S Club Mama

Kayla Aimee brings laughter to the scary story of her daughter being born (after years of trying to have a baby) at 25 weeks. I am writing this at almost 34 weeks and cannot even imagine my baby being born today let alone almost 10 weeks ago! Reading " Anchored: finding hope in the unexpected " by Kayla Aimee really was a great read while on this pregnancy journey of my own. image via Icon Media Group  As Aimee and her husband struggled with the NICU stay of their daughter, Aimee's faith was really shaken. I just love her honesty in this book. I felt like she was my friend, telling me her story. Her story of fear, love, surrender. It's so beautiful. And funny. Strange, right? But she weaves this humor (and not dark humor) into the story in such an authentic way. I was just entranced with this story. Hearing about the procedures this poor baby went through, the sweet nurses that worked with her, the way God was with them through it all. Just really an incredible

Squirt is our family artist. He makes really detailed drawings and colors nicely. He dislikes that his brother scribbles, but hey, art is not all of our thing! I thought Squirt would like this "Laugh Out Loud Pocket Doodles for Boys" by Rob Elliott . Something to do in church or in the car. image via amazon.com Basically, you have a joke: "What do magicians like to eat for breakfast?" An answer: "Trix cereal." Then an incomplete picture to go along (this one is a table with a magicians hat full of cereal with a rabbit peering over the edge of the table). Then there are directions on the bottom of how to doodle the rest of the picture: "Finish the magician. Make his absence disappear." Super cute idea. Not all kids like to draw but maybe they like to complete a drawing. Not all kids like to draw but maybe they will because of the jokes. Some kids love jokes and drawing so this is right up their alley! I gave this book to Squirt for a read

I thought the "My Sing-Along Bible" by Stephen Elkins would be a great resource for the new baby and my boys to learn parts of the Bible together. The book itself has a paragraph about a Bible story (Moses in the river or Elijah being taken to heaven). Then it has a Bible verse followed by the words to the song that goes along with that story. I was afraid by the simplicity of this book that it'd be too little for my boys, but they actually enjoyed the music. image via Tyndale.com I think this will be a very useful resource to help raise my children up in the Lord. I like that some of the songs are ones I haven't heard before, others use music I'm familiar with, and some are songs I know. It's exciting to find a resource to be used from ages 0-8. Disclaimer: I received this complimentary book from  Tyndale House Publishers  in order to write an honest review. Others may not have the same experience(s) with it as I've had.

Comparison. It's everywhere! We in America get thrown into Glimpses every day of people's lives: their perfect living rooms, their perfect recipes, their perfect baby showers or birthday parties, their perfect families. What's a Glimpse? Well that's something I learned in "I'm Happy for You (Sort of...Not Really)" by Kay Wills Wyma . A Glimpse is exactly what those things mentioned are: glimpses of the good things in people's lives. We see what people (friends & strangers) want us to see on social media - on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest. Those are their best moments. And what do we compare them with? Our worst moments. I see my friend who is ever patient with her children. I see her in public and compare that with our private moments. I'm sure she has her moments she'd rather not everyone see, too! image via amazon.com  Wyma's book really forced me to look at how comparison runs in my life - and has the potential to ruin it!

When I was pregnant with Moose in 2006, I was taking education classes and we discussed autism. I remember thinking, "oh Lord, anything but that." My husband remembers me praying about it, too. It wasn't until 2010 his autism was diagnosed. It was hard and full of emotional questions: was this my fault for past transgressions, was this my fault physically, why, now what. In those 5 years since, I've learned SO much about being a mom, a wife, a human being, a Christian that I otherwise would not have learned if I'd had a "normal" kid my firstborn (Squirt does not have autism). I have learned to pray that God be glorified in these really hard moments (when our firstborn had his first seizure this year and subsequent epilepsy diagnosis). Whether He is glorified in how we handle the situations presented, in our parenting, in our struggles, in our lives. We want Him glorified and so I say "anything" as we await this third child this summer.

I have the best friends ever. Seriously. They threw me and Baby Girl a baby shower. It was PINK! I love pink, so this is not a problem with me. I thought I'd share some pictures from the shower. Please ignore my facial expressions; I look silly in most of these pictures (we'll blame it on the pregnancy). My friends, Rachel & Kim, who threw me this awesome shower to welcome our girl! This beautiful quilt not only matches the baby's room but it was made by my good good friend/mentor, Linda. My storytime boss, Kim, made this beautiful blanket. I love the pattern and colors. Very girlie. The food was delicious. I could eat that popcorn every day. The watermelon was perfect. And the leftover gumballs have made the boys very happy, even if they were pink. There was a headband making station. This girl's bald head is going to be beautiful!  A pink ombre cake. It was SOOOOO yummy!!! and beautiful! Baby naming game. Not sure

Back in the day, I loved Martha Williamson's tv show, "Touched by an Angel." Who didn't?! Well, she has a tv series on the Hallmark channel: "Signed Sealed Delivered." This series is expanding into a movie series and "Signed Sealed Delivered: With Love From Paris," premieres TONIGHT, June 6 at 9pm ET/PT (8pm CST) . image via Grace Hill Media Here is from the press release:  Williamson’s signature laugh-while-you-cry style is evident in her highly anticipated new movie   SIGNED SEALED DELIVERED: FROM PARIS WITH LOVE . Lead postal detective Oliver O'Toole is a man of faith whose wife has left him to pursue her dreams in Paris. In this inspirational story, his wife returns to explore the fate of their marriage on the same day the POstables deliver divorce papers to another couple grappling with the true meaning of love and the sanctity of marriage.     Primetime television veteran Poppy Montgomery ("Without a Trace") guest-stars

Thank you to all who entered the American Sniper DVD/Blu-Ray giveaway here at the S Club. Please stay tuned for new giveaways soon. The winner, chosen by random.org, was Joseph Wallace. I've emailed Joseph and he will have 2 days to email me with his address or another winner will be chosen. Congratulations to Joseph!