Christian Mama's Guide to Baby's First Year- Review

 

Book Description

An entertaining, practical guide for first-time mamas and those who need a baby refresher course.
The new mom initiation ritual involves sleepless nights, an inexplicable obsession with baby booties, and more questions than answers. This take on everything baby offers new moms the Christian girlfriend advice she needs to feel confident in her new role, including:

• getting into the motherhood groove
• breastfeeding advice
• suggestions for losing the baby weight—before your baby is no longer a baby
• time management tips that may just help you find time to do laundry—before you run out of clean underwear
• how you can manage to be a godly mother and a good wife on less than three hours of sleep a night

Easy-to-read and relatable, this been-there-done-that guide answers these questions and more with a dose of humor an a lot of grace so that new moms can become the moms that God intended them to be during their baby's first year.

I really enjoyed this book. I'm due in the next few weeks with my 2nd child, but the info in this book is really good despite that. While most of the information that Erin shares is not new to me, it's presented in a format that is easy to read and understand, especially with my brain fatigue that I'm already experiencing. I opened up the book and went right to the chapter on Breastfeeding (I wasn't able to with my first so I thought I'd read up on it hoping that we'll have success this time around) and it was great. She puts in her own personal success and offers suggestions for products that helped her and her friends. Each chapter is well written and has just the right dose of information laced with humor to give you a laugh when you have been running on less than 3 hours of sleep. I love that she also puts in a Bible verse and a prayer in each chapter related to what the topic is, I plan on writing some of those prayers out in my journal to remember if I'm having a rough time with welcoming the new little addition to our family.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com <http://BookSneeze®.com> book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 <http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html> : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

One Perfect Life review

Book Description

Read the best news the world has ever been given about the most significant life in all history—Jesus Christ. In One Perfect Life, Dr. John MacArthur shares with us the complete story of the Eternal Christ from Genesis to Revelation. Using Matthew as the base text, Dr. MacArthur blends the gospels and other biblical material about Jesus into one continuous story that will help you better understand Scripture and grow stronger in your faith. No other harmony of the Gospels includes such extensive study notes to help you unpack the meaning of each verse.
Features include:

• Verse-by-verse explanations from one of the most important pastor-teachers of our time
• Every verse connected to Christ from Genesis to Revelation
• A harmony of the Gospels that demonstrates the inerrancy of Scripture
• New King James translation

I received a copy of One Perfect Life by John MacArthur to review from Booksneeze. I love the Gospels and reading the story of Jesus, and this book that MacArthur has put together is the best of both. He uses all four gospels to tell a complete story of the life of Jesus. The book is broken down into the different parts of Jesus' life and also uses some other parts of the Bible to complete the whole story of Jesus, like Anticipating the Lord Jesus Christ and looking at verses from the Old Testament to show how He would come into the world, and ends with the reflections on the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

I love how MacArthur tells each event that happened in Jesus' life by using all the Gospels and putting them all together, so that you can see how when Matthew starts one part of the story, you can get some more information from Mark and finish up with Luke. At the bottom of each page is also commentary to help explain the verses that are being used to explain about Jesus.

This is a great reference to use when you are looking to explain and tell some of the wonders that Jesus did and to show how all of the Gospels are related, even though they are written by 4 different writers. I will be using this to help expand my knowledge of Jesus and hopefully see things that I may have missed while just reading the Gospels by themselves and not comparing them.


Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com  book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255  : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Butterfly butterfly

Why, Yes I do love butterflies. But there are many reasons for that. One reason that I adore them is because of a comment that my friend had made to me a long time ago when I was in a rough relationship. She had said that I was like a butterfly that had her wings clipped. There was something about that comment that stuck with me even after all these years, but more so back then. I still had the beauty of the butterfly, but because of the relationship I was in, it was like I was being tied up and unable to do what I was meant to do. Not long after that I was finally able to see that the relationship was trying to change me in ways that weren't good, and left. I'm still grateful for that friend and her ability to open my eyes and see what was going on.

I have always seen butterflies as beautiful and strong animals. I got one of my first tattoos as a butterfly to remember my Grams. She was a strong woman who had a lot of faith in God and she was the one that I wanted to be like. I still miss her (she passed away during a really rough summer in my life) and miss her strength and love and pride that she had.

As a tattoo to symbolize my marriage to my husband, I got another butterfly and had an anchor put in the middle where the body of the butterfly is. It will always remind me that I can work hard to bring strength and love to our marriage.

For the theme for my daughter's room, I have picked butterflies and monkeys. I want her to know that she can be strong and beautiful. And that it's important to remember that being yourself and being strong for what you need and believe is important, and you should never let anyone "clip your wings".

Looking for ways to save money on summer camps this year?

Looking for ways to save money for summer camp this year?

Here are 4 suggestions:

• #1 Register early to take full advantage of all early-bird discounts!
• #2 ASK if they have scholarships, financial aid or a sliding scale.
• #3 Offer to volunteer at camp for a reduced or free camper registration.
• #4 Ask friends of your child(ren) to register together for a group discount.  

