• Gift Ideas and Reviews
    Gifts and Games

    Great Gift Ideas (and Reviews) #3

    Here are reviews of 3 great games for children gift ideas! All of these are small and transported pretty easily. Games for Children#1: Uno to Go This is a brilliantly designed set of Uno cards! This is exactly the same as your standard Uno game, except that the cards are laminated. The lamination is such that the cards hold up EXTREMELY well under a LOT of circumstances: Playing beside the pool, at the beach, or on a boat. Playing with a child who tends to bend cards (these cards are NOT easily bent!) Playing and eating, especially with children. These cards wipe clean in a flash! Playing anywhere on the…

  • Children's Bible Study
    Daily Devotional

    Crazy Kids Bible Devotional: Jesse Tree Day 6

    Welcome to Day 6 of the Crazy Kids Bible Devotional Jesse Tree series! Today’s podcast is available at the bottom of this post and on iTunes. If you’d like access to all the podcasts, devotional guides, and ornaments from the beginning, you can click on the “Podcasts” heading up on the menu. That’s also where you’ll find the link to subscribe directly to the podcast via iTunes, if you’d like to do that. You can download the devotional guide and printable ornament for Day 6 by clicking the image below (or here: ). Note: Our kiddos are going to be reading from the Common English Bible (CEB). We love this version because, while…

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  • Children's Bible Study
    Daily Devotional

    Crazy Kids Bible Devotional: Jesse Tree Day 5

    Yay! We’ve made to Day 5 of our Kids Bible Devotional Jesse Tree series! If you (or you and your kids) are following along with us, we hope you’re enjoying it as much as we are. I really feel like the chance to hit the highlights of God’s story over this period of advent really helps cement into my children’s hearts and minds the idea that God always, always, always wants us to be with Him; to be a part of His story. I don’t understand why God made human beings in the first place (it’s the number one question on my list!), but I believe wholeheartedly that He did…

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  • Children's Bible Study
    Daily Devotional

    Crazy Kids Bible Devotional: Jesse Tree Day 4

    Welcome back! Or, if you’re joining us for the first time . . . Welcome! Don’t worry if you’re joining the Kids’ Bible Devotional Jesse Tree series in progress . . . just jump on in and start wherever you’d like! If you’d like access to all the podcasts, devotional guides, and ornaments from the beginning, you can click on the “Podcasts” heading up on the menu. That’s also where you’ll find the link to subscribe directly to the podcast via iTunes, if you’d like to do that.   The latest podcast is at the bottom of this post. You can download the devotional guide and printable ornament for Day 4 by…

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  • Children's Bible Study
    Daily Devotional

    Crazy Kids Bible Devotional: Jesse Tree Day 3

    Thank you so much for checking out the Kids’ Bible Devotional Jesse Tree Podcast! If you happen to want to subscribe directly to the podcast via iTunes, or you want to catch up from the beginning, OR you want to see the downloadable files all in one place . . . just click on the “Podcasts” heading up on the menu.  That’ll be your one-stop shopping (free shopping; the best kind!) for the Jesse Tree series. The latest podcast is at the bottom of this post. We rolled back into town from our Thanksgiving trip on Saturday night and quickly recorded the first podcast before putting the kids to bed…

  • Children's Bible Study
    Daily Devotional

    Crazy Kids Bible Devotional: Jesse Tree Day 2

    Wow! I was blown away by the reaction yesterday to the kids’ first podcast of their Daily Devotional Jesse Tree series! I’m so thankful that so many of you checked it out! Today’s podcast is at the bottom of this post. Our hope is really just that you find something in the podcast or the printable devotional that will work for your family and make this a special season. For that reason, please use the podcast and the printable in anyway that works for you, like: Just let your kids listen to the podcast by itself over breakfast or lunch or in the car in route somewhere. Do nothing else.…

  • Stay-at-Home Mom
    Parenting,  Ramblings

    The Myth of the Stay-at-Home Mom

    Did you all read the post this past week on Matt Walsh’s Blog about Stay at Home Moms? I saw it shared and re-shared and shared some more on Facebook. He said some VERY nice things about stay at home moms. He did a fantastic job of advocating for his wife while she wasn’t around.  I feel sure he racked up lots of well-deserved brownie points. On the other hand, I just don’t really get why this is a conversation we seem to need to keep having. Maybe it’s just me, but of ALL the “STAY-AT-HOME” mom’s I can think of, not a single one of them . . . nary a…

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  • Family Fun,  Parenting,  Traditions

    Kid-Friendly Family Games

    Back in March, we traveled (by Megabus . . . but THAT adventure we can discuss on another post) to Washington DC with both kids and luggage full of winter clothing.  Quick Travel Tip: it is COLD in DC in March. On the upside, it is not crowded, and if you’re up for it, there is ice skating on the National Mall. Very Cool.  Literally and figuratively. But, I digress. So, we spent a full week eating every meal in a restaurant of some shape form or fashion.  Our children are generally well-behaved and pretty good company, but let’s get real . . . they aren’t perfect. And, after getting…

  • Parenting,  Ramblings

    It’s not you (or them). It’s me.

    Timing is everything.  I had this post written a few days ago and was really just mulling over whether it was done. Tonight, a friend and I had a conversation that touched on so many of these things. It’s nice to know I’m not the only one who doesn’t have it all figured out.   Here’s a principal I’ve always pretty carefully observed when it comes to my marriage: don’t complain about your spouse to others.  There are no “take-backs” after you’ve told someone else that your spouse has wronged you in some way, whether it’s minor or not.  Those of us with marriages that are still kicking after a period…

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  • Family Fun,  Homeschool,  Traditions

    I’m a total loser

    Some of my favorite memories of my childhood involve being a loser. My dad was absolutely fantastic about playing checkers with me, starting sometime around when I was 8.  After we’d gotten pretty good at playing a basic game of checkers, he had a desire to learn how to play chess, so we basically learned together.  And, here’s the important part – he never, ever LET me win. In fact, on the VERY rare occasions when I did, in fact, beat him, he would grin and look at me and say, “You gotta let the little kids win sometimes.” And I would grin and laugh with him, because we both…