3 hours ago
Last weekend, I attempted to make some patriotic fudge. I made it once a couple years ago, and it was pretty and yummy, so I wanted to attempt it again so I could share the recipe.
You know how sometimes you start a book, and it's not fantastic, but you just keep reading because you feel obligated to finish it? That happens to me sometimes. I used to feel that I had to finish every book I started, but in more recent years, I sometimes just don't. Reading, especially reading fiction, should be enjoyable, right? So for vacation last week I planned to bring a few books that I knew would be books that I really wanted to read and knew I would enjoy, and Married 'Til Monday by Denise Hunter was one of them.
Married 'Til Monday finishes off the stories about the McKinley family that make up the Chapel Springs series. I have read two of the other books in this series, and I really enjoyed them. I had been hoping Hunter would write one about Ryan, who is still in love with his ex-wife, Abby, so I was particularly looking forward to this book.
One day Ryan gets a call from his ex mother-in-law inviting him an anniversary party, and he realizes that Abby never told her parents that they got divorced. He covers for her, and takes the opportunity to contact her again. He volunteers to pretend to be married to her for the weekend, with the secret intention of winning her back.
As with her other books, I felt like Hunter got a bit descriptive of some of the feelings associated with the physical affection between the characters in this book, though there was nothing inappropriate. That is really the only complaint I ever have with her romance novels.
I thought Hunter did a nice job of weaving Ryan and Abby's history in with the rest of the story in a natural way. One of the reasons I like reading Hunter's books is that she is so good at taking a plot that could get slow and keeping it interesting throughout. Every time I ended a chapter I immediately wanted to start the next one so I could see what was going to happen. I'm kind of bummed that the series is over now, but I am looking forward to seeing what Hunter comes out with in the future!
Note: I received a digital copy of this book for free from NetGalley in exchange for this review. This is my honest opinion.
Since I am off enjoying sun, dirt and campfires with the family this week, I asked one of my dear blog friends, Natalie, to share a guest post with you guys! Natalie is a blogger at She Builds Her Home, and she is a mama to two adorable little girls - and her family is in the process of adopting another sweet baby! I love reading her tips on adopting, homemaking, marriage, and motherhood.
Natalie is going to share some tips for ways to bless new moms, and I found myself nodding my head to all her tips - especially the last one! Moms, please add your own experiences or tips at the end. We'd both love to read what you found helpful after having your baby(ies)!
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I've been that mom twice. The one who just had a baby, is tired, is sore, is hungry, is emotional. If you haven't been in those shoes (or sometimes even if you have!) it is hard to know what will bless her the most. What will help her, what will make her feel most loved, what will make her life a little bit easier. So I've compiled a list of some of the things I think would most bless a brand new mom with a little one(s).
1. Text, don't call her. New moms never know what's going to be happening when. If they're trying to figure out breastfeeding, or simply cuddling their baby, they won't have an extra hand to talk on the phone. They might be sleeping at 2 p.m. - you don't want to be the guy that wakes them up! A text will give them the freedom to respond when it is convenient for them and not feel pressured to answer the phone or call you right back.
2. Bring their family a meal. Try to make this as easy on them as possible by bringing disposable containers so they don't have to wash and return them to you. If they are getting multiple meals it may be hard for them to remember which ones belong to which people.
3. Offer to stop by and bring her something. Anything. Maybe she needs more diapers, maybe she wants Starbucks, or maybe she needs stool softeners - ha! I didn't say it will be glamorous, but just ask her what she needs. Getting out of the house to run to the store with a 4 day old is hard. She'll appreciate the offer.
4. Lend an ear. Ask her if she wants to talk. Maybe she will, maybe she won't. If she does, be prepared that she might make no sense at all. She might tell you that she actually misses her baby so much it physically hurts (you know, the baby she is holding at the moment she says that). She might cry about how she feels so skinny and fat at the exact same time. Maybe she'll even confess that as tired as she is, she can't sleep because she can't stop staring at that beautiful creation and wondering how it belongs to her. Whatever it is she tells you - be supportive. Laugh with her, cry with her, hug her (if she wants a hug), just be there for her.
5. Ask how you can help her around the house. Let her know you're willing to take and do her laundry, scrub her dishes, or clean her bathroom. Those things are probably at the bottom of her to do list. They come after: feed the baby, snuggle the baby, feed the baby, change the baby, snuggle the baby, snuggle the baby, feed the baby, nap, eat, feed the baby, change the baby, snuggle the baby........
