Building Family Ties with Faith, Love & Laughter by Dave Stone

Who doesn’t want a close family that is built on a strong foundation that enjoys spending time together? Author Dave Stone’s book is full of ideas on how to achieve this with your family. He touches on mealtimes, servant hood, creating memories, and knowing your families mission; just to name a few.

I believe that anyone can put this book to practical use with their own families; you just have to make the effort. Stone references scripture throughout the book and encourages his readers to “take a lesson from Jesus.” And this book is not for the two parent family alone, but also addresses single parents. My favorite chapter was on “the hour of power” or sitting and eating together as a family. Stone gives you plenty of tips and ideas on how to have a great mealtime with your family and making this a place to build those family ties. And don’t worry, this was a very quick read but with great ideas that can easily be referenced again and again.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze® book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255 : "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."

Thankful

I have already had two showers and I have a couple coming up.  We are so blessed and thankful by this outpouring of love and support by our friends, coworkers, and family.  With all the showers and pictures I will have, I will periodically be sharing a few.  Here are some from my Tyler shower several weeks ago at Tish's home...

First my beautiful hostesses... Veronica, Jaalla, and Tish.

Mike and Sonia bought Klive this precious tux!

I love this picture that Tish took of my MeeMaw.

My brother and niece... so sweet.

Here I am at 30 weeks.  Tish is a very good photographer and she took some very good maternity photos of me!  Thanks Tish!

Klive's Owl

I just can't resist stuffed animals.  They are probably my favorite thing to make.  They feel so satisfying when you finish, and they bring a smile to a child's face.  I have several knitting pattern books for stuffed animals but I feel like I need more.  I just can't get enough of them.

Here is an owl that I made for Klive.  It is out of the same pattern book as the dog (fox) that I made several weeks ago.

The color is off. In case you can't tell, he is pale blue with a white stripey belly.

29 Weeks

Although I am technically 30 weeks, here is a picture of me at 29 weeks that I am finally downloading. 

I'm feeling good.  The nursery is officially painted and we should hopefully be picking up the crib from the store this week or next, so nursery decorating time is almost underway.  My main craving right now is Icee's.  Coke flavored Icee's only.  I prefer Polar Bear; for you who know what I'm talking about can I get a shout out!  I will settle though for a Slurpee, and I often times have to.  There is a 7-11 just down the road from our house and it is often the most convenient when I just HAVE TO have one.  No need to worry, this is not an everyday habit of mine.  I am limiting myself to two a week.

Klive's Puppy

The colors in Klive's nursery are light blue and gray, but I don't really have a theme. I am basing his room decor on some fabric that I found and just adore. This pattern is called Windy Day. It is from the Backyard Baby collection by Patty Sloniger.

In fact, my friend's mother is making his bedding out of the fabric and I just can't wait to see it!

I wanted to knit a few stuffed animals for his room, so this is the first thing I have made for our little man.

Pretend this is a dog. This pattern was for a fox, but I tweaked a few things to try to make it look a little more like a dog. I think he's cute regardless. I got it out of the book And so to Bed... by Lucinda Guy.

More to come soon...

Eli's Blanket

My friend Gwen gave birth to a precious little boy last week. I made him a blanket and gave it to her at her baby shower. She has a pretty shade of green in her nursery, but I just couldn't find a yarn I liked that was quite the right color and fiber. I decided to go with white, so here's the blanket for little Eli.

Expect lots more knitting posts coming soon and some other craftiness. I gathered together all of my baby knitting books (I have around 8) and pulled some things that I just had to knit for my little man. I then had to spend lots of time online finding yarn substitutions that I liked. It was fun coming home to a huge box full of yarn. I am already almost done with two projects and will post those next week.

Called to Controversy by Ruth Rosen

Before reading this book, I knew very little about the Jews for Jesus movement, and even less about its founder Moishe Rosen. This book showed me the life of a man growing up in a Jewish home who eventually came to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ, followed the call to serve Him, and passionately served and founded an amazing ministry.

This book is more so about the man, Moishe Rosen, than it is about Jews for Jesus. That’s not to say that I did not gain more knowledge of Jews for Jesus from it. I absolutely know more now than I did. This book shows a man truly “running the race”. He was a family man, an evangelist, a leader for the faith. I also learned more about the life of a nonreligious Jewish family. I personally love biographies, especially about people who are living their life for Christ. The only reason I gave it four stars was because I expected to read a bit more about the Jews for Jesus ministry. All in all though, this book was uplifting and interesting.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com <http://booksneeze®.com/> book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 <http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html> : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”