Weekend Book Review, Choosing to See

   I am in a book club at my church.  We meet once a month and each month a new person chooses the book we will read for the next month.  I love (usually) reading books from all sorts of genres, books that I wouldn't have picked up off the bookshelf and read without the encouragement of the book club. Click Here to read my review of the book I picked last time it was my turn. 

     Last month the lady who chose, picked a book I had considered choosing so I was excited to get to read it!  I knew going in that Choosing to See, by Mary Beth Chapman was going to be a hard book to get through without crying.  Well, I got to the dedication part and I was already crying! 

   In this book Mary Beth takes us through the ups and downs of her life through marriage, motherhood, adoption, and dealing with the death of a child. She is very honest about her thoughts, emotions, embarrassing moments...sometimes to the point of giving TMI. :) I think that is what makes her so likable though...she shares things that other women sometimes feel, but are afraid to let anyone know about. When I finished it was like I was reading the book of a friend or someone I felt I knew well.

   If you have heard of Mary Beth's story you know that her youngest daughter, Maria, was killed in a heart breaking accident.  Probably half of the book shares life after that life changing moment.  My heart was so heavy reading the deep, raw, honest depiction of grief that the author and her family went through and still feels.  I think the family realizes that God had big plans for them and plans for good to come out of losing Maria and yet reality is that living those plans has seemed unbearable many days.  One of the things she says that stuck with me was that she had always told her kids that "God doesn't make mistakes." After the accident she had to decide if she still believed that and then live it out. 

I would definitely recommend reading Choosing to See, just make sure to have a box of tissues nearby!

New Fabric

Bought these fabrics this week with a purse in mind.  Love the colors and pattern!

Freezer Stenciled Bean Bags Part 2

Here are the promised finished bean bags.  If you are interested in how I painted the letters on see part 1 in this post. 

Here are a few things I did in case you want to make your own.

* I made all of the letters lowercase.  Like I said in my previous post I also painted them how they are written.  These are made for kids who are learning their letters and I want them to learn the letters the right way.

*I  made a dot at the bottom of each bean bag so the child can tell which way the letter goes--u and n, p and d look very much alike and I wanted the child to know which letter was which.

*Bean bags are about 4 1/2" square. 

*I used a little less than 2/3 cup dried pinto beans in each one.

As always, feel free to ask any questions!

Linking up at these sites:

Whatever Goes Wednesday at Someday Crafts

Made by you Monday at Skip to my Lou

We Did It Wednesday at Sew Much Ado

Weekend Wrap-up Party at Tatertots and Jello
Feature Yourself Friday at Fingerprints on the Fridge
Idea Sharing Wednesday at Women Who do it All

Freezer Stenciled Bean Bags Part 1

   As a teacher I am big on making learning fun.  I decided to try out alphabet bean bags as a gift for a young special someone.  I plan to come up with a some games to go with the bean bags to make learning letters and to read fun!   Today I am going to show how I painted the letters on each bean bag.

1.  Print out the letters how you like them.  I didn't use one specific font because I am big on letters looking how kids write them so I mixed and matched fonts to get each letter the way I wanted.

2.  Cut a piece of freezer paper and put it on top of the letter. Make sure the waxy side is facing down.  You should be able to see the letter through the freezer paper.  Use a craft knife to cut the freezer paper.  

3.  Take the freezer paper and carefully iron it to the piece of fabric you want to paint.  The waxy side will stick to the cloth.  Make sure all of the edges are "stuck on" so paint can't leak through.

4.  Carefully paint the letter.  I used a foam brush to do this.
5.  After the paint is dry carefully peel up the freezer paper. 

That's all!  So easy!

My next post will be the finished bean bags.

Weekend Book Review "Sidney & Norman"

    The book I am sharing for this weekend's book review is in my top ten favorite children's picture books.  I love that it has a lesson that is meaningful for kids AND adults.  The book is Sidney & Norman a tale of two pigs, by Phil Vischer (The Veggie Tale guy).  I first heard the story in an elementary school chapel a few years ago. I recently heard it again during a talk for a high school youth group.  The book fit both ages so well!  After I heard it the last time I went online and bought 4 copies.  One for me and 3 for gifts...that is how much I like this book.
  The book is about two pigs who are next door neighbors--Sidney and Norman. Norman is a pig who has his life all in order.  He is always on time, always dresses nicely, his house is neat, and he did/does well at school/work.  He can't see why others can't just try harder and be like him.  Sidney on the other hand is a mess.  He is always late, his tie is never straight, his house is messy, and some mornings he doesn't even want to get out of bed.   Both Norman and Sidney get a letter from God telling them He wants to see each of them.  Norman assumes God is going to tell him what a great job he is doing.  Sydney equates going to see God with being sent to the principals office, he is sure he is in trouble.  I won't ruin the ending, but God has a message for each pig that day and both of them leave changed.   Whether you can relate with Norman OR Sidney (or sometimes one and sometimes the other), this book has a message of God's love for you too.
  
  If you are interested in getting this book, Amazon has it for $10.87 right now.

Not for camping, this Tent is for a Carseat!

I made this carseat tent for a friend's baby shower last spring. I waited to put it on my blog so I wouldn't ruin the surprise and then I forgot to share! 

These tents are nice when the baby is sleeping so people don't try to disturb your baby when you are out and about.  My friend that I gave it to shared that it is also great for keeping the baby dry on rainy days (while running from the house to the car, etc).  The handles make it so you can grip the carseat handle easily and so the blanket doesn't slide off while carrying the carseat.

Peek-a-boo!

 I can share a tutorial if anyone is interested.

*I would not recommend using this while in the car.

I linked up to these parties:
Feature Yourself Friday
Whatever Goes Wednesday
We Did it! Wednesday