6. Send her a card, a care package or just an email/text with no agenda. Just to say 'hey, I'm thinking about you and you're rocking this mom thing!' Don't expect a response, a thank you card, or anything else - just do it to let her know she is doing a great job!
7. Offer (with no pressure) to come and hold/rock the baby while she takes a nap or shower. Sometimes new moms feel like they just physically cannot put the baby down because the time is so fleeting. Don't be offended if she says NO WAY!
8. If she has other kids, ask her how you can help out with them. Could you take them to the park? Maybe to the library? Maybe you could even just come over and cook lunch for them while she focuses on the baby for an hour or two.
9. Give her some space and don't take things personally. A lot of new moms have tons of scary emotions going on. I bawled 10 times a day because I loved my babies so much, and that scared me because no one told me it would happen. I wanted it to just be me and my family in a bubble for awhile and some people were offended by that. Don't be. Try to understand that this is precious time for them!
10. When you come to visit the new baby or bring a meal (not when you come to help out), don't linger. She will probably be un-showered, her house will be messy and she'll have a baby attached to her chest. She probably won't feel like entertaining guests. Drop off the meal, tell her how beautiful her baby is and don't stay longer than 30 minutes tops.
Mamas-what else would you add?
Natalie is going to share some tips for ways to bless new moms, and I found myself nodding my head to all her tips - especially the last one! Moms, please add your own experiences or tips at the end. We'd both love to read what you found helpful after having your baby(ies)!
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I've been that mom twice. The one who just had a baby, is tired, is sore, is hungry, is emotional. If you haven't been in those shoes (or sometimes even if you have!) it is hard to know what will bless her the most. What will help her, what will make her feel most loved, what will make her life a little bit easier. So I've compiled a list of some of the things I think would most bless a brand new mom with a little one(s).
1. Text, don't call her. New moms never know what's going to be happening when. If they're trying to figure out breastfeeding, or simply cuddling their baby, they won't have an extra hand to talk on the phone. They might be sleeping at 2 p.m. - you don't want to be the guy that wakes them up! A text will give them the freedom to respond when it is convenient for them and not feel pressured to answer the phone or call you right back.
2. Bring their family a meal. Try to make this as easy on them as possible by bringing disposable containers so they don't have to wash and return them to you. If they are getting multiple meals it may be hard for them to remember which ones belong to which people.
3. Offer to stop by and bring her something. Anything. Maybe she needs more diapers, maybe she wants Starbucks, or maybe she needs stool softeners - ha! I didn't say it will be glamorous, but just ask her what she needs. Getting out of the house to run to the store with a 4 day old is hard. She'll appreciate the offer.
5. Ask how you can help her around the house. Let her know you're willing to take and do her laundry, scrub her dishes, or clean her bathroom. Those things are probably at the bottom of her to do list. They come after: feed the baby, snuggle the baby, feed the baby, change the baby, snuggle the baby, snuggle the baby, feed the baby, nap, eat, feed the baby, change the baby, snuggle the baby........
{^^ those moments? WAY more important than house work.}
6. Send her a card, a care package or just an email/text with no agenda. Just to say 'hey, I'm thinking about you and you're rocking this mom thing!' Don't expect a response, a thank you card, or anything else - just do it to let her know she is doing a great job!
7. Offer (with no pressure) to come and hold/rock the baby while she takes a nap or shower. Sometimes new moms feel like they just physically cannot put the baby down because the time is so fleeting. Don't be offended if she says NO WAY!
8. If she has other kids, ask her how you can help out with them. Could you take them to the park? Maybe to the library? Maybe you could even just come over and cook lunch for them while she focuses on the baby for an hour or two.
9. Give her some space and don't take things personally. A lot of new moms have tons of scary emotions going on. I bawled 10 times a day because I loved my babies so much, and that scared me because no one told me it would happen. I wanted it to just be me and my family in a bubble for awhile and some people were offended by that. Don't be. Try to understand that this is precious time for them!
10. When you come to visit the new baby or bring a meal (not when you come to help out), don't linger. She will probably be un-showered, her house will be messy and she'll have a baby attached to her chest. She probably won't feel like entertaining guests. Drop off the meal, tell her how beautiful her baby is and don't stay longer than 30 minutes tops.
Mamas-what else would you add?
Once Upon A Summertime by Melody Carlson follows the story of Anna, a manager at an inexpensive motel who dreams of working in a bigger hotel. After some tension with her current employers and a run-in with an old friend, Anna ends up with a chance to work at a boutique hotel - in New York! She leaves everything she already knows and heads to the Big Apple, and is surprised when she finds herself working at the same hotel as an old high school classmate. As sparks fly, Anna and Sean struggle with the hotel’s “no employee relationships” policy. How will they work it out?
