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

Uncle Eric books review and giveaway!

I'm so excited to get to do a review and giveaway for some of our favorite books!  While books on the economy, justice and politics may not sound like the most exciting read alouds or a good fit for a family with all young children; just the opposite is true.

Last year our family enjoyed reading "Whatever Happened to Penny Candy" together, and we all enjoyed it.  It is a book on economy in the form of letters from an uncle to his nephew.  The book goes through the history of economy and money and really helps the reader understand what is happening now and why.  We all learned from this book, right down to the six year old (maybe the 3 year old picked up a bit too?).  Something else I loved about this book was hearing my kids asking daddy to read more from a book on economics!  Who would have thought that would happen?  It also opened up many discussions for us to have as a family.

We started reading "Whatever Happened to Justice" recently and I'm seeing the same things happening with this book as well.  My husband and I are learning so much from it, but at the same time my children are being drawn in and are interested.  We've had so many chances to discuss law and justice and we're only a few chapters in!  We are looking forward to purchasing more of the books in this series.

Blue Stocking press has very generously offered to giveaway the Uncle Eric book "Are You Liberal? Conservative? or Confused" Which is a very timely book to study given the upcoming elections.  I know it is one that is on our list!

There are a few ways to enter this giveaway (please leave a separate comment for each entry and make sure I'll be able to contact you if you win!)

1. Follow this blog through google

2.Head over to Blue Stocking Press and take a look around.  Tell me what books you found that interest you.

3. What are some of your favorite family books that inspire your family to think and discus?

This giveaway is open to US residents only, Thank you!

*The views in these book seem to be consistent with our Christian worldview.  However, my husband finds it interesting that he cant actually tell if the author is writing from a Christian worldview or an atheistic Ayn Rand worldview because the facts on economics and justice are so cleanly presented.

I need a vacation!

When I say "vacation" I don't mean some lovely resort or destination.  Nor do I mean days or weeks free of responsibilities (though that could be nice).  On the contrary, I'm finding that the vacation I'm dreaming of is a few weeks at home reading to my little ones, playing games with my kids, working on projects, school planning for next year and de-cluttering at a slower pace setting aside some of our regular duties.

I think I'm dreaming of finally settling into our home.  We've got a few down weeks here, so I think I'm going to take that vacation now.  I'll be back in a couple of weeks with new posts and even some giveaways!

In the mean time...

What is your idea of a great vacation?

What are you doing this summer?

Done with School?

Any projects you've got going?

Links I love

I liked this one by Michelle Duggar on expectations.  I know my expectations get in the way of enjoying what I have, I really need to work on giving these up to God and living the wonderful life that He has given me.

This one on A Mother's rights is great, it is short and sweet but makes a great point.

Do you desire to live a radical life for Christ? My Wife, A real radical is a good read.

Starch, a mom's traveling companion has some good advice not just for packing up your clothes for a trip, but for helping your clothes look their best in general.  I use starch regularly too, and find that it makes our clothes look so much better too.

I liked this post on Essential Medicines for Travel.  Best of all?  Its all natural!

Should we limit Children?  This post is wonderfully written and filled with wisdom.