Book Review: 365 Pocket Prayers for Mother

Title: 365 Pocket Prayers for Mother

Subtitle: Guidance and Wisdom for Each New Day

Authors: Amie Carlson, Karen Hodge, and Erin Keeley Marshall

 Genre: Devotional 

The very first line of the introduction of this book speaks volumes, 

"Becoming a mother changes us."

It is so very true.  Why do mothers need separate prayer devotional from other people, from other women?   Because being a mother makes you different.  This prayer devotional really grasps what it is to be a mother and the challenges and blessings that come with that title. We need extra encouragement and support!  Being a mom can be difficult yet rewarding.

The book is intended to be completed in a year.  The nice thing about it is that it is not written with dates on it but rather with Day titles.  With the pages labeled by Day instead of Date, there is no pressure to complete a page a day.  As moms that will be such a relief.  

I enjoyed the titles, for example, Day 143 is a Prayer about Burnout, When I feel driven to the ground.   The page then includes a prayer to help you focus your thoughts on the Lord and it also includes a scripture for Bible study.   The pages are short and sweet.   It is not intended to be a devotional for deep study of scripture.

I recommend this book to mothers of all ages.  It would apply to mothers to be, new mothers, seasoned mothers and grandmothers.  You could buy this for yourself or make it a Mother's Day gift!

Disclaimer: I received this book for free from the Tyndale House Publishing Company in exchange for an honest review.

Elephant Themed Baby Shower

 My brother Dan and his wife, Jen are having a baby boy!  My family and Jen's family threw a shower for them on Saturday together.  Since the baby will be a boy, the shower had a grey and navy blue elephant theme.   This is the color scheme that my new nephew's new nursery will be.

The invitation was purchased on Etsy and printed on photo paper.

This is my beautiful sister in law and her baby bump.

We had a table for the cake.  The cake was designed with the same graphic that was on the invitation.    We decorated the table with the stuffed elephant (Hobby Lobby), one of the centerpieces and a framed elephant print (Dollar Tree.)

This little insert was included with the invitation.  The baby received a huge assortment of books!

We also held a diaper raffle.  We asked every guest to bring a package of diapers.  If they did they received an entry in the raffle.  We drew a ticket and the winner received a prize.  Since I am a Thirty-One consultant all of the prizes were awesome Thirty-One products!

They got a ton of diapers!  They won't last as long as they think they will.  Those two have no ideas how many diaper changes they are in for!  :)

We also had a "Guess the Number of Peanuts" contest.  I decorated the baby bottle with the same paper elephant that is seen throughout the shower decor.  You can also see the mini hear t and elephant cut outs that I purchased on Etsy that I spread throughout the tables.

I made these centerpieces for the shower.   I bought the tin buckets from AC Moore and the peanuts on sale in giant bags at ShopRite.    I purchased grey paper elephants on Etsy and embellished them with the navy blue ears and eyes.  I purchased Navy blue chvron paper, grey and navy solid paper at Hobby Lobby.  I bought inexpensive  grey and blue ribbon at AC Moore and glued white buttons on top.   I mounted the whole thing on a wooden dowel and stuck it into the bucket of peanuts. I surrounded the centerpiece with mini paper elephants and hearts that I purchased on Etsy.   It took awhile to make ten of these but I love how they turned out.

Of course every shower needs a favor for the guests to leave with.  These cookies were adorable and delicious.   Jen's family purchased these and they matched everything perfectly!

I can't wait to meet my new little nephew and take pictures of him in his new elephant nursery!  I also can't wait to find out what his name is going to be!

Need more baby shower ideas?  

Check out my Pinterest board filled with Elephant Themed Baby Shower Ideas

Check out the Hot Air Balloon Themed baby Shower Decorations that I made.

Check out my Baby Shower Ideas Pinterest Board.

Celebrate Pi Day in Your Classroom

  

As a a self-proclaimed math geek, I love Pi Day!  This year will be the greatest Pi Day of all!  It will be 3-14-15.  Do you need resources for your classroom?

Pi Day Activities for Kindergarten through 4th Grade $4.25 from TPT

 

Pi Day Activities for 5th through 10th grade-  $5.75 on TPT

FREE printable Pi Day decorations for your classroom

 

Make FREE Pi Day Bracelets

These are great for the Lower Elementary classrooms

A Collection of Pi Day Activities- $6.00 on TPT

Take the Pi Day Chain Challenge

Incorporate Pi Day into your Language Arts classes

Print out these FREE stickers on Avery labels for your class on Pi Day

Pi Day Flap Book for the Upper grades- $3.75 on TPT

Still Need More Ideas?

Check out my Pi Day Pinterest Board! 

Check out my post full of Pi Day Activities for Little Kids!

Check out my post of Free Pi Day Activities!

Back to School! Tomorrow? Already?

Yes, I tell my 5th graders not to wait until the last minute.  I tell them to work a little bit on their projects each night and not to leave it all until the night before it is due.  Yet, here I am the night before we go back to school after having almost two weeks off and I still need to write my lesson plans and my class newsletter.  I still need to grade the book reports handed in before Christmas break and enter the grades from the spelling and math tests. 

So, am I ready to go back tomorrow?