I started this book, and I did not want to put it down! Anna’s character was likable, and the development of the romance was sweet. What I really appreciated about this book was how the author wove in the character’s family relationships dynamics, friendship dynamics, and work dynamics into an interesting story. The interactions and stresses that Anna had to go through weren’t over the top or outrageous - all her struggles were very believable.
I really enjoyed this book! The only thing I didn’t like about it was that I felt the the storyline was wrapped up too quickly in the end - it literally goes from having nothing resolved to everything figured it out within one chapter. I felt like the book could have had ten more chapters to really focus on resolving and developing more of the problems and relationships, and even with that many more chapters the book wouldn’t have felt too long. As it is, the end felt very haphazard and hurried to me. I liked the way it ended, but I think it would have gotten a solid five stars from me if it wasn’t so rushed.
Regardless, I loved the storyline and imagery in this book, and it made me want to visit New York! I think Once Upon A Summertime would be a great pool or vacation read - fun, and just the right amount of drama. Definitely check it out!
Note: I received a copy of this book for free from the publisher in exchange for this review. This is my honest opinion.
(I made these ice cream cone pins so guests could wear their guess - blue for boy, red for girl.)
It started with the fact that we decided to try doing this party at a park - I thought, "Self, won't that be so much easier on me, not having to clean the house for a party?" Ha! It was a lot more complicated trying to figure out a park location than I thought. We finally picked one that was first-come-first-serve, with plans to get there several hours early to claim our spot.
Then we got there and our park was taken!
Enter 15 minutes of internal panic for me as we drove around to find another location. We finally settled on a park shelter that we thought was our only option. It honestly didn't look to impressive from the road, but when we walked over there we realized it was actually a perfect (and quiet!) location!
(Our color scheme ended up being aqua and red, since those seemed like good ice cream social type colors - and the black was just a necessary evil because of how we wanted to do the reveal, but in the end I felt like it worked.)
Derek and I got the park set up, and I figured since we started about 3.5 hours early we would be sitting around bored for a couple hours - I was wrong! We took that entire time just to set up and eat lunch. It's a good thing we thought we had to get there so early to claim a shelter!
(We provided basic vanilla ice cream and toppings.)
(Ice cream floats, of course.)
Guests started arriving, and we had them pin on their guesses! Initially when we were planning our party we didn't know how many people would be there, or if everyone would know each other, so we prepared some games. We almost always have a couple games at our parties, because it breaks things up if some of the guests don't know anyone, and it keeps things from lagging - but we honestly didn't end up using any of them, because it was a smaller group and everyone ended up knowing each other! The visiting was going so smoothly that we didn't think we needed to interrupt it with games. But I'll include our ideas anyway, just in case you want to use them.
Gender Reveal Party Game Idea 1: Sticking with the ice cream theme, we were going to give everyone slips of paper with an ice cream flavor on it (some common, some obscure). Everyone would be allowed to ask each other yes/no questions to try to figure out each person's ice cream flavor. They could write their guesses down on a piece of paper, so be entered into a drawing for a prize (in our case, $5 Cold Stone gift cards).
(Prizes for the people who guessed the gender correctly. And I didn't get around to coloring them all because my pink Sharpie was a nightmare, and I didn't have time.)
(I sewed up this bunting one day, since I had fabric on hand that matched our color scheme! I thought we would use the bunting as a "finish line", but we didn't end up needing it for that, so it was just a cute decoration.)
The park ended up being perfect, because there was hardly anyone there except us. The kids ran around and played on the playground, and the adults visited, and we all ate ice cream. My dad kept saying he thought it was really twins, and he even pointed out one of the ultrasound pictures that kind of looked like it - I kept telling him that they told me there was only one!
Gender Reveal Game Idea 2: Since this was an ice cream social/picnic type thing, we thought we would do traditional picnic races! We would divide the guests into Team Boy or Team Girl (according to their guess), and have them pick representatives from each team for the races. We were thinking of doing a sack race, a three-legged race, and possibly an egg-and-spoon race. We would keep score, and give prizes to whichever team won the most races.
Gender Reveal Game Idea 3: One of our contests did actually work out - on our invitations we told guests they could bring ice cream to share if they wanted, and the most interesting flavor would win a prize ($5 Cold Stone gift cards)! Since we had an extra prize, I picked two winners - my friend Brianne brought a custom ice cream flavor based on my favorites, and my friend Ashley brought Marionberry Pie ice cream!
I don't have any pictures of the confetti because I realized during the race that my friend's child was sitting under THE balloon, and I hurried over there to move him so he wouldn't get confetti in his eyes.
