Raising the Perfectly Imperfect Child

All my life I have had the dream of becoming a mother. I would spend countless hours playing pretend with baby dolls, making my barbies have babies, and pretending to be pregnant.

When I became a mother I never knew that I was going to be in for the most challenging ride of my life. Not just because motherhood is an amazing journey. But because my son is special needs.

He is an amazing kid, but he has his behavior issues.

When I was given the chance to read Boris Vujicic's book "Raising the Perfectly Imperfect Child" I found myself nodding my head often and laughing along because it felt like I had found something that put into words the way I feel about raising a child with special needs.

This book is a great resource for a parent that needs to feel like they are on the right path in the world.

My Rad Life

These days my life is far from Rad. I don't get the chance to do things that I always enjoy because duty calls when you are stay at home parent/homemaker.

But one of the things I had the pleasure of enjoying recently is the journal "My Rad Life." My Rad Life features prompts and inspiring quotes from notable RAD women. It's a great journal where you can plan, dream, reflect and explore your own life.

What I really love about this book is the fact that there are quotes. I love when a journal inspires me to write because sometimes sitting down to write in a journal is a little daunting. I have so much I want to put on paper, but when I put the pen to the paper, my mind just draws a blank.

Defiantly check out the book if you are interested in a fun journaling experience.


Full disclaimer: I received this book in exchange for my honest review

Manga Art (A book review)

Manga Art by Mark Crilley invites readers to beautiful and inspiring illustrations
In the book he not only gives you that inspiration to run with it and go off and create something of your own but he fully explains the techniques and items he used to create the drawings.

The book is split into 5 categories: Characters, Japan, Science Fiction, Conceptual Art, and Styleplay.

While I love the whole book, my favorite section was the first, characters. You ge t a look at several different characters. It made me really want to grab something and draw even though I have no drawing skills.

I received this book free in exchange for my honest review

the roanoke girls

Here I am back with another book review. It has taken me a few months, lots of family injuries and chaos to start my latest review book.

The book is called The Roanoke Girls by Amy Engel.

I carried the book with me for about a month and a half intending to start it and finally cracked it open the other night. It was a slow start for me, because early on in the book you learn some surprising twists about the Roanoke family. I put it down for awhile, and not to give spoilers, wondered if this was a book that I could keep on reading the issues were that much.

But over the next few days as my husband started a new work schedule I picked the book back up and began reading it again. Slowly I got hooked. I had to keep reading to reach the ending and find out the final plot twists.

If you enjoyed Flowers in the Attic (SPOILER possibility, right there) this is a new age version of that book.

Check it out for yourself if you are looking for an interesting summer read.

Talking with God

This week has been a challenging week for me. Work, son school schedule, husbands work schedule, cleaning household, just all the little things that add up to my daily and weekly to do lists. Lately I have been adding another one....devotionals and prayer.

I have always been a church person. My parents brought me when I was little, I went through confirmation, and I have regularly attended church for the past few years as a Nursery/Preschool Sunday School Teacher. I have faithfully brought my son to church, even when he was only 5 years old. I have participated in church lead bible studies, but recently I found myself needing more.

I have become obsessed lately with planners. I have one as my main one that tracks everyone's schedule, appointments, bills to pay, meal plans. I have one that lives in my purse for on the go planning. I have one that is a memory planner I am starting to keep track of the things I do during my 28th year. The last one is my Faith Planner.

I saw a lot of people in a planner group on Facebook talking about their faith planner. From there I found another planner group based on having a faith planner. When I first started setting up my faith planner I wasn't sure how I was going to use it. So far for the month of April, it has become a daily prayer journal. I am following daily prompts and writing down a prayer for each day.

It was also in that Faith Planning group that I was introduced to this book:

The book is written by Adam Weber, founder and lead pastor of Embrace, a church that has six campuses in two states. 

When I first saw the book being posted in the Faith planning group I became torn. I felt as if God was telling me to read it because in my current devotional that I am working with, the theme of this week was praying for your kids. But church and spiritual books are hit or miss for me. I don't like ones that are overly preachy and just quote book after book from the bible. If I wanted to read about book after book, I would pick up my bible. 

When I logged onto my Blogging for Books account to select my next review copy, I scrolled through all the sections and BAM! Right there in front of my eyes available for review was "Talking With God." I ordered the copy and I am so glad I did.

The book arrived on a day when I was having the WORST day. My son was throwing tantrums all day long, fighting me on going to school, it was raining, my mood was down, the mail sucked(I was expecting something, but all that showed up was junk). When I went to our apartment office to pickup packages, SURPRISE, my review book was here.

I dove right into the book that night and fell deeply in love. The book is not preachy like I feared it would be. It's a mix of relate-able stories from Adam's life, as well as stories from the bible. It teaches you that life is crazy, and prayer is SIMPLE. It doesn't have to be a perfect string of words that you utter or something similar to a sonnet from Shakespeare. Your prayers can be just as simple as saying "Lord, thank you for this day."

If you are searching for a book that helps you to pray, even if you regularly do so, I would recommend this 10/10 times.

I recieved this book, from Blogging For Books, in exchange for my honest review.

Writing My Wrongs

Several times in my life writing has become something powerful for me. Over the past few days I have found myself searching for inspiration through written word. One thing that inspired me is the book "Writing My wrongs" by Shaka Senghor.

The book is about how after going to prison he discovered literature, mediation, self-examination and the kindness of others.

At first when I cracked open this book I was put off. I kept asking myself if this was really my type of book. I knew it was a little out there because I tend to be hit or miss with memoirs. Until I read the pages in which the author wrote a letter to the victim that he killed.

Reading those pages inspired me in a way that I sat down and began to draw up my own letters of people that I had been murderous too lately. Mostly my husband and son, because I had let my own frustrations and anger, be cast onto them.

As I delved into the book I learned more and more how Shaka became a man who litterly "rewrote his wrong doings."

I would recommend this book to anyone looking for the inspiration that you can rebuild yourself.

When God Made You (Book Review)

Having a 3 year old, I often find myself reading and browsing more children's books that adult books. When I got the chance to check out a copy of "When God Made You" by Matthew Paul Turner, illustrated by David Catrow I was thrilled.

The book is filled with playful, charming rhymes and vivid, fantastical illustrations. My favorite part of the whole book is those illustrations. They are so bright and colorful.

The story is so wonderful in telling each child that they are special unique because that is just the way God designed them.

I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review."