yes, chaotic! People inform me that I have my hands full on a daily basis.
I have long since accepted that a chaos-free life with children is an oxymoron, but that doesn’t mean I have completely given up on keeping the craziness to a manageable level. The following are a few things that have helped me as I try to find a good balance...
Check out Tommy Nelson's blog to read the rest of my post on managing the chaos of life with young kids!
The word "staycation" never conjured up particularly good images in my mind. I always thought it sounded a bit boring. However, I am happy to report that after our staycation a couple weeks ago, I have become a fan! We had a great time, and we managed to squeeze a lot of fun things in while still relaxing. I'm not a staycation expert, but I thought I'd share a few tips for making a stay cation fun from my limited experience.
Play Tourist
I don't know why, but it seems like people tend to take for granted all of the tourist sites that are right down the road from where they live. Before our staycation we came up with a list of touristy places and activities in our area and picked a couple of them to do. It was fun to go some places that we never go. We even went to one national monument that we had never visited before. It made it feel like we were going somewhere new, even though we were staying home.
Take A "Road Trip"
On your way to your touristy destinations, treat the drive like a road trip. Turn up the music, roll down the windows, play a movie for the kids (if you have that capability). Or if you are like Derek and me, listen to an audio book or drama. Do whatever you would normal do for a road trip, even if you are only driving for 30 minutes.
Go Camping
Set up a tent in your backyard, complete with air mattress, sleeping bags, Skittles, and a movie on the laptop (yes, that is how I camp - I'm not hardcore). You can even add a fire and s'mores if you have a fire pit, or if your area allows. We were planning on doing this, but we ended up being so busy with all of the stuff we wanted to do together that we actually never got around to camping. However, if we had, I think it would have been pretty fun!
Add Something Tastey
For us, this translated into special drinks that I made for Derek and myself when we got home early enough (virgin pina coladas and homemade sodas). We also stocked up on snacks, and we added an "eating out" budget so we didn't have to make as many meals.
Ignore The Mess
It can be difficult to relax at home when you are a neat freak like me. But cleaning and working don't really go with a vacation (or a staycation), so I cleaned as much as possible on Sunday night, and then ignored the mess as much as possible during the week (okay, I admit, I did declutter a little - just a couple times).
Unplug
I wanted to treat our staycation like a vacation as much as possible, so I decided to put away my laptop, limit my contact with the outside world, and just spend time with my family. The only thing I did was Instagram some of the great pictures we took! It gives more of a vacation atmosphere when you take a break from normal distractions and obligations and just focus on spending time together.
Those are my tips! The main point is just to do something you wouldn't normally do, relax, and spend time with your loved ones. Those are the things that can make a staycation just as fun as a vacation, in my opinion. I no longer balk at the idea of staying home - and the distinct advantage is that you save lots of money with staycations!
Have you ever taken a staycation? What did you do to make it more fun?
Bedtime is one of my favorite times of the day with the kids. For Wyatt in particular, this is the time of day that he likes to chat my ear off.
We usually say a prayer together every night, and he likes to list things. Sometimes we'll list things to thank God for, sometimes he'll list things he hopes we get to do the next day. His new favorite is listing people that he wants to go to Heaven with him (is that cute, or what?).
We received "A Night Night Prayer" by Amy Parker recently. I love this book for multiple reasons - for one, the illustrations are so cute! In these pages we follow a little llama child through his bedtime routine. He lists all the things that are sleeping - trees, flowers, the dog, parents, etc. He says goodnight to each thing that is sleeping, and then the book closes with a sweet little prayer.
This book fits in right with our nighttime list theme. I think Wyatt and I will have a lot of fun looking at all the things listed in this book, and then coming up with some of our own things to add to it. This is a great book for winding down at night and prepping kids mentally for bedtime, and the board book style allows for easy handling. I don't have to worry about pages tearing if the kids want to read this book themselves!
As you can see, Miss Gwen loved this book too! We're training her in list-making now.
If you'd like another bedtime book to add to your collection, I recommend checking this one out!
Note: I received this book for free from Tommy Nelson in exchange for this review. This is my honest opinion.
We usually say a prayer together every night, and he likes to list things. Sometimes we'll list things to thank God for, sometimes he'll list things he hopes we get to do the next day. His new favorite is listing people that he wants to go to Heaven with him (is that cute, or what?).
We received "A Night Night Prayer" by Amy Parker recently. I love this book for multiple reasons - for one, the illustrations are so cute! In these pages we follow a little llama child through his bedtime routine. He lists all the things that are sleeping - trees, flowers, the dog, parents, etc. He says goodnight to each thing that is sleeping, and then the book closes with a sweet little prayer.
This book fits in right with our nighttime list theme. I think Wyatt and I will have a lot of fun looking at all the things listed in this book, and then coming up with some of our own things to add to it. This is a great book for winding down at night and prepping kids mentally for bedtime, and the board book style allows for easy handling. I don't have to worry about pages tearing if the kids want to read this book themselves!
As you can see, Miss Gwen loved this book too! We're training her in list-making now.
If you'd like another bedtime book to add to your collection, I recommend checking this one out!
Note: I received this book for free from Tommy Nelson in exchange for this review. This is my honest opinion.
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