What We're Reading

A new month means a new list of good reads to share with you!  I read a couple of books for me, tons of books for my kids and lots of good things online.  Here are my favorites:

BLOGS:
I've been a big fan of Kelly Stamps from Kelly's Korner for years.  She's a funny mom of three with the best Southern accent.  She loves Jesus and her smile is contagions.  I always hoped I'd run into her somewhere when we were living in Arkansas.  She recently wrote a post called Going to the Chapel about a talk she gave during chapel time at her alma mater.  Her message theme: "God's purpose is so much great than your plans" really spoke to me.  Most of the big details of my adult life have worked out differently than I'd envisioned .  From where we've lived (UT > AR > MS > IN), having kids, infertility, the timeline of our life, etc.  I'd encourage you to listen to her message and be encouraged!!  She starts at about the 20 minute mark in the video.

Sally from Sally's Baking Addiction is always tempting me with her delicious recipes.  Her latest recipe for Chewy Pumpkin Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies is one I know I'll love!  Can't wait to make it later this week.

My friend Whitney wrote a great post Are You Looking for Validation or Inspiration? that got lots of people talking.  It gives you tons to think about and the comments were really interesting.  Head over there to read my comment to see where I fall.

Do any of you own these Mid Rise Rockstar Jeggings in Woodland Wash?  They're speaking to me!

Heather from My Glittery Heart wrote a really great post about all of the marriage tips she's learned in her 14 years of marriage.  14 Years and Going Strong.  I loved this post and thought #2, #3 and #12 were so important.

Olive picked so many apples for us last week so I'm anxious to do some baking with them.  Andrea's recipe for Apple Crisp looks amazing.  I've never seen a recipe that called for so many apples!  It looks like the perfect Fall treat and Momfessional's recipes never disappoint. 

Needing any inspiration for kid lunches??  Annie from Home of Malones shared TONS of great lunch ideas.  They all look really great.

I really enjoyed this post: The What, Why and How of Simplifying.  Lindsey had so many great points and really got me thinking about things to purge, how to enjoy what I have instead of wanting MORE and to really think hard about the stuff I bring into our house.  She gives lots of directions and inspiration for simplifying your life.

MY BOOKS:

I read Come and Eat: A Celebration of Love and Grace Around the Everyday Table and am excited to share it with you.  It was a really inspiring read for gathering your family, friends and strangers around your kitchen table.  There were delicious recipes throughout the book and many challenges to get you thinking about ways to include more people at your table.  This book is empowering, exciting, motivating and the stories McKoy shares of her experiences around the table will tug at your heart strings.  I appreciated her honesty about gathering people for a meal.  It's not always easy and sometimes it takes convincing to get people to share a meal with you.  Her stories were inspiring and you finish the book wanting to immediately establish a better routine of gathering people.  She quotes Bible stories, talks about Jesus and reminds readers that the Bible references gathering at tables a lot.  I loved the attention to focusing on your spiritual gifts when hosting others and look for ways to make your dining experience unique.  This book gives you a good game plan to start hosting and recipes to get the ball rolling.  It's everything you need to start enjoying meals at your table regularly.  There are prayers, questions to reflect on and act on in every chapter.  This book was really enjoyable and gives you a lot to think about for your own kitchen table.
*This book was gifted to me in exchange for an honest review of it.

I read a really fun read called Beyond The Castle: A Guide to Discovering Your Happily Ever After by Jody Jean Dreyer a 30 Year Disney Veteran.  I have been to Disney World and Disneyland.  Both were magical so I was excited to read some behind the scenes stories from Disney.  I loved Dreyer's Midwest roots and her stories of working her way up in the ranks at Disney.  She had great stories, tales of romance, princess drama, rules and all the collaboration that is required to make things at Disney run smoothly.  I loved reading about Walt Disney's vision for his parks and his must have elements in every area.  There are tons of great life lessons throughout the book and anyone would enjoy this book.  It's a lighthearted read that inspires you to live your best life.  Dreyer addresses everything from hospitality to friendship building skills to management tips.  There really is something for everyone here.  I dare you to read the book and not be eager to visit the parks.  The Disney charm is evident in the pages of this book.  *I was gifted this book in exchange for an honest review of it.

KID BOOKS:
I wanted to share our favorite Halloween/Fall books with you since it's still early October.  These are the best and we read them all the time.  We added Splat the Cat this year and the others have been favorites for years.  Anything by Leslie Patricelli is a winner in our book.  Fletcher and the Falling leaves is perfect for our Fletcher, but is a really great story about Fall.  Mickey's Halloween flap book is well loved.  I think it came from Meijer a couple years ago.

We are obsessed with Little Blue Truck so I knew we needed the Halloween one.  I'd been looking around for the best deal on it.  Scholastic Book orders had it for $12 and then I found it at Sams for $8.42.  I couldn't pass up that price.  It's a great board book and I can't wait to surprise my kids with it.  The rhyming is sweet, the illustrations are darling/almost frame worthy and I know this will be an instant favorite.

I shared our latest favorite Usborne books earlier this month!!  Head over here to read all about them.  They've been favorites at our house for weeks!  You Choose is our #1 must have from this stack of books.

We recently added I'm Not a Scaredy Cat by Max Lucado to our home library.  We are big fans and his books If Only I Had a Green Nose and You Are Special are among our very favorite children's books.  We had high hopes for I'm Not a Scaredy Cat, but it was very disappointing.  The idea of having a book to teach your kids prayers to pray to help them feel brave sounds wonderful.  However, the execution was poor.  The book is very challenging to read aloud due to the choppy, tongue tying text.  The illustrations are cute and make the book interesting.  The prayer that is mentioned throughout the book does not rhyme and is difficult for children to say.  As an adult, I stumbled through reading the entire book.  The story was disjointed and each page felt disconnected from the rest.  My kids had a really difficult time following the story and were confused about the message of the book.  I cannot recommend this book and would instead direct them to Lucado's other great books for kids.  *I was gifted this book in exchange for an honest review of it.

It's time to link up with some great readers!
Check out their blogs to see what they've been reading.

Stephanie: http://www.wifemommyme.com/
Johannah: https://johannahsirois.blogspot.com/

Crystal: http://www.masonsmama.com/

Justine: http://www.littledoveblog.com/

Whitney: https://polka-dottyplace.blogspot.com/

Heather: http://www.myglitteryheart.com/

Keri: https://www.kerilynnsnyder.com/

An InLinkz Link-up