The perfect bedtime book- God Gave Us Sleep

I'm so excited to add another title from the favorite kid's book series, God Gave Us by Lisa Tawn Bergen!  The newest book in the series is God Gave Us Sleep is just about the most perfect bedtime story you could ask for. We get to follow the classic bedtime predicament of every family- it's bedtime and Little Cub doesn't think it should be so! She is having just too much fun and, after all, she's a big kid and doesn't need that much sleep. As a mother, I love the patient and gracious way Mama Bear addresses Little Cub's many bedtime "Why's?".  From "why do I need sleep?" to "What if I have bad dreams?", Mama Bear gives answers every kid needs to hear. She explains how God designed the rhythms of the day-work, play and rest-and how sleep is a gift.(Don't us Mama's know that's a truth!)

 

 

 I also loved how the book played out how a Little Cub who doesn't get enough sleep makes for a grumpy, frustrated Cub, indeed. My oldest son gets so very emotional and irritable if he doesn't get the sleep he needs and I think this part of the book will be a great way to illustrate to him that every little one needs sleep, for his sake and everyone else's as well!

 I have been buying the God Gave Us books since before my oldest was born and just adore them. I read God Gave Us You to my oldest as a baby and broke the news to him of a younger sibling on the way by giving him, God Gave US Two. I love the whimsical way that these books weave biblically based facts with adorable stories that are appreciated by every age!

 

I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review

The beginning of my fall fiction binge

Fall means shorter days and wetter, colder weather. The workload slows down and I have more time for my favorite, cozy hobbies-like curling up on the couch with a warm cup of coffee and an engaging novel. My very favorite historical fiction author is Jane Kirkpatrick. I have been reading her books since I was a teenager. I so enjoy the way that she takes real women's stories from history and brings them to life, in a very real way. Plus, it's a huge draw for me, that as a fellow Oregonian, Jane's books are usually always set in Oregon. She weaves together the time and setting of the heroine's life with her inner life-her thoughts and feelings, victories and struggles. I am very impressed with the work Mrs. Kirkpatrick puts into researching the lives and personality of her heroines. Jane has a knack for making her characters vulnerable and believable. I come away from each of her books feeling like I have made a new friend from a different place and time. Here is how Jane herself describes her writing.

 

 

  Jane Kirkpatrick's latest book, The Memory Weaver, may be my favorite title of hers yet.

 The enveloping story of Eliza Spalding Warren, set in Oregon Territory in the mid 1800's. The child of missionary parents, Eliza grows up along side Indians she trusts and loves. But when tragedy strikes, her family is forced to leave and feel betrayed by the people they've come to serve. Yet another disconcerting blow comes when Eliza's mother dies soon after. In the wake of so much loss, Eliza is left to find her way, while expected to be her demanding father's ministry assistant and raise her younger siblings. Feeling weighted down and hopeless, Eliza finds herself wooed away by a man with all the right words to say to a young woman who is only used to being valued for what she can contribute not who she is. Eliza enters her marriage knowingly naïve about some of her husband's character, but determined that it is better to start her own life than forever just being her father's helper. As Eliza faces the challenges that come with growing up, expedited by marrying very young, she only wishes her mother was still on earth to give her the advice she desperately needs. Then enters the intriguing element of having passages from her mother's diary interwoven thru out the chapters of the book. Eliza finds that her mother was a real woman with real struggles and how she found strength in the Lord.

 

 This novel was the perfect way to start my fall reading binge! I've got some other great titles I'm working on and can't wait to share about in the coming weeks!

 

I received this book for free in exchange for my honest review.

A new children's book to start our fall off with thankful hearts!

 I love snuggling up on the couch with my 3 boys and sharing a good story together. It makes my book loving, Mama heart proud that they are always begging for "just one more" book at story time. So, What a better way to celebrate the changing of the season into a cozy, reflective time of year than to acquire some new, quality kids books? I'm so excited to have Thankful by Eileen Spinelli to add to our fall book rotation! 

                            

What a simple, yet deep child's poem book with delightful illustrations to bring it to life. Thankful reminds children (and their parents!) of some simple, everyday occurrences that bring joy and gratitude. I especially appreciated the way the illustrations brought life to the lines of the poem. The sweet scenes of a family sharing mundane, yet special adventures together made me love this book all the more!

I think this is my favorite line of the poem and illustration. This is an example my boys and I could relate to. We had such a  good and bonding time growing a garden this year. We learned together to work hard and be thankful for the food our garden provided us with!

