A family lifestyle blog
Disclosure: I received this book from #LitfuseReads. Post contains affiliate links; opinions shared are mine.
Have you ever dreamed of living a life completely different from your own? Perhaps you feel led to minister to those in underdeveloped countries, or maybe you want to work in a field that your family can’t fathom. Lillian from Beyond the Silence would understand how you feel.
This week we had 3 snow days from school. Since we were also out on Monday for MLK Day, we only went to school for one day. ONE DAY.
Bask in the glory of that notion.
On snow days, I give myself express permission to do nothing. Laying on the couch, reading or blogging all the day long, is totally acceptable. After all, it was a day I was supposed to go to work and didn’t, so it’s a free Free Day. I’m absolutely willing to let Siri entertain my kids for an indefinite amount of time, and the Netflix subscription has more than paid for itself. Well, now that it’s Saturday and we’ve been watching the snow fall for Day #4, I’ve picked up on some peculiar snow day phenomenon. Do you ever notice these things?
This is my new favorite tweet because it’s so ME. If you don’t follow @laurendestefano, you should. She’s funny.
The day they invented those taco shells that stand up by themselves was depressing because now even tacos are less lazy than me.
— Lauren DeStefano (@LaurenDeStefano) January 20, 2016
Here are the other things I’ve noticed about #Snowmageddon2016: [Read more…]
It’s a beautiful snowy morning here in east Tennessee. We sat watching the snow fall outside while viewing the movie Captive, and I was struck by the dichotomy of God’s glory battling against sin. The snow covers all ground – no matter how desolate or beautiful. Snow could cover a wasteland and still be breathtaking. Likewise, God’s forgiveness can cover even the darkest of souls. No one is above God’s redemption. The movie is based on the true story that was featured on my site a few months ago. It’s a great reminder that God truly can work everything to His good.
In the past few years, depression has become a very real topic for many families. We hear about it on TV commercials, and recognize it when we see it in the vacant eyes of a loved one. It’s not something that has newly developed; historically, depression was even documented in the Bible. Personally, I didn’t attribute the word “depression” to myself until I was at least in my late 20’s. This surprised me, especially since I was a psychology major in college. For some reason, I always thought the heavy weight on my shoulders was a result of school stress, or perhaps worry for my dysfunctional family. I didn’t realize it was depression until I’d already affected those around me. I recently read an interesting article about the adaptive development of a depression gene, and how it relates to the immune system. That made me wonder about a book I recently received for review. (affiliate link) In the book Hannah’s Choice, a woman named Annalise lost young children due to a terrible illness. In 1842, medical care was limited, but for an Amish woman it was likely nonexistent. Her older daughter, Hannah, bore the brunt of the depression’s aftermath. Hannah cared for her siblings and her father as best she could. In some ways, she became the mother of the household. It made me wonder, what should a person do when depression becomes too much for the family to bear?
We used to joke about the saying, “There’s an app for that,” but these days it seems like the apps have gotten a little out of hand. When you pull up the app store and search, there are SO MANY options that it can be quite overwhelming. At lunch a few days ago, my colleagues and I discussed our favorites. It was fun to see what others are using. I learned about the Wish app, Shopkick, and a few others. I told my friends about these 5 apps that save me time, money, and a bit of sanity. What are your favorites? [Read more…]
There are not enough hours in the day to read all the books on my bookshelf. Now that the kids and I have a long commute, we listen to audiobooks but those tend to be geared toward the youngest in the van. I crave “mind candy” books — the ones that I could read for hours without moving, talking, or even thinking about getting up. During the snow days (yay!) I had time to catch up and read the books I should have read long ago. This post contains affiliate links; opinions shared are mine.
The first book I savored while the snow fell was Vanishing Girls by Lauren Oliver. This was a winning from a book giveaway on another blog, and it’s been whispering to me since it arrived.
I just cashed out for my second free book this month. Here’s how I did it — you can, too!
1. Join Tyndale Rewards using my referral link (gets you 25 points)
2. Complete the surveys on the landing page. The Bible cover survey is worth 40 points. It credited immediately for me.
3. The book Still House Pond (pictured below) costs 65 points, free shipping. There are others for 70 and 75 points, so if you do more surveys you would have enough. [Read more…]
At our old house, we had birds around all the time. It’s been sad to build our bird friend list up from scratch. Over the past few months, I’ve set out feeders and scattered seed, hoping to attract some flighty little guys. This week the weather took a drastic downturn, and I worried that the birds would struggle to find enough to eat. That’s when I remembered the homemade suet cakes I made at our old house. This easy recipe is so simple, you’ll want to make it on your snow day!
Disclosure: I received this book to review; post contains affiliate links. Opinions shared are mine.
The difficulty of being a woman in a man’s world, coupled with being caught up in a romance that had all kinds of strings attached, made life terribly hard for Louisa Unger. This might sound like a familiar story line, but throw in the time period (WWII) and it makes for a really unique read. I’ve reviewed WWII books in the past, but Time of Useful Consciousness stands out from the rest. If your Valentine loves to enjoy a book with a cup of tea, enter below!
[Read more…]
As a new mom, I had a lot to learn. Motherhood wasn’t the glittery dream that I imagined during all those months of preparation. My daughter considered me a human pacifier, so I was grateful when she finally decided to take a “paci” for good. Here are some of the pacifier tips that got me through those tough moments.
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