Help Us Win Saddleback Leather (Again!)

Rob here. You may remember how Gabe won the awesome Saddleback Leather "Beast" for me with her funny video about using Saddleback Leather straps. Well, they're having another giveaway. Look at all the loot!

Please click through to their homepage using this link (opens new window). The counter resets each Wednesday for three weeks. "Click early, and click often!" to misquote Mr. Wrigley.

-Rob

Happy Thanksgiving!

From our family to yours.  May your day be filled with much love and joy as you reflect on all you have to be thankful for in the past, present and future!

"Oh give thanks to the LORD for He is good, his mercy endures forever!" Psalm 107:1

Operation Christmas Child

Christmas is coming up; even so it caught me off guard to find that the Operation Christmas Child boxes are due next week!  This is a great way to show Christ's love to a child in a tangible way.  It is also a great project to do as a family.  My kids had a great time shopping; then we came home and dumped it all out on the table.

Then we sorted it all to make it easy to split up into the boxes.

 

Boxes are all filled, labeled and ready to be dropped off on Monday.

There are loads of ways families can serve others during the Christmas holidays.  This post is to get you thinking now.  What are some ministries that you could help out near or far?  Friends or neighbors that you could minister to?  Get thinking!  Don't get caught up in the hustle and bustle of the season and forget what we are celebrating.  It is Christ.  His birth.  His life.  His sacrificial death, and more importantly his Resurrection; the gift of salvation that he offers all who believe.

Large family comments

Well meaning strangers, friends and family often make comments about our large family. This is something that, for the most part, we are used to. Many of the comments are kind, often joking, but sometimes rude. Sometimes the comments bring tears to my eyes, mostly because it saddens me that others don't see my children for what they are. They are blessings. Gifts from God. Lives that we hope and pray will be lived for Christ. Instead they see burdens, hard work, mouths to feed etc (or it's just not normal and can't think why we would do this). From those thoughts often come hurtful comments.

Psalm 127:3-5 Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the children of one's youth. Blessed is the man who fills his quiver with them! He shall not be put to shame when he speaks with his enemies in the gate.

Today while shopping a woman made a comment that brought tears to my eyes. I really struggled not to cry. This was different though. This woman sweetly leaned into me and said "you have a beautiful family" then she softly touched my arm and said "thank you for choosing life."

Psalm 139:13-16 
For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother's womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them.

The tears came to my eyes. This woman got it! We choose life. We thank God for being the author and creator of life and for giving us these precious lives to care for, for a time. We choose to model every day that we really do believe that life is a blessing and well worth the sacrifice to make the choice for life with open hearts.

It took me a minute to catch my breath and go to the woman who had already moved on and thank her for seeing my family for what it is. A blessing, and a choice for life.

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Preschool Activities in a bag SWAP

Preschool Activities in a bag are exactly what they sound like; they are activities geared towards preschool aged kids that can be stored in gallon sized zipper bags.  They come in handy when little hands need to be busy with little supervision.  I like to use them when I need to be cooking dinner, helping older kids with school, or waiting at a doctor's office etc.  The activities focus on various skills that children are developing at this age such as fine motor skills, matching, memory, alphabet and numbers to name a few.

I recently put together a swap of these bags with a group of friends.  I was pleasantly surprised at how many were interested and as we were doing the swap people started thinking of other friends and family that would have been interested in participating.  For our swap we had 12 ladies.

Most of us picked two activities to put together.  We looked for good deals on the supplies we needed (back to school time is a great time to pick up these supplies!).  Children were happy as could be to help put these together.

*Some of my kids helping to put together the "b" and "d" activity, it helps kids put to memory these two letters that often get mixed up, something we are working on here!

Our swap was a social swap with the understanding that some of the moms may not actually be able to make it to the swap.  I just asked that anyone that could not make it have their bags to me before the swap.  About half of the ladies were able to make it.  We had a good time visiting and letting the kids play.

*Bags lined up in my dining room waiting to be filled.  I set them up a couple of days before our swap date so that bags done early could be put in right away.  I put each lady's name on a bag.

 

I enjoyed coordinating this swap.  It was a bit of work up front, but once that was done I simply answered a few questions and sent out some reminders.  I was so happy to put out that bit of effort to be able to have so many wonderful activities for my kids and to bless some friends with this as well.