 I am always working to instill everyday gratitude into my heart and the little hearts I am nurturing in my home as well. I know this book will be a great reminder to us and become a favorite around thanksgiving time.

I recieved this book in exchange for my honest review.

Making it Home- A story we can all relate to

From a young age, I have been an avid reader. I adore the escape of getting lost in a good book-whether it be the excitement of a fictional world or the enveloping experience of seeing the world thru someone else's eyes via a good memoir. Growing up, it was very common for me to have stayed up half the night to finish that book that was just too good to put down. Then I grew up, got married, had kids and life's demands seemed to outweigh the value of curling up with a good read. But lately, I have intentionally been making time in my life to read, even if only for a few minutes a day. I find I am refreshed and more ready to tackle the everyday challenges of my life when I have stimulated my mind with an outside perspective and other's experiences thru a good book. My latest read has done just that and more- Making it home-Finding my way to peace, identity, and purpose by Emily T. Wierenga had me hooked from page one and I just had to keep reading to see where Emily's story took her.

 

 

  As a young wife and mother doing my best to follow God's leading in my life and, somehow, be all that my family needs and deserves-I could so relate to Emily's joys and struggles. I found myself chuckling in understanding at the messy joys of motherhood and knowing the pain of wrestling thru some of the trials Emily shares about. I found connection with Emily's story thru our similar backgrounds and even current life chapters.

 I really enjoyed the structure of this book-It is broken up into sections that correspond with different chapters and roles of Emily's life. It felt like an even more intimate read, getting to "know" Emily from her childhood onward and watching the journey to who she is today. We both grew up in Christian homes with imperfect, but loving parents who did the best they could to give us the foundation we needed for life. I could relate as Emily shared of having to find your own identity thru and even apart from your family and making your faith your own. She is painfully honest at times, about how even with all the best of intentions, sometimes parents let us down and how we can carry the fear of doing the same into the parenting of our own children. I really appreciated that Emily doesn't just leave the blame at her parent's feet though, but shares of their combined journey of forgiveness, grace and ultimate understanding.

 I enjoyed the sweet glimpse into Emily's marriage to a good, Christian man who loves her unconditionally and leads her towards the Lord continually. I smiled as I saw so much of my marriage in their story- two young people, madly in love, growing up and figuring out life together. I saw reality and grace in her sharing of both her and her husband's weaknesses. How they sometimes hurt each other and fall apart but they always find their way back to each other; To me, that is what a good marriage is all about.

 

 Emily's stories from the trenches of motherhood rang very true to me as that chapter of life is very much currently where I reside as the mother to 3 little boys. My heart felt her fears and triumphs as she shared of the exhausting privilege of raising her own boys. To shape little souls stretches you in a way I have never know before and Emily gives that experience a voice all mothers can understand.

 

  Making it Home is filled with every day snapshots of Emily's life that she weaves together in such a way to convey a much bigger picture of what God has done in and thru her. I really appreciated her humble approach at sharing her heart with her readers. I don't necessarily agree with all of her spiritual views (I.E. God giving her specific, prophetic messages about her life) but it is her story to tell and she does it in a graceful way. Emily shares a quote from Susannah Welsey- "I am content to fill a little space if God be glorified." I feel that was Emily's message in sharing her life's story and it has been an encouragement to me as I am in the midst of filling my own little spaces.

 

I received this book for free in exchange for my honest review.

 

Cheap Chic-not really my style after all

I've always enjoyed the "idea" of fashion and am drawn to vintage styles, so when I was given the chance to check out the 40th Anniversary Edition reprint of Cheap Chic: hundreds of money saving hints to create your own great look, I thought it would be a fun source of inspiration. While this fashion guide does have some neat tips, I don't find it to be a super relevant style primer for me, personally. 

                           

 

 

 Apparently Cheap Chic was the premier fashion guide in the 70s and many fashion icons (including Tim Gunn, who wrote the foreword for this reprint) still consider it to be so. This book was a hard to find, eBay treasure as the first print editions became rarer and rarer. There is a lot of excitement about it coming back into print and being available to the new generation of fashionistas. Fashionista, I am not, but after having a baby 6 months ago, I am trying to reconfigure my personal sense of style. 

