S Club Mama

Christmas is fast approaching and while gifts are not central to the reason (that's Jesus!), they are an important part of the holiday for many families, including mine. Two years ago, I wanted to make something special for my grandma, Marilyn. I had taught myself to embroider in 2015 while pregnant with my daughter. Earlier in 2016, I had made my mom a family tree embroidery piece for her 50th birthday.  While I love the tree idea, I knew I'd need something different to accommodate the many people in the extended family tree. My grandma and grandpa had five children. There are 10 grandchildren and, at that time, 13 great-grandchildren (that number will be extended to 15 by February). I wanted something that would last and become a family heirloom, so I came up with this:  I presented it to my Grandma Marilyn at our Christmas celebration. Her reaction was perfect! She loved it (even though I had left out a grandchild...I didn't realize...oops) and cried and it got...

" Becoming Mrs. Lewis" by Patti Callahan is about C.S. Lewis and his wife, Joy Gresham. I found it to be a fascinating tale of historical fiction, weaving truth and fancy while leaving the integrity of the real people. Callahan made you feel Joy's feelings, allowing you to follow her journey from struggling in an abusive marriage to following her heart to England and eventually rebuilding her life there.  I really enjoyed the characters that Callahan portrayed. From Joy with her deep-set feelings to her ex-husband Bill with his disappointment and rage, you feel like this is a biography rather than historical fiction. Her sons are lively and real. C.S Lewis is made to be human, rather than a figure of grandeur (although Joy's perspective often gives him a larger-than-life depiction in her love for him). image via BookLook Joy, for me, was sometimes a hard character to swallow. I'm not used to fictionalize characters being so real (this was tricky because...

After my fourth baby was born this summer, I've started to have my biggest boy, who is 11, get food out of the oven for me. He doesn't have the most grace so this was a leap for me. I just hate for him to burn himself. Needless to say, having the opportunity to have these Cave Tool BBQ gloves was great! These BBQ gloves are thick and have this red silicone parts so he's not going to have something hot slip from his hands. He did spill fries getting them out last week but that was his inexperienced grace. Oops! I love that the light weight flame retardant aramid fiber part of these that extends way past my wrist (and his) so no real chance of a forearm burn. They are flexible and have a great grip! It doesn't feel hot at all when I'm reaching in. Do be careful if your gloves get wet; these gloves are not waterproof. So steam and hot liquids can still burn you through the gloves (like most oven mitts).  My husband has huge hands and the...

Most people are insecure about something. Whether that is in relationships, how they look, how good they are at their roles, something. I found when reading "Silencing Insecurity" by Donna Gibbs, that I have more than I though (which makes me feel a little insecure haha).  image via Baker Book House I found the book to be helpful in identifying some insecurities and symptoms of them. We can identify insecurities by finishing this sentence: "if only..." If only I looked like ________. If only my emotions weren't too much.  If only I could go here or do that.  If only I had a friendship like so and so.  If only my kids acted like theirs.  On and on. These aren't all necessarily mine but you understand my point.  Once you identify these identity thieves (as Gibbs calls insecurities) then you can begin to learn how to replace those thoughts (often half-truths and lies from the enemy) with truths from God himself.  My favorite...

Knock Knock. Who's There? Althea. Althea who? Althea later, alligator. I love knock knock jokes, puns, one-liners, and other jokes. My big boys do too. When my second oldest takes a lunch to school, I like to add a joke; that's way cooler than the mushy note telling him how much I miss him I would like to send. Right? We have several joke books in our home library and my boys will spend time telling jokes between themselves and then telling me the same ones (they don't seem to understand I can hear their jokes between rooms so they think I'm really good at punch lines!). image via Revell "Crack Yourself Up: Jokes for Kids" by Sandy Silverthorne is such a good resource for lunch box jokes and more. I appreciate the cleanliness of the jokes (sometimes it's hard to Google such things because you NEVER know what inappropriate jokes come up) and that they are truly funny. One of my personal favorites is: Q: What kind of lights did Noah use on ...

My family doesn't do a lot of traveling but we have big dreams: Haiti, Germany, New Zealand, England, Alaska, South Africa - the sky's the limit when it comes to dreams. However, there is one place I cannot wait to take my kids that's perhaps a little more plausible: Yellowstone National Park.  On July 2, 2005 my then-boyfriend took me to Yellowstone when I visited him in Wyoming. We saw Old Faithful, the stinky sulfur paint pots, beautiful animals and landscapes. And then in a fairy tale dream, I got asked to be his wife as we overlooked the beautiful Lower Falls waterfall *cue dreamy eyes*.  Ever since we welcomed our first child in 2007 until this last baby in 2018, I've dreamed of the day when they would all be old enough to take and explore this beautiful place. I want them to see Old Faithful, Lower Falls, and so much more. I want them to see moose (the one animal I wanted to see and didn't get to), longhorn sheep, and hopefully not bears. It...

  The past three years, my Sunday school class has been going over The Gospel Project. This is a curriculum that goes through the whole Bible showing how the gospel of Jesus Christ is intertwined within the whole story! My Bible study did the Angie Smith study "Seamless" last year. That study shows how the people, places, and promises of the Bible are sewn together into one overarching story (held together by Christ).  Needless to say, I was thrilled to read another book about Christ through the Bible: Elyse Fitzpatrick's "Finding the Love of Jesus from Genesis to Revelation."   image via Amazon Fitzpatrick took each section of the Bible - the Pentateuch, history, the Law, poetry and songs, Prophets, and the Gospel - to show how Christ's love (and Christ Himself) is found in each!! She takes readers through the story or book(s), then points out Christ. She explains where He is seen physically, in prophesy, and where the gospel story is sha...