*A bag full of activities just waiting for little hands!

Our group is looking forward to putting together a science experiments swap for the older kids in a few months and then another preschool one next year!

HappyBaby Review and Giveaway

Congratulations to KatiO who won the giveaway!

I was recently given the chance to review some of HappyBaby's toddler foods, and I'm excited to get to post this review along with a giveaway!

I normally make baby food for my little ones.  However I will generally buy baby foods when we are going on a trip or have something planned where the convenience is important, but I still need something healthy for baby to eat.  That is how I ended up trying HappyBaby in the first place....We were out running errands, I realized I had forgotten to pack lunch for baby (and a spoon too).  I figured one of those new baby food pouches would be the best bet.  The HappyBaby one caught my eye because of the fruit/veggie combination, then the price, AND it was organic!  My baby loved it, and had fun eating from the pouch too (and it was so much easier than a dish and spoon while out).

I wrote to HappyBaby and they offered to let me review some of their HappyTot products.  Since I have two "tots" I had both of them try each of the products.

The HappyTot Plus pouches were a big hit with both my 10 month old and my 2 1/2 year old.  The pouches were intended for the baby, but my toddler kept trying to sweet talk the baby into giving it to her.  If you are wanting to get more veggies into your toddler, or just want a quick easy meal on the go this is a great choice.  I love that they are organic and that there is (little to) no mess with these!  My kids loved every flavor.


We also tried the Toddler Meal Bowls.  I was happy to see real chunks of veggies (mostly peas and carrots) in the bowls and my baby was happy to eat these meals.  The portions were more than enough for my 10 month old.  My two year old on the other hand was not interested.  I can't say that I'm surprised, she has been eating table food for over a year and did not seem to find these meals novel enough to excite her into eating them like the pouches did.  My baby's favorite?  He LOVED the Vegetable Ravioli, but it wasn't exactly a convenience/on the go meal with the mess he made.

The results from my review?  The HappyTot pouches have made it into my cart since the review and will be something I go to for trips and other times when we are out and about (or recently when little ones were sick).  The little ones loved them and I'm happy that they are getting a healthy meal on the go.  The Toddler Meal Bowls were good (or so my baby seemed to think), but not as likely to make it into my cart (mostly because they just don't fill a need for our family).  Thank you HappyBaby for letting us do this review!  Now to the fun...

I get to give away the same package I reviewed!  If you win you will receive coupons in the mail for free products (4 toddler meal bowls, 3 HappyTot plus pouches). To enter the Giveaway you can....

1.Follow Happy Family on Twitter @HappySuperFoods

2. Go to the HappyFamily facebook page and answer one of the questions on the page.

3. Sign up for Generation Happy


*Besides receiving the product to review I was not compensated in any way for this review. 

Busy Homeschool Mom's guide to Romance Review and giveaway

As moms of large homeschooling families it can sometimes be difficult to make your marriage the priority that it should be. Homeschooling can take a lot out of us, and sometimes our husbands get the leftovers (if there are any), when they should be getting our best.

I loved reading Heidi's book. She writes as if she is talking to one of her best friends. Sometimes saying the hard things, and definitely hitting some of the topics that often get ignored. Her passion for Christ, marriage, family and homeschooling certainly come through.

Reading this book left me feeling like some pressure had been lifted off of me, instead of adding yet another weight on my shoulders. It was such an encouraging book to read and full of Biblical conviction as well. I loved that it was a fairly short read, which was also great. I highly suggest this book for any mom that is getting sucked into the "homeschool mom vortex" and could use some encouragement in keeping her marriage a priority (as well as some practical advice for making that happen).

The security of their parents marriage is one of the most importnat things we can give our children. Truly the pain of a broken family is long lasting. The scars left are ugly. The consequences last for generations. Despite what the world may say our happiness is not the most important thing, nor is "feeling loved" the way we think we should be.  The covenant made between husband and wife before God is one He uses to His glory and to sanctify us; it is not always easy but it is right!

I'm so excited that I get to give one of these books away! Here are a few ways to win this book.

1. Follow this blog via GFC

2. Tell me something you do to keep your marriage a priority; remember this is a family friendly blog ;)

3. Head over to Heidi's blog, tell me something interesting you learned/found there.

4. Like The busy Homeschool Mom on Facebook