  I appreciate the helpful primer on assembling a basic wardrobe of interchangeable solid color t-shirts, good fitting jeans, a wide skirt and adding to high quality jackets, accessories and boots to elevate the style. These are principles I can apply as I continue towards a simplified "capsule wardrobe." I also found the info on calculating cost per wear when contemplating a real investment piece to be useful as well. The section on second hand shopping- where to shop and what to look for, also had so timeless tips.

 

 Overall, I just felt like Cheap Chic just wasn't relevant for the stay at home mom trying to cultivate an affordable yet classy wardrobe. The themed styling-such as Western and Ivy League-and what to buy when traveling abroad lists are just not applicable to my life and style. Also, I don't follow high fashion to really appreciate the designer profiles. There are a couple nude photos I was not expecting to find nor really added much to the book's appeal to me.

 

I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review.

  

The Little Garden that could

I love the rustic, four winged raised garden beds my talented husband built me a couple years back. I have come to really appreciate the merits of the raised bed growing methods and on top of that, have integrated square foot gardening into the mix. I still have lots to learn when it comes to gardening, but I enjoy adding new little bits of wisdom and and techniques each year. I love the blank canvas and fresh start that is a newly tilled garden bed each year.

My little boys and I had fun flipping thru seed catalogs this spring and circling all our picks of vegetable varieties we wanted to plant. It was hard to whittle down our list to a reasonable amount! Then we had math class in the garden beds- first marking out the square foot sections and next evenly planting the seeds. We got science class in too, observing our little seeds sprout and change, daily even. 

It was a rough start for the garden this year. Things took a long time to germinate and some never came up at all. My emotions were interwoven tightly with the changing state of my garden beds. It's sort of amazing how you can come off the high hopes of freshly planted seeds to the disappointment of stunted growth and bare spots in a garden plot. With some trial and error, mainly some fertilizing and the addition of soaker hoses, the plants finally really took off!

I just love the beds literally overflowing with foliage and starting to really produce an abundance of fruit to show for it as well!

3 different varieties of eggplants we grew this year.

Hot peppers, stuffing peppers, sweet peppers- so many peppers!

Chinese long beans-a new variety for us this year.

And harvest time begins!

 

A little boy and his basket of garden treasures. 

The garden seems to be a game of chance with varied success from year to year. This year has been a good one and my family and I have really been enjoying eating from farm to table.

I finally joined the Cold Brewed Club

I think it's safe to say I am behind the times when I just tried my first cold brew coffee at Starbucks as of a couple weeks ago. I'm not usually an iced coffee fan so it was easy for me to pass this trend by. But on a whirlwind family road trip across state borders to buy a vehicle, a Starbucks stop was a must and it was so hot out- a cold caffeine fix was a very appealing option.

I'm glad I took the chance on the cold brewed trend because it does have it's merits. The coffee is strong and bold with a much smoother taste. It seems the cold brew process is able to extract the coffee flavor while being able to bypass the acidity and bitterness that is usually just a byproduct of a good cup of brew. After my cup of epiphany at Starbucks I knew I was going to want to find a reliable method to be able to make my own at home!

 Thanks to Bzz Agent I had a new bag of coffee to try out and a cold brew experiment seemed like the perfect opportunity! If you guys haven't heard of Bzz Agent before, I strongly encourage you to go get signed up with them! I have been able to try out so many new, fun products thru them, all the while sharing about my favorite discoveries with friends. This time, I received a bag of Seattle's Best Coffee Dark Intense no. 5 blend. I have to admit this was my first time trying Seattle's Best Coffee and I wasn't disappointed!

 Now that I had the coffee, I needed to find the best cold brewing method. After some web browsing research, I found this method from the The Kitchn, using a French press in the fridge over night. I loved that this was a "prep the night before and forget about it" method. I have been really enjoying my French press as my coffee making device of choice lately but it is a little more time and prep work in the morning then, say, my keurig. But it was easy enough to measure out my coffee, mix it with some cold water in my French press and place it in my fridge for the night. My coffee was pre-ground so I was a little concerned it wouldn't be coarse enough for my French press, but I didn't seem to notice any issues with that.

 The next day I finished off the press process and ended up with a smooth, dark coffee concentrate. I  poured it over iced cubes in a mason jar and mixed half and half, chocolate syrup and a sprinkle of sea salt-delicious! I definitely recommend giving cold brewed coffee a go. I am usually a very dark roast kinda girl, but  I actually think a lighter roast would offer a nice option here. I'll have to experiment with that next!