Also, if this is your first year sending your child to summer camp, here are 5 tips for preparing them:

1. Day camps are more fun when children know at least one other camper who will be attending. Don't assume that they will be in the same group, let the camp director know your preferences when you initially register your child.
2. If a camp facility is open when you register for camp, take a tour. If not, take a virtual tour of the facility through looking on their website. The more familiar your child is with the environment, the less overwhelming he/she will feel.
3. Watch videos and look at photos of other campers having fun at camp. Look on the camp website and Google the camp name for additional postings.
4. Print out the camp schedule for your child to read about a typical day at camp---from the meals, free time, activities, to the bedtime routines.
5. For residential camps, make sure that this isn't the first time your child will be sleeping away from home. Let them practice overcoming their separation anxiety with a couple of sleep-overs with friends or family before going to a residential camp. Write a letter (or email) to the camp director with any questions.  

For more summer camp tips, visit here.

Slowly the countdown

winds it way down. I'm 33 weeks along with Miss A, and I can't wait to be finished with this pregnancy. I have gestational diabetes again, and this time I'm on medication to try and control my fasting levels in the morning. Hopefully it can be controlled with medication because I'm not too fond of the idea of having to have shots, let alone having to give them to myself. I test four times a day, and have to remember to eat every 2-3 hours. It's not a really big deal for me most days, but there are sometimes I just forget what time I did some things at. But it's only for a few more weeks (well a month and some change). 

Still so much work to get ready for her to come, but I've got the two big pieces of furniture that we need for her room, a crib and a dresser. I just need to get it cleaned out and ready, but since she will probably be sleeping in a pack and play in our room for a bit, it should be ok. 

Hubs had his first look at orders this month. We were kind of disappointed in the fact that there wasn't much for staying here. Hopefully next month will be better. One of the reasons that I (we) want to stay here is so that we can continue to work on our house. I think we are really reconsidering the fact that we bought our home. We didn't know that there would be so many issues that the contractors who "remodeled" the home would leave us with. It's been frustrating and very stressful. But it happens and we get stuck with it. I think if we could redo the whole situation, we wouldn't have bought, we would have just moved to a safer location than the one we were in since we had our car broken into 2 times in just a few months. But hindsight is always, well you know. 

Well that is about it for a small update. I've got to get us ready for church hopefully, or it's another day of working on the house as well. Just depends on if I can get over this headache that has arrived while I've been up for the last hour or so (Thanks Daylight Savings Time)

Murph- The Protector

There is a new movie (documentary style) coming out on March 22 called Murph- The Protector. I always think it is amazing when there is a movie or book or anything to honor our fallen heroes, and this should be a great honor to his memory.

Trailer-http://youtu.be/1Ps8z2-40YM

SYNOPSIS:

MURPH: The Protector is a feature-length documentary based on LT Michael Murphy’s life of honor, courage and commitment, as told by his friends, family and teammates. Michael was raised in Patchogue, New York, attended Penn State University and then joined the U.S. Navy to serve in the SEAL Teams.  Well-known for his selflessness, Michael gave his life for his men in 2005 and was posthumously awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor in 2007. His legacy now lives on in this moving portrait of a real American hero. 

MURPH: THE PROTECTOR opens in theaters on March 22nd!

Official Site: http://www.murphmovie.com/

Book Review- Unglued Devotional

 

Book Description

This companion devotional to the bestselling book Unglued provides encouragement to help readers handle emotional struggles. Including a daily opening Scripture, Thought for the Day, devotion, and closing prayer, this book helps readers begin a 60-day journey in learning to positively process raw emotions, such as fear, anger, and regret.

 Unglued Devotional by Lysa TerKeurst is a great resource to go along with the main book Unglued:Making Wise Choices in the Midst of Raw Emotions. I have read the main book and was excited to be offered the chance to review the devotional as well. I am a big fan of Lysa TerKeurst's writing since I read Made to Crave, and was excited to read Unglued since there are many times when I feel like I come unglued in my life with being a military wife and a mother to a preschooler and now being pregnant as well.

In her devotional, TerKerust starts every daily devotion with Scripture, followed by a thought for the day, then the body of her devotion, and she ends the devotion with a prayer. The topics for the devotions vary but go along with the topics that are discussed in the main book, but I'm sure that the devotion could be used by itself without reading the book. I found that by looking through the topics and what I was feeling that day, I could find myself in one of her devotions and it just spoke to me. Which is one of the many things that I enjoy about TerKerust's writing in general. Most of the devotions are short enough so that that you can spend less than 10 minutes with it to read it or could spend more if you like to journal and record your feelings. I really enjoyed reading the devotions and found so much peace from certain ones when I was feeling unglued.

I received a copy of Unglued Devotional from BookSneeze in return for a review of my thoughts. 

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com  book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 <http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html> : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”