Then the confetti balloon popped . . . and all the confetti just kind of fell to the ground. When we tested it out at home the confetti flew everywhere, so that wasn't quite what we thought would happen.
Then some of the glitter confetti we used kind of looked blue in the sunlight, and it mixed in with the red confetti. After all the twin talk, everyone just kind of looked at me and Derek since the colors were a little confusing...
So we called out "It's a GIRL!"
Yeah, not exactly how we planned it, but it turned out okay!
We are so excited to be welcoming a sweet little girl into our family! It'll be so fun to have another baby girl to dress up, and I'm already scheming on how to buy all the headbands I want (because it just seems like she should have some brand-new ones)!
Overall, I am really happy with the way the party turned out - it was fun, and even though I was more stressed during the planning phase of this party, the party itself was one of the most enjoyable for me! It ended up being the perfect group of people, and we had a great time.
I have to mention though, that Wyatt was really disappointed that he didn't get to take a turn racing, so we might have to invite some of his little friends over soon and remedy that.
(Note: I also picked a winner for my Starbucks giveaway for guessing the gender correctly - and Kristy H. won! Thanks to all of you who played along - I had so much fun reading all your reasons for your guesses!)
We are so excited to be adding another little GIRL to our family!
Stay tuned for a post about our ice cream social gender reveal party!
I have been to many baby showers, and I've even had an opportunity to throw one for my sister. Recently, however, I was challenged to think of Christian baby shower ideas, and I realized that I don't think I have been to a baby shower that had a Christian-based theme. I have been to many that incorporated Christian principles into the baby shower, but none that had a theme surrounding a Christian principle.
And I thought, why not? I think there are several cute baby shower themes that could be pulled out of Bible verses! And since I don't know if I will ever have a chance to throw another baby shower (at least not until my daughter is married and having babies), I wanted to share some of my ideas, in the hopes that someone out there can use them.
I have not thrown any of these showers myself, so I am afraid I don't have gorgeous pictures of these ideas to show you. Use your imagination, and if you do end up using one of these ideas, take pictures and send them to me! It will make this post more fun to look at, and I'll give you a shout out!
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Arrows In The Hand Of A Warrior
"Like arrows in the hand of a warrior, so are the children of one's youth. Happy is the man who has his quiver full of them." Psalm 127:4-5a
This verse is a classic passage of the Bible to emphasize how children are a blessing, which is a great thing to focus on at a baby shower! I think using an arrow/warrior theme would be especially adorable for a boy baby shower, but you could use it for girls too.
Color scheme ideas? If I were throwing this party, I would go bright or tribal! This is a color scheme I like for a warrior/arrow theme:
(via)
Other ideas to get you started: Pick out invitations (or make your own) that incorporate images of an arrow. Print out the verse above and display it on the food table. Make an arrow shaped cake, or arrow shaped cookies. Make paper arrows to hang from the ceiling. Buy some faux arrowheads (they are fairly cheap on Amazon), and write the baby's name and due date on them - pass them out as party favors so guests will remember to pray for the new baby.
Knit Together
"For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb." Psalm 139:13 (NIV84)
This verse is one of my favorites, as I am sure it has been for many expecting moms. It is so special to think of God knitting a baby together inside their mother's womb, and that becomes so much more real as you experience pregnancy yourself and mark the weeks when your baby's heart starts beating, when all their organ systems are in place, when they start practicing those soccer kicks. And knitting can be such cute theme for a baby shower!
Color scheme ideas? You could do any color scheme with this theme, but I would pick cream with warm or cozy colors for accents. I think this theme would be perfect for a fall/winter shower, and I would pick my colors accordingly. Here are some schemes I like:
Boy Color Scheme (via)
Girl Color Scheme (via)
Other ideas to get you started: Include the verse on the invitations. Decorate with knitted (or crocheted) blankets draped across chairs, or as a table cloth. Put some knitting needles in mason jars and balls of yarn in baskets (you could probably even find ways to incorporate these items into some of your games). If you are good with your knitting needles (or have a friend or family member who is) you can knit some coffee cup cozies as game prizes.
Light Of The World
"You are the light of the world. . .Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in Heaven." Matthew 5:14a, 16
This verse speaks to what is our hope for our kids as Christian mothers - that they would be lights for Christ in a dark world. You could go a couple directions with this theme, either focusing on the light aspect, or the world aspect - I am going to focus on the world aspect! This theme idea was inspired by my friend Bethany, who had a "Welcome To The World" shower theme, and this is one way you can put a Christian spin on it (there are a lot of ways you can make a "Welcome To The World" theme a Christian theme, this is just the way I came up with!).
Color scheme ideas? Once again, you can almost use any color scheme, but I might let my globe inspire the scheme for me a bit. I like this one (and just emphasize the purple or blue, depending on whether baby is a girl or boy):
(via)
Salt And Light
"You are the salt of the world…you are the light of the world. Let you light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven." Matthew 13a, 14a, 16
Once again, this verse speaks to our hope for our children, that they would be salt and light to those around them. And it could also be incorporated into a cute theme! I think you can use both of these aspects in your shower, or you could focus on one or the other.
Color scheme ideas? I like mineral inspired colors for this theme, and I would keep it light and airy. Good news is that minerals come in boy and girl colors, so it would be easy to do this theme for either gender! If you want to take it that direction, this theme could also have a spa-type feel to it.
Boy Color Scheme (via)
Girl Color Scheme (via)
Other ideas to get you started: Light lots of candles! Decorate with candles and vases filled with bath salts. Print the above verse and display it on your food table. Serve salty snacks. Have small tubs filled with warm water, and pamper your guests with a (salt) foot or hand scrub. Create your own jars of salt scrubs (you could probably get away with using sugar, it looks just like salt, right?), and give them away as prizes for your games. Make or buy salted caramels or votive candles as party favors.
Growing In The Lord
"Do not provoke your children to wrath, but bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord." Ephesians 6:4
"So then neither the one who plants, nor the one who waters is anything, but God who causes the growth." 1 Corintthians 3:7 NASB
This theme is all about our responsibility as parents - helping them grow not only physically, but spiritually! We need to train our kids in the Lord, planting and watering those seeds, and pray for them as we see God working in their hearts and growing them.
Color scheme ideas? Anything botanical! I like these:
Boy Color Scheme (via)
Girl Color Scheme (via)
Other ideas to get you started: This theme especially works for you gardeners out there! Decorate with potted plants, or cut flowers (or make paper flowers to hang from the ceiling if that is more your speed). Make a flower or tree shaped cake (or cookies). Create a "tree" out of branches in a vase and have guests write a message to mom and baby on leaf-shaped papers (got this idea from my friends Lyndsey and Emily). Have experienced guests or mentors of the new mom write their "gardening tips" for how to train children in the training and admonition of the Lord. Give packets of seeds as party favors, with a message to pray for the new mom and baby as they watch their plant grow.
His Eye Is On The Sparrow
"Are not two sparrows sold for a copper coin? And not one of them falls to the ground apart from your Father's will. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not fear therefore; you are more valuable than many sparrows." Matthew 10:29-31
"And I sing because I'm happy; and I sing because I'm free! His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me." -Civilla D. Martin, "His Eye Is On The Sparrow"
I think the verse is pretty explanatory - what a great way to remind a new mom that God watches over her and her new baby, because they are valuable to Him! My ideas for this theme focus mostly on birds, but I think it would be interesting to incorporate elements of copper into the party too since the verse refers to a copper coin.
Color scheme ideas? You really could do anything for this theme, because birds come in so many colors! Like I said, I think copper accents would make it that much more interesting though. Regardless, I like this one, plus or minus the pink or blue depending on baby's gender:
(via)
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If I ever throw one of these parties myself, I will most definitely post pictures! I love the idea of using the entire shower theme to bring focus to what is really happening at a Christian baby shower - celebrating a new life that God has given, and supporting the new mom and dad as they prepare to answer their call to parenthood.
If you are throwing a Christian baby shower and would like more ideas for activities and gifts, I am also on Tommy Nelson's blog today, sharing many more Christian baby shower ideas! Hop on over there to read more activity and gift ideas for Christian baby showers.
When I initially prepared to write that post, I had no idea where to start, so I asked my lovely friends if they had any ideas - and I was blown away by how many wonderful things they came up with! If you get a chance, visit these ladies at their blogs as well - their creativity and hearts for Jesus are obvious!
Amanda from A Sweet Serenity
Alli from Our Family Grace
Alex from Inspiration Clothesline
Lyndsey from The Loflands
Faith from The Life Of Faith
Leslie from Did You Hear About The Morgans?
Emily from Live A Charmed Life
Bethany from Blessings And Lilacs
Amber from His Grace Is Sufficient
Natalie from She Builds Her Home
Thank you, ladies, for all your help!
Have you ever thrown a Christian baby shower? Do you have any theme ideas, or ideas for activities or gifts that have a biblical focus? Please comment and tell me what you came up with, I'd love to read your ideas!
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